After a rocky start, Miami took over Raymond James Stadium on a pristine Saturday night in Tampa. The offense, led by Cam Ward’s best performance in a Miami Hurricane uniform, was making it look easy out on the field, taunting South Florida’s defense. Meanwhile, The Hurricane defense was stellar in the second half, not allowing any points.
As the Canes’ continue to prove why they are a force to be reckoned with, here are three takeaways from Saturday’s win.
Penalties are an issue
Yes, penalties are part of the game but every two seconds, especially during the first half, the referee came onto the stadium’s PA microphone and announced a penalty on Miami. Penalties were the main reason the game was so close in the first half. They finished the game with 11 penalties for 113 yards. Miami had trouble keeping up with South Florida’s offense early on in the game which they will have to work on as they start facing more formidable opponents. Penalties can be the deciding factor of a game.
Run the ball in the Red Zone
Everyone loves to see Cam Ward throw the football, but the run game is as important. Damien Martinez and the running back room rebounded from a lackluster performance against Ball State in a big way. Rushing for a total of 146 yards-not including Ward’s 43 rushing yards. Martinez was more than effective in the red zone last night, scoring three rushing touchdowns. The run game will need to be explosive in the red zone down the stretch as they will face harder defenses.
Miami’s Defense is lockdown
Whatever Mario Cristobal said to his defensive group at halftime worked. Miami allowed zero points in the second half after allowing 15 in the first. Miami forced two turnovers and had two interceptions in the second half. They also held USF to 32 rushing yards and a three for eight success rate on third down. Defensive Back, Mishael Powell was exceptional all night, making five big tackles and catching a toe tap interception in the end zone.
Next up, the Hurricanes host their first ACC opponent in the Virginia Tech Hokies this Friday night at 7 p.m. in Hard Rock Stadium.