Miami Hurricanes
ACC
Early in the season, Miami was a top ten team looking to make a run at the Coastal Division and possibly a shot at the ACC title. Things fell apart after they lost three straight games in November to significantly drop them in the standings. Stephen Morris has a lot of experience at quarterback, and Coach Al Golden has a lot of confidence in him. He started out playing well, but has not been as effective in the second half of the season. What really hurt the Hurricanes was the loss of running back Duke Johnson at the beginning of November. Miami has talent and is well-coached. They will be a handful for any opponent.
2013 Record: 9-3, 5-3
Coach: Al Golden
Coach Bowl Record: 0-1
Big Wins: 9/7 Florida (21-16), 10/5 Georgia Tech (45-30)
Bad Losses: 11/9 Virginia Tech (24-42), 11/16 at Duke (30-48)
Strengths:
It was until November that the defense gave up more than 30 points in a game. They are fast and athletic. Forcing turnovers is their specialty. They have found a way to turn other teams 27 times over the course of the season. With an offense as talented as theirs is, it puts their opponent in a tough spot. In terms of yardage given up, they are not world beaters. But they hit where it hurts. With Duke Johnson and Dallas Crawford running the ball and Stephen Morris pitching it all over the field, the Hurricanes put themselves in position to score often. They averaged over 35 points per game (they were on fire in the first five weeks) this season. Morris has a great arm. He can get the ball down field effortlessly. With some speed on the outside, Miami threw for just under 275 yards per game. There are four receivers on this team with over 300 yards receiving this year.
Weaknesses:
Unfortunately, when Duke Johnson went down, the rushing attack took a hit. Rushing was certainly a strength for most of the season. The Hurricanes rushed for over 170 yards per game. That is not a terrible number, but the one-two punch they had was hard for defenses to stop. Now they can key on Dallas Crawford and try and shut down just one guy. Conversely, the defense gives up a lot of yards on the ground to the tune of 182 yards per game. That is second worst in the conference. Since November their numbers have plummeted, but they are second to last in the ACC in total defense. They rank 12th in pass defense. If it were not for their ability to gobble up interceptions, this defense could have been a liability for most of the season. Morris has not played his best football as the year has gone on. He had four interceptions in the first five games. Since October 17, he has thrown eight, including four against North Carolina. He has to make better decisions so he does not put his defense in bad situations.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Duke Johnson, RB, 948 yards
Passing: Stephen Morris, QB, 2,868 yards
Receiving: Allen Hurns, WR, 1,138 yards
Tackles: Denzel Perryman, LB, 104
Sacks: Tyriq McCord, LB, 4.0
Interceptions: Tracy Howard, CB, 4
2013 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 172.5 (63rd in nation, 7th in conference)
Passing Offense: 274.3 (30, 4)
Total Offense: 446.8 (39, 3)
Scoring Offense: 35.9 (25, 4)
Rushing Defense: 182.3 (81, 13)
Pass Defense: 233.4 (71, 12)
Total Defense: 415.8 (76, 13)
Scoring Defense: 26.0 (57, 9)
Turnover Margin: 0.5 (28, 3)
Sacks: 2.33 (42, 8)
Sacks Allowed: 1.08 (15, 1)
Recent Bowl Appearances:
2010 Sun Bowl Notre Dame (17-33)
2009 Champs Sports Bowl Wisconsin (14-20)
2008 Emerald Bowl California (17-24)
2006 MPC Computers Bowl Nevada (21-20)
2005 Peach Bowl LSU (3-40)
*all team stats through 11/30
