Will the real Miami Hurricanes please stand? Which Canes will you be vs. Virginia Tech?
Will the real University of Miami Hurricanes please stand?
Are they the sloppy Hurricanes who are averaging 9.8 penalties a game, tied with Tulane and Western Michigan as the third worst football program in the 130-team Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)?
Or are they the gritty Hurricanes who fought until the bitter end in a close loss to now No. 10 Florida, despite impressive quarterback Jarren Williams getting sacked 10 times?
How about the run-deprived Canes who converted 1 of 10 third downs in their last game, a 17-12 home victory against Central Michigan, and are dead last in the FBS in converting third downs — less than once every four opportunities?
Or are they the defensive standouts who as of Friday ranked 13th in total defense, sixth in rushing defense and fifth in stopping teams on third down?
The University of Miami (2-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) meets longtime rival Virginia Tech (2-2, 0-2) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in an ACC matchup with major Coastal Division implications. Fans are contemplating those aforementioned questions, plus probably a lot more as these two once prized programs struggle. Nonetheless, the Canes are favored by 14 points.
Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz might have said it best this week when he spoke of the gradual growth of his young team and that “the reality is they’re none of those people.’’
“They’re the people that are going to show up this Saturday, and our job as coaches it to get the version that shows up this Saturday to be as good as it can be.”
One player expected to show up for the Hurricanes is backup defensive end Trevon Hill, who played for the Hokies last year before he was dismissed by coach Justin Fuente after three games of 2018. Hill went on to earn his degree from Virginia Tech, and thus could play immediately for UM as a graduate transfer.
Hill made it clear how badly he wants to face Virginia Tech again, but UM defensive coordinator Blake Baker wants Hill to stay “level-headed.’’
“I think from a personnel standpoint, he’s maybe told us about certain [Virginia Tech] guys, maybe what he thinks their strengths or their weaknesses are,’’ Baker said. “You know, he was there for three years, so he knows those guys from a day-in, day-out basis. From an energy standpoint, I keep telling him, ‘We don’t kick off till 3:30. Stay level-headed, and peak at the right time.’
“...He’s done a really good job with it. He’s been really level-headed. He’s had a great week of practice, and he’s continued getting better in our scheme every week, so I expect a big game from him on Saturday.”
When the defensive guru Diaz was asked his thoughts on Virginia Tech, which suffered its worst home loss in 45 years last Friday, Sept. 27, in a 45-10 Duke victory, he spoke immediately of Hokies vaunted defensive coordinator Bud Foster.
“Inside this building, Virginia Tech is a program that we have a lot of respect for, and let’s actually start on the defensive side of the ball with Bud Foster. He’s obviously retiring after this season, a guy that I can’t think of anybody in this profession that doesn’t have the utmost respect [for], one of the best ever at coordinating a defense. And what have his defenses always been known for? Playing extraordinarily hard, extremely tough [and] physical.
“Even if you look at the game this past Friday, Duke had 5 yards after the first quarter, you know what I’m saying? So, again, it’s like us, with young teams trying to find consistency.”
The Hokies, traditionally aggressive on defense, are 103rd in rushing defense (189 yards allowed a game) and 12th in passing yards allowed (163 yards). They also lost in their opener at Boston College, have wins against Old Dominion and Furman and are 99th nationally in total offense (363.5 yards a game).
Added Diaz: “Again, I cannot stress it enough: It is very hard to watch a team a week ago and say, ‘That’s the team that’s going to show up this Saturday,’ because, generally speaking, almost the opposite is more often true in college football and we expect to see their best effort this Saturday. I’m more concerned about our best efforts and getting ourselves right to present the best version of ourselves this Saturday.”
Though the Canes lost to fellow Coastal Division member North Carolina by three points on Sept. 7 in Chapel Hill, they now head into a series of six consecutive games against ACC opponents. The next four of those are against teams in the Coastal Division.
This will be UM’s third game of a five-game homestand.
Canes fans will be paying extra close attention Saturday to the possible addition of three players competing for the first time this season: safety Bubba Bolden, defensive tackle Nesta Silvera and running back Lorenzo Lingard.
Bolden, a prep All-American who played with quarterback/receiver Tate Martell and tight end Brevin Jordan at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High, is expected to play in his first game in nearly two years after spending his 2017 freshman season at Southern Cal and transferring to UM in the summer. Now a redshirt sophomore, he took classes at the College of Southern Nevada and El Camino College in Southern California, per UM, after transferring.
Also expected to see action for UM is sophomore Silvera, who sustained a right-foot injury in late July and underwent surgery in early August.
“Again, the more guys we have and the fresher we can stay...,’’ Diaz told WQAM on Monday. “That’s supposed to be our advantage in this league as we can wear people down with our depth.’’
Sophomore Lingard is not a definite, but the five-star running back coming out of Orange City University High has been cleared for a few weeks after last season’s knee surgery and depending on the game’s flow, could get a few carries.
This story was originally published October 4, 2019 at 9:56 AM.
