Miami’s chaotic season about to end — but not before one last twist for Pinstripe Bowl
The end of 2018 finally draws near for the Miami Hurricanes.
And it seems only fitting that the football team that provides a steady stream of storylines will close its tumultuous season Thursday night in the city that never sleeps.
The newest storyline for the Hurricanes: Fifth-year senior Malik Rosier will start again at quarterback Thursday night against the Wisconsin Badgers in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium, a 2017 Orange Bowl rematch featuring two major 7-5 programs that were projected to have top-10 seasons and fight for spots in the four-team College Football Playoff.
Canes coach Mark Richt announced the news at a coaches’ press conference Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, although the coach said Perry was not suspended and is “available to play as of right now.”
Richt said if there are any suspensions, they will be released “just prior to game time.”
The past week was fraught with quarterback news involving social media — the possible transfer of Williams, followed by his father the next day saying he had decided to stay; a report by The Miami Hurricane school newspaper regarding usual starter N’Kosi Perry’s posting of a sexually explicit video in September; a video clip of tight end Brevin Jordan telling inquisitive fans that Rosier would start in the bowl; and finally, cornerback Gilbert Frierson in a social media video that included Perry in the background saying he was suspended.
Richt said he and others are talking to players about social media and being responsible and avoiding posting anything that might not be beneficial to individuals or the team.
With the quarterback situation in turmoil again, fans would love to see freshman quarterback Jarren Williams for the first time since his only brief appearance in UM’s home opener Sept. 8 against Savannah State. A source said Williams has been getting plenty of second-team reps at bowl practice, but Richt reiterated what he has been saying all season.
“I’m not going to predict whether he’ll get in the game or not,’’ the coach said of Williams. “There’s a possibility of that happening, but as of right now we’re not sitting here and saying there’s a certain series of the game he’s going to get in or anything like that, but he’ll certainly be there and be available to play.”
The coach said he has “a lot of respect’’ for how Rosier “has handled everything — the ups and the downs of his career, and decisions that we’ve made as coaches that affect him and affect his status. He’s always showed up to come to work with a good attitude. He’s always been a great friend to his teammates in the quarterback room and now here he is, starting his last game of his career for his team... He’s a first-class human being.’’
The bowl game might be the most anticlimactic news of all.
After plenty of preseason hype, both teams plummeted out of the Top-10 rankings and were fortunate to even qualify for bowl games — Miami with a four-game losing streak from Oct. 13 to Nov. 10; Wisconsin never winning more than two in a row and ending the regular season with a 37-15 loss at home to rival Minnesota.
The Badgers (7-5, 5-4 Big Ten) embarrassed the Canes (7-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) 34-24 at Miami’s own Hard Rock Stadium the last time the teams met to end 2017. In that game, Badgers quarterback Alex Hornibrook had a career-best performance while Rosier struggled by throwing three interceptions in going 11 of 26 for 203 yards and one touchdown.
Hornibrook was ruled out of the game late last week because of recurring concussion symptoms, and he has been replaced by 6-3, 202-pound Jack Coan, a sophomore who started three of the four games in which he played this season and threw for 442 yards (61-percent completion) and four touchdowns, with two interceptions.
ESPN college football commentator Kirk Herbstreit told the Miami Herald in a phone interview last week that results from lower-profile bowls like the Pinstripe have a lot to do with “whichever coaching staff does a better job of making sure that their team understands, ‘Hey, there are still incentives to go out here and play and finish with a win.’
“These kind of bowl games are the ultimate test of who wants to be there,’’ Herbstreit said. “You watch bowl games, and I’ve been watching them very closely for a long time, and I’m always, quick, within the first five minutes of a game, in a game especially at this level — the Pinstripe Bowl — you can tell if the cold is getting to Miami, you can tell if it’s been a long year and they’re just trying to get through it, just move on to the off season.
“And Wisconsin, you can make an argument, had as disappointing of a year as anybody in the country, based on what the expectations were when the season started. So, I think both coaches have a chore to make sure that they have an interested and motivated football team to show up and compete. And that may sound silly, but that’s reality.”
Motivation for Miami includes the potential of finishing the season with a three-game winning streak that would greatly help reduce the recent overall funk around the program and carry into 2019; avenging last year’s bowl loss to Wisconsin; and joyfully sending off defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, who will coach his final game with the Hurricanes before leaving to take over as head coach of Temple University.
“You know, they hand out a trophy at the end of the game and they call you champions,’’ Diaz said, when asked what a bowl victory could do that a regular-season victory doesn’t. “Any time you have a chance to win a championship in anything it’s a big deal. We all saw the impact of losing three games in a row to finish last year’s season.’’
Miami running back DeeJay Dallas approves of the rematch factor.
“I’m down with the whole idea of playing Wisconsin again,’’ Dallas said. “I think it will help us right our ship even more. It will help us go on a streak. Miami had a four-game losing streak [in 2016 and] went on a 15-game winning streak. If we could get this bowl game it would be big for us.’’
For UM to win, the Hurricanes must stop Wisconsin star running back Jonathan Taylor, a junior who led the nation in rushing this season and earned the Doak Walker Award with 165.8 yards a game and 1,989 yards. He rushed for at least 100 yards in 11 games.
“It’s exciting,’’ Taylor said of the matchup, “because we got their number last year and I know they’re going to come out and want to play their best game.’’
With the nation’s No. 2 overall defense, Miami leads the country in pass defense (140.8 yards allowed a game), and third-down conversion percentage defense (23.7 percent) and tackles for loss, and is ranked No. 25 in rushing defense (127.5 yards a game).
“Those guys are the heart and soul of the team,’’ Taylor said. “They’re definitely causing havoc in the backfield. We’re going to do our best to run hard, get tough yards and taken what they give us. Hopefully that will help open up everything else.’’
Miami starting safety Jaquan Johnson is one of several seniors who will be playing in their final college game.
“We’re going to give it our all when we we step out there on the field,’’ Johnson said. “It’s another chance to be in a University of Miami uniform.’’
This story was originally published December 26, 2018 at 3:29 PM.
