Postseason-starved Miami seeks second bowl victory since 2006 to ensure winning season
It’s bad enough that two days before the Miami Hurricanes’ final game of 2019 they didn’t have a starting quarterback they could publicly divulge.
But as the Hurricanes head into the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl against Louisiana Tech at 4 p.m. Thursday, they don’t even know if they’ll end the 2019 season with a winning record.
The Hurricanes (6-6, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) meet the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (9-3, 6-2 Conference USA) of Ruston, Louisiana, for the fifth time, and first time since 2004, when the Canes manhandled the Bulldogs 48-0 in Miami. But that seems like another lifetime ago, and Miami would likely settle for any victory to ensure they finish 2019 with a winning record.
“We’re very hungry to get a bowl win,’’ UM coach Manny Diaz said. “Very hungry to put the best version of ourselves out there.
“I think that game is out there for us. I think we’ve got one more really good performance in us. I hope it’s out there Thursday.’’
Miami is a six-point favorite over the Bulldogs, which doesn’t bode well for the Canes, whose past five losses have come against opponents they were favored to defeat: North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, FIU and Duke.
Miami hasn’t won a game in more than seven weeks and fell in ugly losses to FIU on Nov. 22 and Duke in the regular-season finale Nov. 30. UM’s last win came on Nov. 9, a rousing, record-breaking performance by redshirt freshman quarterback Jarren Williams and his offense in a 52-27 victory against Louisville.
Williams threw a school-record six touchdowns against the Cardinals, tying the ACC record and giving fans hope that this was the beginning of great days for the program. But then came FIU and Duke, and the starting race was opened again to include backup N’Kosi Perry and transfer Tate Martell, who has yet to throw a pass for the Canes.
UM’s postseason games have been even more difficult for several years. The last UM bowl victory came in 2016 against West Virginia in the Russell Athletic bowl. Miami’s previous bowl victory: 21-20 against Nevada in the MPC Computers Bowl on Dec. 31, 2006.
The Hurricanes’ only other time in the Independence Bowl was in 2014 when they lost to South Carolina.
The Bulldogs have won five consecutive bowl games, tied with Wisconsin for the longest active streak in the nation.
Louisiana Tech, coached by Skip Holtz, has its home stadium only an hour away from the Independence Bowl. The Bulldogs got blown out in the 2019 season opener at Texas before winning eight consecutive games. Those game included a 43-31 home victory against FIU, which beat Miami 30-24. The Bulldogs lost to Marshall and Alabama-Birmingham before winning their regular-season finale Nov. 30 against Texas-San Antonio.
“We were still able to finish strong in the final game of the year,’’ Holtz said, “with an opportunity to get to double-digit wins. Double-digit wins was a goal that we set when we started this season.”
Tech, which hasn’t had a 10-win season since 1984, is led by 6-1, 218-pound quarterback J’Mar Smith, the C-USA Offensive Player of the Year. Smith posted a career season with 2,814 yards, 17 touchdowns and only four interceptions. The Bulldogs’ passing offense ranks 32nd nationally, and Smith ranks 29th in passing efficiency, 37th in passing yards and and 15th in passing yards per game (281.4).
The Hurricanes, whose defensive coordinator Blake Baker spent the past four years as La Tech’s defensive coordinator, are 13th nationally in total defense (307.6 yards allowed per game) and 23rd in passing yards allowed (197.9 per game).
UM got a break when Tech’s heralded cornerback Amik Robertson declared early for the NFL Draft and said he would not compete in the bowl. Robertson, an All-American, led the nation with 19 forced incompletions and ranked second nationally with 21 total passes defended. He was tied for sixth with five interceptions.
But Tech got a break as well. Four of UM’s top players will not compete in the bowl: senior linebacker Michael Pinckney, senior defensive end Trevon Hill; and two juniors — receiver Jeff Thomas and defensive end Jonathan Garvin — who declared for the draft.
All-ACC first-team Miami linebacker Shaquille Quarterman, who will extend his school-record mark Thursday with his 52nd consecutive start, has repeatedly said how important it is for him to finish his career with his teammates.
“It means everything to me,’’ Quarterman said Tuesday. “For me, it’s going out the right way. I’ve prided myself on doing everything the right way since I got to Miami. Being able to finish this chapter of my career as a Miami Hurricane is very important to me. I’m looking forward to playing this game with my guys for the last time.’’
Canes senior receiver K.J. Osborn, who transferred to UM this season after playing for Buffalo, mirrored Quarterman’s thoughts.
“It means everything,’’ Osborn said. “This is my last college game. So going out the right way with the U on my helmet is a tremendous amount of pride. We want to be on the podium, like Coach Diaz said. We want to go out the right way.’’
For some, such as All-American redshirt freshman defensive end and ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year Greg Rousseau, the game will be, as Diaz has said, “a bridge’’ to 2020.
“We’re ready to go out there and just have fun one last time for the year,’’ Rousseau said. “I’m going to miss those guys,’’ he said of fellow ends Garvin and Hill. “I had a great time playing with them. I had a great time learning from them. I’m real excited for the future...’’
Redshirt sophomore running back Robert Burns, who scored his first career touchdown at Duke, longs to win for the veterans.
“We want to send the seniors out the right way,’’ Burns said. “That’s pretty much been the goal. We want to send them out on a platform with a trophy. They deserve it.’’
This story was originally published December 25, 2019 at 12:41 PM.
