‘Put the standard on display:’ If Hurricanes want to save season, it starts vs. Syracuse
The Miami Hurricanes entered this season with big aspirations, namely competing for a national championship.
Those dreams are hanging by a thread after UM lost for the second time in the past three weeks. The Hurricanes are on the outside looking in of the 12-team College Football Playoff with four games left in the regular season and know they have to win out from here just to have a chance to get into the field.
And perhaps it’s fitting that the first team they face on this four-game run is the team that ended their hopes last season.
The No. 18 Hurricanes (6-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) host the Syracuse Orange (3-6, 1-5 ACC) on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., with the game broadcast on ESPN.
A year ago, Miami lost to Syracuse, blowing a three-touchdown lead on its way to a 42-38 loss, to end the regular season and ultimately missed out on both the ACC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff because of it.
“It’ll mean a lot to us, those returning players,” said redshirt sophomore cornerback Damari Brown. “We just want to get another win.”
And then they will need another win. And another. And one more.
That’s the position Miami has put itself in.
But it all starts Saturday as Miami figures out how to move on from its costly overtime loss to the SMU Mustangs last week. The Hurricanes dealt with a slew of self-inflicted mistakes — 12 penalties, five dropped passes, two turnovers highlighting the miscues — to land its second defeat of the season.
Now, it’s essentially all or nothing for the Hurricanes. Win every game left on the schedule — this week against Syracuse, next week against N.C. State, Nov. 22 at Virginia Tech and Nov. 29 at No. 24 Pittsburgh — or else know your season is over.
“At the end of the day, we have good people, we have hard-working people, people that have a high care factor,” Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said. ”And also people that recognize opportunity and know that the college football landscape and this thing down the stretch is as unpredictable as it gets, and that we will be one of a dozen or so teams that will have an opportunity, if you take care of business, to continue to push into the postseason now.
“All that is great, but I think we all understand that we have to take care of No. 1, and that’s us,” Cristobal added. “We were frustrated, but we’re not helpless, if that makes sense, because all of our answers are in the room. The self-inflicted stuff, we can control and there’s a strong commitment to doing so.”
They will have to do it without several key missing players. Wide receiver CJ Daniels and cornerback OJ Frederique Jr. are each out multiple weeks with injury. Running back Mark Fletcher Jr. and defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. could miss time, too.
That means players such as Joshisa Trader, Keelan Marion and even Josh Moore and Tony Johnson stepping up at wide receiver; CharMar “Marty” Brown and Jordan Lyle potentially having to carry the load in the run game; Damari Brown, Ethan O’Connor and Xavier Lucas handling the full rotation at outside cornerback; and Justin Scott and Donta Simpson Jr. continuing to get extra snaps on the interior of the defensive line.
The pressure is on.
And they’re embracing that back-against-the-wall mentality
“Pressure is a privilege,” said true freshman wide receiver Malachi Toney, who leads Miami with 52 catches and 632 receiving yards. “We’ve got to put the standard on display. No if ands or buts about it. We’ve got to go hard for this game this week. We’ve gonna focus on it week by week.”
Added safety Jakobe Thomas: “All we can control is how we play Saturday and the result of that game. That’s all we can control. Whatever happens, happens. We just keep moving forward. Can’t look back. You’ve got to come in on Sundays, see the mistakes, see the errors, fix it, and keep moving.”
As for Saturday’s opponent, Syracuse has fallen mightily from the team a year ago that went 10-3 and upset the Hurricanes to end the regular season. The Orange have struggled in Year 2 under coach Fran Brown as injuries have piled up — starting quarterback Steve Angeli sustained a season-ending torn Achilles in Syracuse’s win against Clemson, and two other starters in wide receiver Tyshawn Russell and defensive tackle Rashard Perry are also sidelined for the season.
Since that Clemson win on Sept. 20, Syracuse has lost five consecutive games, getting outscored 167-60 and not scoring more than 18 points in any of those outings.
“I can see they’re not probably where they want to be,” Damari Brown said, “but that doesn’t mean anything on our end. We’re still going to show up play no matter who they got throwing the ball, no matter who’s operating their offense. We’re just gonna come up and show and play.”
At this point, the Hurricanes have no other choice.
“I have zero doubts that this team wants to get to work and to play really, really good football because we’ve done it before,” Cristobal said. “We stubbed ourselves. So we’re going to go ahead. Ready to force forward and get to Saturday.”
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