Hurricanes make personnel changes on defense in finale vs Syracuse. It didn’t help
The No. 6 Miami Hurricanes once again made personnel changes on defense Saturday against Syracuse after also doing so last week against Wake Forest.
And while they helped early as Miami built a three-touchdown lead, the Hurricanes could not sustain the needed pressure or slow down Syracuse’s high-flying offense for all four quarters in a 42-38 upset loss at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Miami’s defense gave up a season-high 479 yards on Saturday, and that was after holding Syracuse to just 42 yards in the first quarter as the Hurricanes jumped up 21-0.
But behind quarterback Kyle McCord, who ultimately completed 26 of 36 passes for 380 yards and three touchdowns to lead the comeback, Syracuse picked apart Miami’s defense.
“They just beat us,” Hurricanes linebacker Francisco Mauigoa said. “I mean, those guys came out and played. They’ve got really good players, a really good quarterback that puts it right in the spot. You saw that today. We gave it our best out there. We came up short.”
And that was after Miami once again tried to tweak its defense to get itself in the best position to contain Syracuse.
Among the notables:
▪ Fifth-year junior Akheem Mesidor remained on the outside at defensive end alongside Rueben Bain after spending most of the season at defensive tackle. UM had Ahmad Moten and C.J. Clark as their starting defensive tackles on Saturday, leaving the trio of defensive ends Tyler Baron and Elijah Alston along with defensive tackle Simeon Barrow as part of the second defensive line unit. Alston returned to the field on Saturday after missing five of Miami’s past six games.
▪ The Hurricanes played heavily in nickel coverage on Saturday, with sixth-year senior Mishael Powell playing as the slot corner instead of at safety. Jaden Harris and Markeith Williams were Miami’s primary safeties against Syracuse, while Daryl Porter Jr. and OJ Frederique stayed at their usual spots on the outside.
Sophomore Damari Brown, who has missed 10 consecutive games with an undisclosed injury sustained in Miami’s season opener against Florida on Aug. 31, warmed up for a second consecutive week and made his return in the third quarter.
Miami was optimistic that he would return this week.
“My mom has her hands on some rosary beads right now,” Hurricanes defensive coordinator Lance Guidry said Monday about Brown’s playing status. “When we get him back, we get him back. He’s trying to get back, though. I do believe that he’s getting closer. He looked good on that field in warm ups. It’s like walking through that candy store and your mama said ‘You can’t get that.’ You’ve got that big old Snickers bar you’d really like to have, but she said we ain’t got no money for that.”
More injury updates
In other injury news, offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez was also a full participant during warmups and expected to be available to play. Rodriguez, like Brown, hasn’t played since the season opener at Florida.
Meanwhile, tight end Riley Williams did not make the trip while dealing with the flu. The sophomore this season has caught seven passes for 115 yards while primarily playing behind fifth-year redshirt junior Elijah Arroyo and ninth-year graduate student Cam McCormick.
This story was originally published November 30, 2024 at 5:49 PM.
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