Coming off a disappointing loss against SMU, the No.18 Miami Hurricanes find themselves searching for answers for the second time in the last three weeks. After a season that started so promising, Miami is once again on the outside looking in to make the College Football Playoffs with four games left.
Needing to rebound on all fronts, Miami (6-2, 2-2 ACC) is faced with a struggling opponent in the Syracuse Orange (3-6, 1-5 ACC). With playoff hopes on the ropes, the Hurricanes need a dominant home performance.
After an encouraging 3-1 start for the Orange, the season has gone downhill after starting quarterback Steve Angeli suffered a season-ending achilles injury in a Week 4 34-21 victory over Clemson. Since claiming victory over the Tigers, Syracuse has lost five straight games and are looking inward to end the season on a positive.
Orange head coach Fran Brown announced over the last week that team made several coaching changes, looking for anything to jumpstart a lost season. The offensive coaching staff has been shuffled around, with wide receiver coach and passing game coordinator Myles White being relived of his duties and several other coaches being moved around positions.
These changes from Syracuse have been needed, as the offense has yet to score 20 points in a game during the five-game losing streak. Following the injury to Angeli, Brown turned to sophomore quarterback Rickie Collins. Collins struggled for the Orange, throwing eight interceptions while tallying just four touchdowns and dropping four straight games.
Last week, Brown turned to walk-on quarterback Joseph Filardi, a Long Island native who committed to Syracuse to play lacrosse. Against North Carolina, a team that had not won an ACC game in nearly a calendar year, the Tar Heels (3-5, 1-3 ACC) dominated the Orange 27-10. Against UNC, Filardi completed just four of his 18 passes for 39 yards. The current state of the Syracuse passing attack should allow the ‘Canes defense to bounce back after surrendering 365 yards to the Mustangs.
Between the coaching changes and the quarterback uncertainty Syracuse’s offense has been a mess over the last five weeks, averaging 12 points per game with 11 total turnovers. The running game hasn’t been much better, with Sophomore running back Yasin Willis leading the Orange with 495 yards on just over four yards per carry.
But, in the midst of this slide, Willis hasn’t scored a single touchdown and hasn’t proved to be much of a receiving threat, with just nine catches on the year. Neither him or his backup Will Nixon have eclipsed the 100-yard mark throughout the year and will be facing a Hurricanes run defense that allowed -2 rushing yards in regulation on Saturday.
Syracuse’s coaching changes compounded with a struggling offense gives Miami a recipe to give its offense plenty of chances to move the football. Even with a couple of errors defensively, a massive concern against SMU (6-3, 4-1 ACC) was the Miami offense. Despite 433 total yards of offense, the Hurricanes only managed 20 points.
While there were several reasons for it, penalties were more than anything. There were several pre-snap and holding penalties throughout the game and the offensive line needs to address and fix it going into this game.
“So the theme that I’m trying to tell you guys is we have to quit shooting ourselves in the foot,” offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said. “We got to play a little bit more relaxed and just like just loosen up.”
This offensive line, widely considered one of the best in college football, has the ability to dominate the trenches and has done throughout the season. However, the pre-snap and holding penalties have stalled drives and killed any momentum the offense has had.
Even in blowout wins, Miami has faced issues with penalties. In games where Miami won by multiple scores, UM has still averaged six penalties for nearly 45 yards. Even looking at the dominant first three quarters against Florida State, Miami had seven penalties for 50 yards. Going into this game, that needs to be fixed.
The Hurricanes are third in the country in penalties per game with 8.6 and was extremely costly against the Mustangs. In Dallas, Miami totaled 12 penalties for 96 yards.
As for where the offense can attack, the Orange struggled defensively even before their downturn. Teams are averaging 30 points per game against SU and on the ground, it has allowed 200 or more yards four times this season, including its last two games. Syracuse’s passing defense hasn’t been much better, allowing almost 270 yards per game through the air.
The Orange can cause problems for Miami by generating turnovers, a season-long problem for the ‘Canes. This season, Syracuse has forced at least one turnover in all but two games this season. Miami quarterback Carson Beck has thrown nine interceptions this season, including three games throwing at least two picks.
The sixth-year redshirt senior quarterback will need to play a clean game but still play with confidence against the struggling Syracuse defense. In recent games, the offense has played conservative, restricting Beck’s downfield attempts since his four-interception game against Louisville. The Orange have allowed 30 passing plays to go for over 20 or more yards and Miami will have a chance to open up the offense to take shots downfield.
Several times Dawson has emphasized the need for more plays and that has been to a fault at times. Though sustained long drives help a team control the clock, going after explosive plays to get quick drives should take pressure off the offense. The pre-snap penalties from the Hurricanes hurt more when they are trying to execute methodical drives. With the ability to beat Syracuse both through the air and the ground, Dawson can open up the UM offense and explore how the team can build momentum for the rest of the season.
As the season winds down Miami has no leeway with the CFP voters to make mistakes. Any loss or a continued lack of consistency essentially eliminates UM from the 12-team playoff. The Hurricanes need to dominate their remaining opponents to end the season strong and put their best foot forward with the committee for a potential playoff push and it starts with playing their best brand of football against the Orange.
Saturday’s kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m. and will air on ESPN.
