It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t comfortable. But a win’s a win! Mario Cristobal secured his first ACC victory as the man in charge of the Miami Hurricane football program. The Canes were hosted by the Virginia Tech Hokies for their homecoming this weekend – the disrespect – and left with a party favor in the form of a 20-14 win. On the right arm of Tyler Van Dyke the Canes were able to amass a first half, 17-0 lead, and rode that to the finish. Virginia Tech didn’t go quietly, though. The Hokies were held scoreless through the first three quarters but in the 4th they mustered up two trips to the endzone and made things interesting. In the end, a failed onside kick and a crucial first down pickup pulled the plug on the homecoming comeback in Blacksburg.
This dub couldn’t have come at a better time as the boys from “The Crib” had lost their prior three games - including a detestable loss to Middle Tennessee State. Last week the Canes had an offensive breakout with Tyler Van Dyke throwing for nearly 500 yards yet they still fell short of defeating the North Carolina Tarheels and thus began their ACC slate at 0-1. The goal of winning the ACC Coastal division is baked into the expectation pie so dropping the first two conference games would have put the team in a serious hole. Losing a string of games can be a killer to team morale and raises eyebrows for fans and recruits alike so anytime you can get a win it means something.
Nothing comes easy and the offense continued its passing success despite a number of injuries and lack of a run game. They kicked off knowing they would be without three starters on the offensive line, two of the teams best running backs, three highly regarded wide receivers, and the backup tight end. If that wasn’t enough turbulence, Will Mallory, the starting tight end and leading pass catcher, went out with an injury in the first half. Talk about having your depth challenged. The silver lining, if there is one, is that young guys are getting opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise and some are truly answering the call. Colbie Young, a 6’5 JUCO transfer wide receiver, is one such player and he’s splashed onto the scene the past two weeks. In two games he’s snagged a total of 12 catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns and against VT he went for 110 yards with a nasty one handed touchdown grab. There is much to be said about TVD, Colbie and the other receivers but there are few positive words one can say about the running backs and the run blocking. Since Week 3 against Texas A&M the run game has been anemic. Like a seesaw, it seems like only one phase of the offense can be successful at a time as the first 3 weeks saw a somewhat dominant ability to run but a disjointed pass attack. Fighting with one arm is rarely a recipe for long term success because better teams will find ways to take away what you do best.
In the winning column is where you want to be and for a team still cultivating its identity, every win is definitely a win. Being one-dimensional put Miami in tough spot today and it won’t be the last time if this imbalance goes on. This game was the first of several where the Canes really need to come off victorious - as they hope to get guys back from injury – and they can momentarily be happy with a final result. Now get back to work and beat Duke.
Go Canes.
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