No. 1 Bama blockbuster: Miami faces challenge — and opportunity — in season opener
University of Miami star receiver Mike Harley listened intently this week as a TV reporter asked him about facing No. 1 defending national champion and 19 1/2-point favorite Alabama in Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. season opener at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
“Is it really just another game, bro?” came the question, after previous players acknowledged the game’s significance, but insisted it must be treated like every other game. “It is Alabama. Just keep it real, dog. It’s Alabama.’’
The fifth-year senior grinned.
“Just another game. I’ve been here five years. I’ve played Clemson in the ACC Championship. I played Notre Dame at home. I played Florida and I played against LSU. Now I’m playing against Alabama. It’s just the next stop sign in the road that we gotta clear.’’
Twenty one years have passed since Miami football toppled a top-ranked team. But the 2021 preseason No. 14 Hurricanes, most of them not born that day the Canes upset Florida State in the Orange Bowl, believe they have what it takes to knock off Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff.
Alabama has won 18 national titles, head coach Nick Saban claiming six of them since 2009 — including the one last January against Ohio State on UM’s home turf at Hard Rock Stadium. Of the opponents Harley reeled off, UM defeated only one of them, a 2017 blowout of Notre Dame. Last year, UM lost 42-17 at No. 1 Clemson.
‘Better version’
The Hurricanes, who finished 8-3 during a COVID-ravaged 2020 and 6-7 in Diaz’s first year as head coach, have been “a better version of Miami’’ with each season, Diaz said. He has faced questions since last season about how far Miami has to climb to get close to Alabama and if he feels it’s coming together.
“We still have the next three or four months to prove that out on the field, but our guys are ready to show everybody the type of team we have,’’ Diaz said. “All we have to do on Saturday is find a way to be one point better than they are. This is not a 162-game season or we don’t get to play a best-out-of-7, so it’d be weird to make some sort of comparison, let’s say, where we are in relation to them when we haven’t played them yet.
“What they have done is they’ve accomplished a lot of things that have not been accomplished in historic levels in college football. That’s just where it’s been — similar to a run that happened here, similar to a run that I was a part of at Florida State. That’s why they have our respect. But, as we know, this is a new year. There’s new personnel on both sides and we only play one game.
“It’s college football. It’s the ultimate small-sample-size sport...’’
Bama-UM history
Alabama is 14-3 all-time against Miami, including a national championship the last time they met in the Jan. 1, 1993 Sugar Bowl culminating the 1992 season. UM beat Bama for the national championship in their previous meeting, on Jan. 1, 1990 in the Sugar Bowl.
Offensively, the Tide lost starting quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist Mac Jones, starting receiver and Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, starting running back Najee Harris, receiver Jaylen Waddle and three starting offensive linemen — including Outland Trophy winner Alex Leatherwood — to the NFL. Jones, Smith, Harris, Waddle and Leatherwood were all first-rounders.
Former five-star quarterback Bryce Young, a second-year freshman who played in nine games last season and completed 13 of 22 passes (59.1 percent) for 156 yards and one touchdown, has replaced Jones.
“Watching Mac Jone a year ago was like watching a conductor conduct a hell of an orchestra,’’ Diaz said. “With Bryce Young, they’ve got a special young quarterback — No. 1 guy in the country. Quick release, strong arm, really good mobility, a really different element than they had a year ago [because] of [his] legs.’’
King factor
UM has a special quarterback of its own, as record-breaking signal caller D’Eriq King is back only eight months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament and mensicus of his right knee Dec. 29 in the bowl game. King, a sixth-year senior who began his career at Houston, started the run-it-back trend of veteran Canes returning to school instead of entering the NFL Draft. Miami fans will certainly be holding their collective breath every time the dual-threat star takes off down the field — or gets tackled.
King will have all he can handle. Bama’s defense returned nearly every starter, not including heralded middle linebacker newcomer Henry To’o To’o, who started instead for Tennessee.
“They play extremely hard,’’ said King, expected to be protected by UM’s best offensive line in years. “If you sit back there and let them tee off they’re going to get to the quarterback. They don’t make many mistakes. You’re not going to have guys running wide open. We can’t have negative plays and we gotta just keep moving the ball.’’
King has not been hit since his injury.
“Honestly, it’s the same for me every single year,’’ he said. “Play the last game and then I don’t get hit until the first game. I’ve been hit a lot in my lifetime, so I know what to expect. When I get out there, I’m going to cut it loose.’’
On Monday, Saban was effusive about King in a news conference. “He executes their offense extremely well,’’ the coach said. “He’s very comfortable in how he manages the game. He gets them in plays that have a great chance to be successful. And he’s a good decision-maker, whether it’s the RPOs, the bubbles, the smokes, the plays they run that complement the running game.
“This guy presents lots of issues, because he’s a great player and a great athlete and a great quarterback all rolled in one.’’
King said he has no goals regarding performance expectations.
“I just want to win,’’ he said. “I don’t care about stats.”
Capacity crowd
It remains to be seen how the Hurricanes will react to the expected capacity crowd of 71,000 in the wake of last year’s sparse crowds because of COVID restrictions. Most of the fans will be from Alabama, as Atlanta is a three-hour drive from Tuscaloosa.
“It’s going to be a thing now to run through the tunnel and see that place, that environment compared to what we played against a year ago,’’ Diaz said. “We’ve got to be able to handle that environment because it can be quite a distraction if you allow it to be.’’
Second-year freshman linebacker Corey Flagg, making his first start Saturday, said the big crowd wouldn’t present a problem.
“I’m from Texas,’’ Flagg said. “I played Texas football. I don’t worry about the fans in the stadium. I mean, it’s bright and shiny, but I just worry about what’s in front of me. That’s how you perform at a high level and play your best ball.’’
