‘Memories to be made in November’ for the Miami Hurricanes. What kind will they be?
Considering the angst that has faced college football programs nationwide since the 2020 fallout of COVID-19, not to mention the games themselves, the 11th-ranked Miami Hurricanes could still reach the Atlantic Coast Conference title game.
So don’t worry, be happy, Canes quarterback D’Eriq King said in so many words this week while preparing for Friday’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff (ESPN) at North Carolina State — which would be UM’s seventh game this season without a cancellation or postponement.
The Hurricanes (5-1, 4-1 ACC) are the only ACC team with just one loss, trailing the nation’s No. 1 Clemson (7-0, 6-0) and No. 4 Notre Dame (6-0, 5-0), both of whom are undefeated.
Miami, coming off a bye week, needs to win out and root for the Irish, at minimum, to lose Saturday against Clemson — and in a perfect world, lose again. In that scenario, the Canes would get a rematch against the No. 1 Tigers in the league title game Dec. 19 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Everybody has got to stay positive,’’ King said, when asked how he approaches teammates who might be frustrated, such as running back Cam’Ron Harris, whose previously stellar production has plummeted the past three games. “Right now we’re 5-1. Our only loss [was] to the No. 1 team in the country. We played horrible that game but I think right now we’re in a good spot.
“It’s November. A lot of memories to be made in November. It’s the most important month of the college football season. The fact that we’re 5-1 and still in the hunt for the ACC title game is a big deal to us.
“For me, just stay positive, man. There’s a lot of negativity already in the world. We get to play football — college football. You should be happy coming here and working and getting to play games, especially this year when nobody was expecting to play. Nobody really knew. But now we get to play and we get to practice and be with my brothers, my teammates and coaches. It should be all positive.”
King said he told Harris to “’Stay with it. It’s going to come.’ Cam is a very competitive guy. “That’s part of where his frustration came from. But other than that, I think everybody is in a good spot.”
Bye week questions
UM coach Manny Diaz has heard it so many times, but that’s because the pattern is there. The Canes have lost their past four games following bye weeks since Diaz became head coach last year. In 2019 there was the North Carolina game after the Florida opener, the Virginia Tech game after Central Michigan and finally FIU after Louisville. (Never mind that the Canes also lost to Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl after weeks of preparation.)
This season, Clemson was the previous team that followed the bye week, and few could have expected a UM victory.
“No bye weeks are the same because of where you are in the season,’’ explained Diaz this week. “An early bye week you might still go back to a training-camp mode. Later in the year you’re probably more healing your guys. This one came at the time we’re right sort of at the halfway point of the season. So we had a great opportunity to go look at who we were collectively, scheme wise and then every individual player.
“We don’t run from the bye week thing. We’re aware of, that but when you look at over the course of the two years, we have struggled more playing against teams that we have not respected, whether that was after a bye or not after a bye. And that’s why we’ve spent the majority of this year playing every week with the utmost respect for all of our opponents and just trying to present ourselves as the best version of Miami.”
Senior receiver Mike Harley, who had a career-best 170 receiving yards Oct. 24 against Virginia, conceded that yes, “we look at it, and yes, the records are there: We always lose after a bye week.” But Harley said the team is “motivated’’ and “not worried about anything.’’
“Practice this week was really good,’’ Harley said, “for the two weeks, actually.’’
NC State challenges
The Hurricanes, 10-point favorites Friday, won’t be the only team playing after a bye week. The Wolfpack also had an extra week to prepare. But unlike UM, NC State is coming off an ugly 48-21 loss to its archrival North Carolina. UNC rushed for 326 yards against the Wolfpack, which should give the Canes and No. 1 tailback Harris hope.
NC State coach Dave Doeren told reporters Monday that 6-2, 200-pound redshirt junior Bailey Hockman would start at quarterback. Hockman (41 of 70 for 531 yards and three touchdowns in four games, with four interceptions) started against UNC but was replaced by true freshman Ben Finley (13 of 20 for 143 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions).
Usual starting quarterback Devin Leary broke his leg in the Pack’s victory over Duke on Oct. 17, and the result has been a demoralizing one for NC State.
“We’ve talked about day-by-day improving for the year,’’ Doeren said. “We’re not going to go in there and make it the end of the world. We’ve handled a lot of adversity this year and this team has stuck together through all of it.’’
The Hurricanes feel likewise.
“This is a great team knowing the circumstances that are going on in the world today that we’re overcoming,’’ Harley said after UM’s last win against Virginia. Despite games sometimes being “ugly,’’ Harley explained, “We get the Ws.
“It’s not easy to win.’’
This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 9:24 AM.
