The Hurricanes had a big task in front of them: Face the No. 4 team in the nation on the road. Add in the fact that their opponent, Florida State, is the team’s biggest rival, and the challenge was even greater.
Miami stayed in the game and did not suffer a blowout loss like it did last year, but the Hurricanes still came up short, falling 27-20 at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday.
Here are 10 things we learned — or still have questions about — from the rivalry game defeat:
1. Emory Williams’ gutsy night
The Hurricanes put the ball in freshman Emory Williams’ hands for the second time this year. The first time, he played because veteran starter Tyler Van Dyke was dealing with an injury. This time, it was not meant to be a stopgap measure. Van Dyke was relegated to the bench for his poor performance the past few weeks.
Williams did not have an excellent game. He missed open receivers and could not spark the offense for most of the night. He finished the game with eight completions on 23 attempts. Williams racked up 175 passing yards, more than half of which came on a touchdown pass to Jacolby George.
However, the freshman showed guts. He ran for a key first down, fighting through defenders, on a key drive. On his last play of the game, he scrambled on a broken play and dove for the first-down line. He suffered a “significant” arm injury when he landed and was taken to a local hospital.
“Gutsy. Tough,” UM coach Mario Cristobal said. “Was a little bit nervous early when it first started and then settled in. Made some big throws, some gutsy runs, as well, particularly the one where he got hurt on. But he also had the scramble where he got the first down, we ended up tying the game. Kept the drive going.”
Williams flew back to South Florida with the team, according to a statement from UM.
“We feel bad for Emory,” George said. “He fought the hardest out of all of us. And he had the most confidence. If anything went bad he would pick everybody up. He’s that young and so you can look up to somebody like that.
2. Quarterback question remains unsolved
Williams’ injury almost certainly means he will miss the last two games of the season, so the Hurricanes are potentially thrust back into a quarterback battle.
Van Dyke entered the game when Williams suffered the injury. Given the opportunity to lead a heroic tying or winning drive, the veteran completed a pair of passes to keep Miami’s chances afloat before throwing an interception on a fourth down, his 11th in five games.
“That’s just trying to make a play,” Cristobal said. I don’t see that as (a turnover).”
The question entering next week’s game against Louisville will be if Miami wants to give the reins back to Van Dyke or turn to sophomore Jacurri Brown. Brown played in eight games last year and made two starts but has not played a down this season.
That decision will have to be made in the next few days.
“(Brown is) doing well,” Cristobal said. “I would say he was even on the docket to play (against FSU), regardless of the situation. He’s played really well. He has. We felt that this was the best move for our team today, to start Emory. And should Emory have gotten hurt, that Tyler was (second string) — because Tyler had a really good week of practice.”
Defense steps up
Miami’s defense was up against a high-level, veteran offense, and performed admirably. The Hurricanes held the Seminoles to their second-fewest number of points and second-fewest offensive yards (322) this year.
“It was all about who wanted it more and our guys came out with fire,” linebacker Francisco Mauigoa said. “We were just motivated and trying to make plays. It was as simple as that.”
Miami also held FSU to its fewest yards-per-play (5.19 yards) out of any opponent the Seminoles have faced this season. UM racked up three sacks and nine tackles for loss.
“Defense played their butt off all night,” Cristobal said. “All night, those guys found a way to hit the quarterback, harass the quarterback.”
Cornerbacks hold their own
The Hurricanes were down one starting cornerback after Daryl Porter Jr. suffered an injury against N.C. State. Their other starter, Jaden Davis, was limited to 21 snaps.
Miami turned to second-year transfer Jadais Richard and freshman Damari Brown, both of whom made their first starts with the Hurricanes. Richard played 53 snaps and had a 65.6 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus. Brown played 65 snaps and had a 60.1 defensive grade. They allowed eight catches on 13 targets combined.
“But Damari and Jadais, very talented young guys,” Cristobal said. “Long, big guys matched up better with their big receivers. But I thought all the guys played well.”
Jacolby George’s big game
The Hurricanes’ junior wide receiver and Plantation alumnus had a career day against the Seminoles. He racked up a career-best 153 yards on five catches and scored a pair of touchdowns.
