Three Takeaways From Miami's 38-3 Victory Against Miami of Ohio
From the first drive, the Miami Hurricanes' effort was unmatched. The Canes played a well-disciplined game which showed a team that plays harder and with more cohesion.
Miami of Ohio struggled to provide much of a fight to prove which school is the real Miami, in large part because of the Hurricane defense. Here are three takeaways from the Hurricanes' first victory of the season.
Miami's rushing attack is the real deal
Each of Miami's four running backs who touched the ball earned themselves a carry of 15 or more yards. Three of them scored a touchdown. This running back room is diverse in its abilities and each back complements the other well.
Henry Parrish Jr. was the leading rusher with 90 yards and a touchdown while averaging 10 yards per carry.
Freshman tailback Mark Fletcher Jr. scored a touchdown in his debut to go along with 76 yards from nine carries.
Ajay Allen, the transfer from Nebraska, didn't reach paydirt, but he showed that he is a hard runner with good vision. He had 47 yards on the ground.
Veteran tailback Don Chaney Jr. made his presence felt with a bruising 20-yard touchdown which saw him break two tackles. Having all four running backs in the fold is extremely valuable for the offense. New offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson wasted no time showcasing their abilities.
Miami's new-look offensive line looked the part as they paved the way for 250 rushing yards. The Hurricanes had no rushes for negative yards except for a one-yard sack on freshman quarterback Emory Williams.
Lance Guidry's defense is fun to watch
The Hurricanes held the RedHawks to under 100 total yards in the first half and just 215 total in the game. The stunts and wrinkles that new defensive coordinator Lance Guidry called in his first game in a green and orange polo were some to be elated at.
The Hurricanes were stout on third and fourth down. The Hurricane defense held the RedHawks to 2-12 on third-down conversions and stopped Miami of Ohio on all three of its fourth down attempts.
MORE CANES: Miami's 'D' Dominates The RedHawks
Miami's run defense was stifling, for it held Miami of Ohio to only 51 yards on the ground and two yards per carry. The Hurricanes were making plays behind the line of scrimmage as well. Miami had six tackles for loss and sacked RedHawks quarterback Brett Gabbert three times.
The majority of success for Miami of Ohio came in the second half, and when Miami benched its starters. However, throughout the entire ballgame, the Hurricanes flew to the ball and tackled better than anticipated.
The offensive play-calling was dialed down
And, that was to be expected. The difference from preceding years is that Miami executed the game plan regardless of play calling. The only notable error in the ballgame on offense was an errant throw by quarterback Tyler Van Dyke which resulted in an interception. It was one of his two throws that went beyond 20 yards.
Van Dyke didn't push the ball down the field much like fans may have pleased, but there was good reason not to. For one, the quick outs and screens were working smoothly. Two, the run game was excelling, so there wasn't as much of a need to throw deep.
The set up, execution, and run-after-catch during wide receiver screens were impressive, including Colbie Young's 44-yard touchdown.
It would come to no one's surprise, if come Sep. 9, the offense looks much different than it did on Sep. 1. That's especially relating to the passing game. Miami will probably have some new packages for Texas A&M.
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