What Went Right, Wrong, And Expected In Miami's Upset Over The Aggies
Last week, I pointed out the passing game as an area that needed to step up for the Miami Hurricanes. This week, Miami was able to win the game behind the arm of Tyler Van Dyke and their wide receiving trio. Despite a strong performance, Miami still has some areas that they need to tighten up before they start ACC play against Georgia Tech in October.
What Went Right: The Receiving Trio
While Van Dyke was on full display against the Aggies, and it was in large part to his wide receivers that continuously fought for yards after the catch. Xavier Restrepo put up a career-high 126 yards, putting up catches of 48, 24 and 23. Jacolby George was a touchdown machine, as his three touchdown catches all came at pivotal moments of the game. Colbie Young had a great game with six catches for 75 yards and a score, rounding out the starting receivers dominant performances.
It is still uncertain when Elijah Arroyo will join this team and how big his role is, but Van Dyke seems to have three good options of all different skillsets to go to for now.
What Went Wrong: The Special Teams Unit
If you take away the 98 yard kick return touchdown by Brashard Smith, there was a lot of lows on the special teams unit. It all started with a blocked punt, which led to the Aggies taking a 7-0 lead. Jacolby George also had a muffed punt, but managed to come back from it. Finally, Andy Borregales had a missed field goal capping off a bad first half of events. Safe to say that they'll be work on a lot of special teams in the coming weeks.
Miami was lucky that Texas A&M was not looking their sharpest, as special teams mistakes like these are hard to overcome. Penalties were also an area of concern, but the special teams mistakes were ones that led directly towards points.
What Went Expected: A More "Open" Playbook
Miami was criticized for going "vanilla" with the play-calling against Miami (OH), despite winning comfortably in that game. Yesterday, Shannon Dawson took his offense through the air and was able to cruise to a comfortable victory.
Proof of the Canes' Aggressive Nature: Miami Hurricanes Passing Game Annihilates Texas A&M Aggies
The more advanced playbook was shown in the redzone, where instead of simply running the ball Dawson used pre-snap motion to get receivers open for easy scores. Both of the plays for Young and George were beautifully drawn up down in the redzone, and further goes to show the new dynamic in play-calling this year.
While I do believe the Coach Dawson still has more up his sleeve to show, the play-calling was far more diverse this week and played a major role in the outcome of the game.
All Hurricanes Staff Predictions: Miami's Win-Loss Record
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You can find Liam on Twitter @theleftyliam where he shares news on University of Miami basketball and football as well as opinions