Hurricanes defense was ‘dialed in’ against Wake Forest. Now comes a big challenge in Syracuse
There were points during the second half of the No. 8 Miami Hurricanes’ 42-14 win over Wake Forest on Saturday when safety Mishael Powell couldn’t contain his excitement.
“They were just running certain plays that were going to what [defensive coordinator Lance] Guidry was calling,” Powell said. “He was calling plays that I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I got the perfect call right now. I got the perfect call right there.’ It was just playing right into our hands. Just all credit to him, his film study, making sure that not only the coaches are dialed in, but then now it goes down to the players that were all dialed in.”
Miami’s defense has taken its share of criticism over course of the team’s Atlantic Coast Conference slate. Busted coverages, miscommunications, missed tackles have been far too common throughout league play. It has resulted in the Hurricanes’ top-ranked offense having to bail them out more often than not with miraculous comebacks.
The defense put together its best performance of the season against Wake Forest, holding the Demon Deacons scoreless over their final nine possessions, forcing four three and outs, two turnover on downs, logging a pick six and not allowing Wake Forest to gain more than 25 yards on any given drive after the first quarter.
“They needed a spark,” Guidry said. “They needed confidence. ... We didn’t blink, which was awesome.”
But Guidry didn’t walk into his weekly press conference on Monday with an overly big grin on his face.
He knows the real test is ahead of them: Can the Hurricanes (10-1, 6-1 ACC) maintain that high-end defensive performance against a much tougher opponent with essentially all of their goals for the season on the line on Saturday when they play the Syracuse Orange (8-3, 4-3 ACC)? Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Miami needs to win on Saturday in order to secure a spot in the ACC Championship Game against the SMU Mustangs on Dec. 7. A loss eliminates the Hurricanes from the conference title game and all but assures they will miss out on the 12-team College Football Playoff.
“You watch the film of these guys coming up?” Guidry quipped.
Here’s the rundown: Syracuse’s offense primarily lives by its passing attack. Senior quarterback Kyle McCord, who transferred to Syracuse this offseason after spending his first three seasons at Ohio State, leads the country in pass attempts (522), completions (341) and yards (3,946). He has 26 touchdowns against 12 interceptions and has thrown for at least 280 in every one of the Orange’s games this season.
(Miami’s Cam Ward, for what it’s worth, ranks second nationally in passing yards with 3,774 but has attempted 123 fewer passes and leads the country with 34 touchdown passes.)
He has a wide array of options to throw to as well, with five Syracuse players having at least 415 receiving yards and multiple touchdown catches. Tight end Oronde Gadsden II, a Plantation American Heritage alumnus and the son of former Miami Dolphin Oronde Gadsden, leads the group with 65 catches for 810 yards and five touchdowns.
“It won’t be slow mesh,” Guidry said, referring to Wake Forest’s playing style. “It’ll be fast pass.”
But that doesn’t mean they’re one-dimensional. Junior running back LeQuint Allen has 819 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns — one of 29 running backs nationally with at least a dozen touchdowns on the ground.
“Their success isn’t by accident,” Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said.
It’ll be a lot for the Hurricanes to handle on Saturday, especially with so much on the line.
So how does Guidry make sure that spark they had last weekend remains when they travel to Syracuse to close out the regular season?
“Just showing what they did good,” Guidry said. “Show them why they did good and just building off of communication and all the things we worked on in the open week [before the Wake Forest game]. They’re gonna be up against a different challenge this week coming up.”
With the way McCord plays — he can extend plays and knows how to succeed when his first option isn’t available — Cristobal said the defense can’t be “overly static” on Saturday if it wants a chance at success.
“You have to be able to do things that make them get off of their schedule, get off of their blueprint a little bit and get them out of sync,” Cristobal said.
While the secondary will be the focal point in containing McCord, the front seven will need to continue to apply steady pressure to give the backfield some help.
The Hurricanes logged a season-high-tying five sacks against Wake Forest after logging no more than three in any conference game entering last week.
“It’s physicality and pushing the pocket,” said defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor, who had seven tackles and a sack against Wake Forest.
It’s also about stepping up to the challenge.
If the Hurricanes can do that on Saturday, they will pass the final hurdle between them and their goal of competing for championships this season.
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