No. 7 Miami Hurricanes — ‘highly motivated’ — are 15-point underdogs to No. 1 Clemson
When it came to kickoff time, the seventh-ranked Miami Hurricanes were favored to win all three games they played — and eventually won— this season: the home opener against Alabama-Birmingham, the road trip to then No. 18 Louisville, and the home game vs. Florida State.
Now comes a game the Hurricanes are expected to lose big.
The Canes (3-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) were 15- to 16-point underdogs to top-ranked Clemson (3-0, 2-0) on Monday. But regardless of what Las Vegas says, these Hurricanes know that a victory against the Tigers would be a season-changer in a game like the one to be played in prime time Saturday in front of a national television audience — the third consecutive game for UM on ABC’s Saturday night game of the week and the third UM game with ESPN’s College GameDay on site.
UM coach Manny Diaz went on WQAM radio Monday to discuss his Hurricanes as they prepare for the big game. The Hurricanes, coming off a bye week, are clearly attempting to eliminate outside distractions. They streamlined media availability this week by reducing player availability from two days to one before the big game. But their passion, indicated Diaz, continues to be ample.
‘Core value: passion’
“One of our core values is passion,’’ Diaz told WQAM’s Zach Krantz. “You’re never going to be great in anything unless you apply a lot of enthusiasm. We live in a passionate community, and if I was paying my hard earned [money] to sit and watch a football team play, I want to see guys passionate about what they’re doing.
“...It’s a great week for our team, for our fan base. It’s important for our team to become more accustomed to playing in these type games and having College GameDay around the program. It’s exciting but it should hopefully become something that we’re in year in and year out.”
Clemson, last season’s runner-up to LSU in the College Football Playoff national title game (and the 2018 national champion), has victories over Wake Forest, The Citadel and Virginia. The Tigers have the longest active home winning streak among FBS teams: 24 games dating to November 2016.
In 2017, the Tigers defeated the Canes 38-3 in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Motivation for Miami is a given, regardless of the ACC title game that very few Hurricanes experienced.
Matching physicality
“When you play a game like this, motivation, that’s just the cover charge,’’ Diaz said. “Now, once you get in, Clemson is going to play very hard defensively, very disruptive...very aggressive. They’re going to run every front, every coverage. They’re going to play extraordinarily hard and very, very physical. If you don’t match that you can forget about it. You don’t even have a chance.
“To me, it’s not about that. Now it’s about who can simply function in the framework of the offense and defense.’’
Diaz stressed that while “passion” is important, it can also go to extremes.
“It’s not about the [turnover] chain first, it’s not about the celebration first,’’ Diaz said. “When we’re doing it right, when someone makes a great play, that spontaneous celebration for your teammates and the reason the guys are so excited is because they know they’ve worked so danged hard.”
COVID TESTING
WQAM host Joe Rose asked Diaz, in light of “everything opening up in South Florida,’’ how much testing for the coronavirus the Canes did this past week, their open week.
“We did the same amount of testing we did during the game week,’’ Diaz said. “We still tested three times a week. I think the players got it. I think they understand. Trust me, they want to be in this game. They worked really hard for this.
“We had everybody at practice last night, had a really good practice. As you can imagine, high energy and high level of focus.”
Pitt game time
The ACC announced Monday that the next UM home game — Pittsburgh at Miami — will kick off at noon from Hard Rock Stadium and will be televised on either ABC or the ACC Network. The network will be finalized after this weekend’s games.
This story was originally published October 5, 2020 at 9:13 AM.
