Hurricanes Flub Their Lines in Opener

The stage was set.

The once proud Miami Hurricanes were going to take on Goliath, a college football dynasty, at its peak.

We were under no illusion of victory. That was a bridge too far.

But we certainly were reasonable in assuming Miami would try and get some punches in. When I go to a Fast and Furious movie, I don’t expect to see some sort of life changing move a la Schindler’s List. But I do expect Vin Diesel and cars.

I didn’t get that on Saturday. I got Gigli.

The biggest crime the Hurricanes committed on Saturday wasn’t that they were outclassed, although they were.

The biggest crime the Hurricanes committed on Saturday wasn’t that they missed tackles, although they did.

The biggest crime the Hurricanes committed on Saturday wasn’t that they were physically dominated, although they were.

No, to a certain extent, sans the missed tackles, a lot of that was expected.

The Hurricanes crime on Saturday was they were boring. Everyone knew it would take something extraordinary, other-worldly for Miami to win that game. So, you expected them to throw the kitchen sink at Alabama.

Instead, we got run plays on 3rd and 7, we saw no trick plays, we saw very vanilla offense and defense. Miami didn’t just get destroyed by Alabama, they set up to get destroyed, accepted their fate. They capitulated. I wanted them to empty the clip, and instead they waved the white flag.

I wanted Tony Montana telling Alabama to say hello to our little friend, and instead I got the lawyer from Jurassic Park abandoning children in an unsuccessful attempt to save himself. The lasting memories of this game for Canes fans will not be the displays of brilliance from Alabama, but the shameful cowardice of the Hurricanes’ approach.

The Shame of It

The saddest part of the game was actually the 2nd half, when the Canes opened up offensively and defensively. Granted, the game was over. Granted Alabama had taken their foot off the gas. But they were plays to be made, and Miami made some of them. They drove multiple times, they scored, they played some defense.

Some dubious officiating is likely what prevented the Hurricanes from playing an even second half (or maybe even winning it) on the scoreboard.

Of course, context matters. Had the game been moderately competitive, you knew Alabama would always be able to crank it into high gear and pull away. So certainly that the Hurricanes play making started after the game was essentially over was far from a coincidence.

But there were 2 parts that went into that, and only one is that Alabama naturally let up. The other part? Miami didn’t actually try to threaten Alabama until the game was over.

As the game unfolded, you saw our players put in a position to fail, and compete their butts off. Rallying to tackles, almost oblivious to the score. Late in the game. The effort was there, the pride was there.

What was lacking was basically everything the coaches are responsible. When the Canes weren’t missing tackles and blocks, their defensive leader was getting ejected for a brain-dead, completely unnecessary targeting penalty that was so difficult to actually accomplish it looked like he was trying to get ejected. You can’t blame the player, though. Because it’s never one player, and it’s never the same one. It’s always multiple players exhibiting committing similar mistakes. When it is a one off, that could be a player. When it is systemic, that’s the coaches.

The players wanted to rise to the moment, but the coaches did not give them the ability to even attempt to do that.

Never Again

This has been a rolling pattern for Manny Diaz’s Canes…poor preparation when there was additional time to prepare, big game yips, blown out at the critical moment.

Some of that is the opponent, but most of it rests squarely on the coaches’ shoulders. Whatever they’re doing is not working.

This can’t happen again. Manny Diaz’s administration is teetering. You’d have to bury your head in the sand to not have doubts. But he has 11 games to right the ship. The task in front of him is arduous. He needs to win enough to arrive at the big stage (the ACC Championship game, likely against Clemson), then deliver on that stage. Not necessarily win, but at least show the team has a clue, that they are capable of competing against college football’s elites.

Miami’s test on Saturday was not to beat Bama, but to prove they belonged. They didn’t do that. To say, “well Bama does this to everyone” is to jettison Miami to the scrap heap of college football, defining them as an also ran. If that is the desire of this school, this fan base, then so be it and we’ll stop pretending we’re trying to “Build Champions.”

But if not, then the next time Miami enters this stage, they must show they at least belong on the field. Otherwise, administration-level changes need to be made. The sands in the hour-glass are truly accelerating, time is short. The sun is setting on the historic remains of a once proud program.

For Miami to pass the test in their next go ’round, they actually have to show up to take it. Against Alabama, the coaches decided they weren’t good enough to do that.

The best way to guarantee a loss is to quit. –Morgan Freeman

The players certainly didn’t quit on Saturday, but the coaches appeared to do so before the game even started, never preparing to win. You only get so many chances, and Miami can’t afford to waste any more.

Vishnu Parasuraman is a contributor for @FiveReasonsSports and generally covers the Miami Hurricanes. You can follow him on twitter @vrp2003