22 unanswered points was the difference for Miami over Wake Forest, and in staying in the ACC Championship Game hunt.
The Miami Hurricanes weren’t more than a light breeze for three quarters of football. Then came the fourth quarter and 22 unanswered points to give Miami a 42-14 victory.
The Canyonero Keys to Victory for Miami over Wake Forest were:
1- Win Bully Ball. The ‘Canes used thunder, lightning and flash to pull ahead of Wake in the 4th quarter. Miami rushed for 7.1 yards per carry as a team compared to WF’s 2.4 average. Thank you Jordan Lyle, the freshman RB, who hit a 61-yarder and a score.
2- Win the kicking game. Miami would have gone down as a loss in the kicking game for allowing a 100-yard kick return for a TD and 28-yard punt return… but the ‘Canes did force a fumble on a kick return which put the nail in Wake’s coffin. Andres Borregales also finished perfect on kicks.
3- Limit WF’s big plays. We’ll get more to Wake failing on offense later, but other than the kick return, one run from scrimmage and one early receiving TD- Miami did limit WF’s big plays. It does say limit, not eliminate.
The Doppler
When it comes to the stats that matter, Miami won a key category and tied or lost others. When I ran this poll on which Doppler stat matters the most, I’m not surprised at the result:
Most important ‘box score’ stat for guessing the winner (a la box score bingo)?
— imfb_blog (@IMFB_Blog) November 13, 2024
And it’s never been more evident that on Saturday afternoon. Miami won the battle of conversions finishing 7-of-12 on 3rd down and not needing to convert a 4th down. Wake however finished 4-of-14 on 3rd down and only 2-of-4 on 4th down.
The teams were even on turnovers with two a piece. Miami converted theirs into points via a pick six while WF didn’t score off either turnover.
Miami was hit with 65-yards in penalty flags while Wake Forest was only flagged three times for 15-yards.
And then the kicking game: WF had the 100-yard Demond Claiborne KR for a TD after the Miami pick 6 to negate the momentum, and Miami stripped him later which turned into points. Borregales finished 2-of-2 on FG’s and 4-of-4 on PAT’s in what should be an award winning season for him.
The Miami Offense
The opening drive was 13 plays for 84 yards and a touchdown. That’s exactly what Cristobal and Shannon Dawson ordered up for their offense- a way to keep the defense off the field. And then the lull hit. Miami settled for a FG, Ward threw an interception for no reason other than being completely zoned out, and Miami was held to another FG.
Lowly Wake Forest with the FBS’s 98th ranked defense caused the ‘Canes top-ranked offense to sputter. The ‘Canes returned from the 2nd half to punt and fumble away drives, until the levee broke.
Ward finished with two touchdowns, a very stupidly thrown interception on 7.4 yards per pass attempt. Only two of Ward’s receivers hit on double-digit yards per catch, with only two having explosives. Jacolby George caught two TD’s but was once against stupidly used as a lead blocker on a screen and got rag-dolled around.
While Damien Martinez (3.9 YPC) continued to be a ‘three and a cloud’ type of back, Jordan Lyle provided the spark needed in the backfield. Lyle averaged 16.4 yards per carry and Mark Fletcher followed suit with 9.4 yards per carry.
The offensive line allowed only one sack and one TFL on the afternoon.
Above– Not sure why Wake is giving this much cushion in the red zone but more power to ‘em. Cam’s out route lacks the zip he’s going to need in the NFL, but luckily for him the hashes are closer in the league so that throw isn’t quite as far.
Above– If you’re gonna throw this ball in there, it has to be high and away like it was. Great placement and great catch from George.
Above– Ward creates many of his problems that have led to these “Heisman” comeback performances. Turnovers vs. Va Tech, Cal and here against Wake Forest. Arroyo looks at him at the end of this like, ‘What the hell, man?!’ Just dumb sloppy mistakes that will cost you against better opponents.
Above– Keep throwing the ball to Arroyo. The guy makes plays when Dawson isn’t sticking him in the flat on a screen. Let the guy work downfield.
Above– Alex Mirabal is going no where, we all know that. But Francis Mauigoa’s development has stalled, as has Anez Cooper’s; and Samson Okunlola can’t see the field. Zach Carpenter had to be brought in because in three years a center hasn’t been developed.
