Hurricanes’ losses mean day games for now, and no national TV
As expected, after four consecutive losses, the next two Miami games will be played early in the day — and not televised nationally.
The Hurricanes are back home Saturday against Pittsburgh at Hard Rock Stadium, with the kickoff set for 12:30 p.m. and televised regionally by the ACC network.
On Monday, the Canes’ day off, the ACC announced that the Nov. 12 Miami at Virginia game will kick off at 2 p.m. in Charlottesville — also to be televised regionally.
Pittsburgh (5-3, 2-2 ACC) is coming off a 39-36 loss to Virginia Tech last Thursday and has wins over Villanova, Penn State, Marshall, Georgia Tech and Virginia.
Miami (4-4, 1-3) must win two of its remaining four games — Pitt, at Virginia, at North Carolina State and Duke — to qualify for a bowl berth.
“Right now we’re not looking at a bowl game,’’ receiver Stacy Coley said after the loss at Notre Dame. “We’re just trying to win and stay focused on the next game.”
Coley lamented about penalties. The Canes are 117th in “fewest penalty yards per game,’’ averaging nearly 70. That means that of the 128 teams in the NCAA’s FBS rankings, Miami is 12th worst in penalty yards per game.
On Saturday, the Canes were flagged 10 times for 86 yards compared with seven times for 53 by the Irish.
▪ Miami Herald contributor Peter Ariz of CanesInSight.com reported that senior cornerback Adrian Colbert injured his forearm against Notre Dame and will have “a procedure’’ sometime this week. That would be another blow for the Hurricanes, who have had several defensive players injured this season, including Colbert, who had returned from knee surgery. Colbert had a strong game Saturday, with two pass breakups, a tackle for loss and six total tackles.
UM coach Mark Richt said Monday night on Hurricane Hotline that his team “hurt’’ from the loss, and that everybody involved with the program feels the pain.
“The good news is the attitude they had toward it,” Richt said. “These guys didn’t fold at all. They fought. It will turn around. When will it turn around? I don’t know. But it will.’’
This story was originally published October 31, 2016 at 8:05 PM with the headline "Hurricanes’ losses mean day games for now, and no national TV."