Podcast: What we saw vs. what we learned in No. 15 Miami’s season-opening FCS beatdown?
The Miami Hurricanes did exactly what they were supposed to do to the FCS Bethune-Cookman Wildcats on Saturday in their opener.
It’s impossible not to feel encouraged after a 70-13 beatdown, but it’s also hard to suss out just what exactly was real and what might just be the product of playing an overmatched FCS opponent.
On the latest episode of the Eye on the U podcast, David Wilson and Susan Miller Degnan, the Miami Herald’s Hurricanes beat writer, try to figure it out before the competition steps up — just a little bit — for No. 15 Miami on Saturday against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.
The top performances in Week 1 came from the Hurricanes’ running backs and their defense, particularly in regards to turnover creation. Both of those were areas of weakness for Miami last year, but the early returns are good this season -- and Wilson and Degnan are buying what they saw last week.
Don’t be surprised if the Hurricanes (1-0) jump more than 50 spots in the national rushing rankings this year or if the defense is producing takeaways like it did in the early days of the turnover chain.
Elsewhere on the field, offensive lineman John Campbell Jr. made his case to keep playing even after star tackle Zion Nelson returns and defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor drew plaudits as the Hurricanes’ “best defensive player,” as coach Mario Cristobal put it. It’s probably still too early to know what exactly those two are going to be for Miami in 2022.
Week 2 will be another chance to figure out just how good the Hurricanes can be this year, but a meeting with Southern Miss will still only tell us so much. In any case, it’s just great to finally have some real football to talk about after nearly 10 months of Cristobal hype.
As always, thanks for listening and please continue to rate, review and subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
