Keys to a Miami Hurricanes Win: Week 4
The Miami Hurricanes are coming off their first loss of the season at the hands of Texas A&M and the first road bump in the Mario Cristobal era. That game has been talked to death and now it's finally time for some new competition. This Saturday, the Canes host the MTSU Blue Raiders on their home field at Hard Rock Stadium, hoping to get back into the win column.
MTSU's much closer to Southern Miss than they are to Texas A&M, but that doesn't mean this will be a cake walk. After all, Southern Miss was leading Miami for a portion of that first half. Here's what the Hurricanes need to do in order to right the ship and cruise to victory.
Key #1: Control the line of scrimmage
It's become clear that, no matter what wrinkles offensive coordinator Josh Gattis has in store, the Hurricanes are going to be a power football team at heart. If that's going to work, they've got to dominate the trenches, on both sides of the ball.
The Canes offensive line put on a good showing against the Aggies powerful pass rush last weekend, and they'll need to continue that here. This should be a game where the front five bulldozes the Blue Raiders. On the other side, the defensive front seven took a big step forward against A&M.
Although they allowed 17 points, 7 of those were basically a freebie off a fumble and Miami looked tough to move the ball against. The more the offense can run the ball and keep possession, the fresher the defense will be on the field.
Key #2: Get young receivers involved
The Canes are depleted at receiver after injuries to main targets Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George, which means that quarterback Tyler Van Dyke is going to need some of the younger pass catchers to step up. It was evident last week that the chemistry between Van Dyke and the receivers isn't where it needs to be, but that's been the focus of practice this week.
An opponent like MTSU would be an ideal opportunity to get inexperienced route runners like Romello Brinson and Colbie Young some snaps, as well as freshman tight end Jaleel Skinner. They'll need to be firing on all cylinders when they open up ACC play against North Carolina in Week 6.
Key #3: Score Touchdowns
It's a bold strategy, but it just might work. All kidding aside, the Hurricanes haven't touched pay dirt since the third quarter of Week 2 against Southern Miss. It's not exactly a drought that's on par with the Dust Bowl, but it's a drought nonetheless and Miami needs to end it quickly.
They went to the red zone four times last week against Texas A&M and were never able to punch it in. Cristobal and company don't have to score on every drive against the Blue Raiders, but it would certainly help optics and create some momentum going into the bye week.
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