George’s first score came on a well-run fade route to the end zone, and he reeled in the floated pass from Williams for a touchdown. The second pass somehow found its way through two FSU defenders into George’s hands, and he sprinted the rest of the way for an 85-yard score.
“Jacolby George played big, man,” Cristobal said. “He really did. Showed that he is elusive, can make people miss. Obviously, that one catch in traffic where he ends up taking it the distance, a lot of concentration involved there and got to keep finding ways to get him the ball. He ends up going for I believe 150-plus yards on a couple of touchdowns. The fade ball, great throw, great catch, great route. Just really, really proud of him, for him, and excited for his future.”
Jacolby George | #ItsAllAboutTheU®
pic.twitter.com/vtoZFW2Zxq— GO ‘CANES! (@83_87_89_91_01) November 12, 2023
Dylan Joyce becoming a weapon
The Hurricanes turned to punter Dylan Joyce more than they would have liked to on Saturday, but he gave them a strong performance.
The freshman punter had seven punts, averaging 49 yards per kick. He had three punts of over 50 yards and had one reach 60 yards.
Joyce is averaging 43.6 yards per punt this season.
Missed tackles crop up
The Hurricanes had been better at tackling this year but they had a season-high missed 13 tackles on Saturday, according to Pro Football Focus. Their previous season-high had been 10 against Texas A&M.
The missed tackles contributed to their season-low 37.1 tackling grade. Defensive end Jahfari Harvey led the team with three missed tackles, and safety James Williams had two.
Francisco Mauigoa addition keeps paying dividends
Linebacker Francisco Mauigoa continues to show why he was such a crucial addition to Miami’s defense.
The junior middle linebacker tied for the team lead with nine tackles and notched 2.5 tackles for loss. He had two crucial sacks, as well.
Mauigoa is second on the team with 54 tackles this season and he is tied for the team lead with 6.5 sacks.
No moral victories
Cristobal was clearly unhappy during his postgame press conference on Saturday night. Part of that stems from a play that appeared to be a safety that was called a tackle at the 1-yard line. The referees’ decision left even the ABC broadcasters baffled.
“Zero, zero, zero explanation,” Cristobal said. “None. Second time. So hopefully the broadcasters got a good view of it.”
“Am I pissed?” Cristobal added. “Of course I’m pissed.”
But part of that unhappiness comes from the Hurricanes coming up just short again. Two of their four losses have been by a touchdown or less. UM had a chance to tie or win the game on their final drive, but they could not take advantage of that opportunity.
“We came here to win,” Cristobal said. “We didn’t come here for a consolation prize.”
But the Hurricanes have improved
If rivalry games are measuring sticks for programs, Miami showed that it has clearly taken a large step forward. Last year, the Seminoles pasted the Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium by six touchdowns. This year’s FSU team is better. The Seminoles are a likely College Football Playoff team, and the Hurricanes stuck with them until the end of the game.
“We mentioned earlier that we came here to win, so everybody’s upset. You wish you could play more football,” Cristobal said. “But they played their guts out the entire game. They left everything on the field, and we came here to win. We didn’t come here for anything else but to win. But they … approach every single play as if it’s the most important play of the game. And they kept stacking plays. Even when we got down by 14 points, came back and got a score then forced a punt and got the ball back again and put ourselves in position to tie or win. … We competed and we competed hard and gave ourselves a chance to win the game. Came up short.
“So they’re hurting, but they’re also enthused. They realize the truth. They realize there’s a lot of progress, and they realize that if we put together a complete game, it could be pretty special.”
Miami now has two more chances to improve their record before the season ends. The Hurricanes host Louisville in their final home game next week before concluding the regular season on the road against Boston College. They can still win eight games, which would still be a marked improvement from last year’s 5-7 record.
Our goal every game is to try to win,” Mauigoa said. “And when it doesn’t go our way, we just gotta pick ourselves up and move on. We head into every game with the same mentality, to win. And we gave it our best today. I know it was a tough loss but we’ll bounce back. We’re going to learn from it and attack Louisville next week.”
