Will Miami's Offense Fail Because They Are Too Stubborn?
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — No. 9 Miami (5-1, 1-1 ACC) has struggled to run the ball over the past two games.
It started against Florida State, but it worked in their favor with Carson Beck throwing for four touchdowns in a win. After another bye week, the same issue happened against Louisville, but instead of four touchdowns, it was four interceptions for the senior quarterback.
The Hurricanes have an issue with the run game, but head coach Mario Cristobal views it as a simple coaching and execution issue that can be fixed.
"Well, I think the simplicity of coaching it better, to execute at a higher level," Cristobal said. "The devil's in the details. We've been really good at running the football, and we've been a little bit off the last couple of weeks, and we need to get back to our ways in the form and the way that we do run the football, and that's with the principles of technique and fundamentals and pad level and making sure we can get both downhill and outside by doing what we do."
It was double downed by offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson.
"I mean, our run game is what it is," Dawson said. "You know we need to execute it better. There are times when we have things there, and we miss them. I don't deflect any blame from that. I have to stick with it. I have to package it together a little bit better, probably, but ultimately, we just need to keep doing what we're doing, and I have to stick with it. And so just execute. We've got to execute better."
However, "our run game is what it is" should be a glaring issue for those who watch the Hurricanes run the ball.
They run the same inside zone over and over again. When that doesn't work, they run the same wide receiver screen. There is no creativity with the offensive run game, and it's holding the Hurricanes and Beck back.
Beck needs a consistently great run game that will allow him to get comfortable throwing the ball and not forcing it. The Hurricanes need a creative run game if they want to win a national championship. Running into a brick wall when the box is stacked repeatedly is great when you have the athletes. The Hurricanes do, but the situation doesn't call for them to do it all the time.
The Hurricanes are stubborn in their running game. One of the most explosive backs in the ACC, Jordan Lyle, has yet to see something outside because everyone is running up the middle.
Against Stanford, the Hurricanes will look to change things up. The run game will be the primary target for the Canes to succeed in, and the Cardinal will get the full blunt attack of it.
Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for the Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at Twitter @Justice_News5.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.