Miami Hurricanes defense gives Manny Diaz an underwhelming send-off in Pinstripe Bowl

The game plan for the Miami Hurricanes was always going to be simple. The Wisconsin Badgers went into the Pinstripe Bowl with a backup quarterback and a passing attack which wasn’t even so good when the starter was in there. If Miami could slow down Jonathan Taylor, the Hurricanes could probably shut down Wisconsin’s offense in the Bronx.

Miami could not slow down Taylor. The Doak Walker Award winner gashed the Hurricanes’ defense, racking up 205 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries to lift the Badgers to a 35-3 win at Yankee Stadium and it could’ve been worse — they also missed field goals of 39 and 41 yards.

In Manny Diaz’s final game as Miami’s defensive coordinator before he leaves to become the Temple Owls’ coach next season — and the final game for at least four senior starters — the Hurricanes’ defense coughed up 406 total yards.

In the worst season of the Richt era, Miami’s defense was a consistent bright spot. Even if the Hurricanes (7-6, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) got to feast on a relatively weak ACC Coastal division schedule, Miami finished the regular season with the No. 1 pass defense in the country, No. 1 third-down defense and ranked No. 1 in tackles for a loss. The Hurricanes posted the No. 2 overall defense in the country, ranking behind only the Michigan Wolverines in yards allowed per game.

It was a group anchored by seniors like Johnson, fellow defensive backs Michael Jackson and Sheldrick Redwine, and defensive linemen Gerald Willis and Tito Odenigbo. There were juniors who elevated their NFL Draft stock, like defensive lineman Joe Jackson and linebackers Shaquille Quarterman, Michael Pinckney and Zach McCloud. And it was all led by Diaz, who will now take over at Temple.

An almost-entirely disappointing season in Coral Gables ended with even the most steady parts of the roster faltering on the postseason stage.

“Take care of each other. It ain’t over,” defensive lineman Jonathan Garvin said after the loss. “Don’t let this define us. The term picking up the pieces is an exaggeration. I don’t think its that bad. It may seem that way. Social media can make it seem that way, but not picking up the pieces. We’ve just got to bring everybody together, keep it together and be strong and correct the little things that make a big difference. Little things, like when Chad [Thomas] and them were here. Leadership that aren’t present now that we have to bring it back.”

Taylor, of course, was the centerpiece, accounting for nearly half of Wisconsin’s yardage, but the Badgers didn’t cross the 400-yard mark just because of one running back.

Wisconsin opened the game with a 35-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jack Coan to Kendric Pryor. Defensive back Jhavonte Dean got burned by Pryor and Johnson misread the play in the back end to let the wide receiver score easily.

Then Taylor took over. Quarterback Malik Rosier threw an interception on Miami’s first offensive play, letting the Badgers (8-5, 5-4 Big Ten) start their second drive at the Hurricanes’ 7-yard line. Taylor scooted in for a touchdown on the first play of the drive to give Wisconsin a seemingly insurmountable 14-0 lead.

“I think in a game like this,” coach Mark Richt said in his postgame press conference, “the running game is the quarterback’s best friend. They were built for that kind of a game. They executed well. They got obviously one great back, and the other back’s pretty darn good, too.”

By halftime, the All-American had run for 107 yards on 17 carries, becoming the 29th player in history to run for 2,000 yards in a single season.

Taylor didn’t find the end zone again, but he was still the driving force for Wisconsin. The Badgers opened the second-half scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run after Taylor carried them to the red zone. On a four-play drive, Taylor ran the ball three times for 57 yards, buoyed by a 41-yarder.

In the fourth quarter, the sophomore helped solidify the rout. Quarterback N’Kosi Perry threw Miami’s fourth interception on the Hurricanes’ first drive of the period, giving the Badgers the ball at Miami’s 37-yard line. Taylor got Wisconsin moving with an 18-yard run, then picked up another 3. Coan scored on a 7-yard keeper a play later to stretch the Badgers’ lead to 28-3.

“Obviously, J.T. was big-time,” Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said. “It was fun to see.”

This story was originally published December 27, 2018 at 8:18 PM.