Mauigoa still makes rookie mistakes, although he has cut down on his false starts this year. When Carpenter and Jalen Rivers leave I’m curious to see who steps up at left tackle, center, and potentially left guard as well.
Above– If you want to get Xavier Restrepo involved, the RPO pop pass tag is a great way to do so. Get him to settle in space between the LB and Safety. It’s a really hard concept to defend because the LB sees run, the Safety is playing him vertical because he’s a deep threat and he just settles in space.
Above– You see this type of fumble happen a lot where the blocker is shoved into the ball carrier. It’s hard to predict that one on your OODA Loop Bingo card as a receiver and thus turnovers happen. Why does Dawson keep using George as a stalk blocker? We’ll never know.
Above- Jordan Lyle comes in the game shot out of a cannon. He’s the rich man’s version of Ajay Allen. Lyle provides a nice flash spark to Fletcher’s lightning and Martinez’s thunder.
Above– Finally Miami gets to use this quick screen vs. an opponent, oh, and Dawson learned it’s best to use this when Rivers is in and not when Markel Bell is.
The Miami Defense
Wake’s 59th ranked offense per SP+ failed to score in the 2nd half. We can call that Lance Guidry adjustments or just a lack of their own adjustments altogether. Where Louisville and Georgia Tech made changes- Duke, Cal and WF did not.
QB Hank Bachmeier was abysmal and benefitted from the Miami DB’s being piss poor at catching footballs. Bachmeier finished with one TD and one INT on 6.1 yards per attempt. Two Dekes receivers averaged double-digit yards per catch numbers on the day including the busted coverage TD on Wake’s opening drive.
Claiborne got his on the KR but really was stymied by the Miami defense, and here’s why: Dave Clawson insisted on running inside which is the Miami strength. LB Mauigoa wasn’t forced to work laterally or cover in space. The CB’s and S’s weren’t forced to tackle in space. Wesley Bissainthe wasn’t forced into enough double reads, either.
It’s almost like WF was content running for three yards per carry and setting up third and four situations. Miami came away with five sacks and six TFL’s against the WF offensive line that forced itself into some obvious passing downs.
Above– We discussed in the forecast that if there was ever a time for the DL to come alive, this was it. Slow Mesh leads to a sack here and with the WF QB’s immobile it’ll continue to happen all game.
Above– This was Wake’s one big run, a 17-yarder. Mauigoa gets caught in the wash and Harris never comes down to fill the alley.
Above– The entire country knows Miami can’t handle crossing routes and WF jumps out with an early score here on one. Communication and eye discipline are at a premium on crossers.
Above– Here’s what I don’t like about screens like this is the QB only had one read here. He stares that read down which allows Powell to jump the route. Great for Miami, bad for anyone that likes sound offensive football.
Above– Guidry finally used Mauigoa as a pass rusher again and guess what- it worked. We all knew it and it took him forever to remember.
The Miami Kickoff Coverage
Above– First, it starts with the dude getting juke out of his shoes. You also have someone that’s unsure of how to get off a block that then dives at feet.
Above– no. 15 caught in a record scratch “how I got here” moment. The tracking for Miami defenders (KO is considered a defensive part of the kicking game) is atrocious.
Above– no. 16 has the angle but chooses to flatten out thinking he’s faster than he is. Claiborne burns by him for the TD. I love the diving Madden 2003 attempt though.
Above– How do you improve at tracking and angles? Repetitions. Clearly Miami ignores the kicking game when it comes to coverage. The post-Borregales world for Miami’s FG and PAT units is a scary world.
The Wrap
42-14 was the score Miami needed and hell they covered the spread but we all know it wasn’t quite as big of a margin as advertised. Wake Forest was every bit as bad as their 83rd SP+ ranking shows. Syracuse is closer to Ga. Tech’s level but as a more Air Raid style of team instead of a high school Gun T offense.
We’re going to need to see if Guidry really did get improvements or not against Cuse, and obviously against SMU if Miami survives and makes the ACC Championship Game.
It’s crazy how little growth this team has seen this season when it comes to Ward’s mistakes, the kickoff coverage unit, the kick and punt return units, and the defense on crossing routes and on outside runs.