Defensive deficiencies resurface in Hurricanes' loss to Nebraska
After Week 1, fans blamed the offense and special teams. After Week 4, the defense received the brunt of criticism.
No matter which way you look at it, the University of Miami sits at 2-2 with its Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division opener this Saturday against Duke at Sun Life Stadium.
In both losses -- on the road at Louisville and Nebraska -- the Hurricanes failed to put together a complete game. Those shortcomings hardly ever lead to wins over favored opponents.
"To give you an idea we haven't put it together in all three phases," head coach Al Golden said via teleconference Monday morning. "The defense played better at Louisville, the special teams did not. The offense did not. In this game our special teams coverage was better, our offense played better, even though we had three turnovers, and the defense did not. We haven't put it all together. Whether it's offense, defense or special teams it is about that and learning you don't have to go out and decide you need to make a play. You need to do your job and trust your training and that will lead to the plays."
Nebraska entered the primetime matchup averaging 47 points and 594 yards of offense. The Hurricanes knew they would have a handful with likely Heisman Trophy candidate Ameer Abdullah.
Yet Miami's unit had been trending up through the first three weeks of the season. The defense recorded 21 tackles for a loss and 11 sacks. On Saturday, they didn't collect any in either category.
The Cornhuskers rushed for 343 yards and two touchdowns. Missed tackling, a troubling issue for Miami last season, resurfaced at the worst time in front of 90,000 on the road against a run-heavy offense. Sophomore quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw for two scores, including a 40-yarder to respond to the Hurricanes' opening touchdown drive.
"There's no excuses. It starts and ends with me in terms of that," Golden said. "We didn't make them pay. It's as simple as that. We pressured close to 60 percent on first and second down and didn't make them pay with tackles for loss. ... We didn't get them off track enough, we didn't create more third-and-longs, which is certainly advantageous to anybody."
Asked whether the secondary played too far back in both run and pass coverage, Golden disagreed. He said the Hurricanes allocated pressure with eight-man fronts. When Miami did disrupt paths in the backfield, players couldn't make the play. Off the top of his head, Golden rattled off the number 70 -- as in yards after contact.
Golden and his staff feared Armstrong Jr. If he "ran proficiently," it would cause problems for the defense. That was the case as he tacked on 96 yards to Abdullah's 229.
"At the end of the day we've got to do a better job," Golden said. "That's everybody -- that's tackling, playcalling, personnel. Whatever it is we have to look at everything, learn from that, move forward getting ready for Duke tomorrow."
DAY OF REST
The Hurricanes, who didn't arrive back in Miami until 6 a.m. Sunday, had Monday off. This was determined prior to the result in Lincoln.
Players who needed treatment were expected to visit the training room. Golden asked that all guys meet with their position coaches for 90 minutes to "put the game behind."
A typical Monday consists of a four-hour period that includes a team meeting, lifting and practice. Golden wanted his players to sleep in.
"I think the biggest thing for our team because of the first four games -- the schedule we've had -- to get healed up and rested," Golden said. "... There could be a knee-jerk reaction when you lose a game like that in terms of getting annoyed and changing it. I didn't think that was what was best for our team and certainly what's not best for our players."
PROTECTING THE QB
With less than two minutes to go in the third quarter of Saturday's loss, a skirmish broke out following true freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya's interception.
Benches cleared as officials tried to separate players on the field. A roughing the passer penalty nullified the turnover, and offsetting personal-foul infractions were issued. A defender had held onto Kaaya's leg on the play.
In the fourth quarter, offensive linemen Shane McDermott and Taylor Gadbois received 15-yard penalties after Nebraska picked off Kaaya.
"I don't want anybody coming off the bench. Ever," Golden said. "And for that I'm disappointed, and I'll address that. Obviously the guys that are on the field in the heat of the battle there's really no way to communicate that during those exchanges other than to make sure you try to discipline them and communicate to them what is acceptable.
"From our standpoint the silver lining is it does mean something and it is worth fighting for and standing up for. We just need to make sure we don't cross that line. I think from the standpoint from the bench that's unacceptable and that's absolutely, positively my responsibility."
Worth noting- Although redshirt senior Ryan Williams (torn ACL in April) was available for the game, transfer Jake Heaps was the backup quarterback on Saturday.
-- Sunday's teleconference was rescheduled for Monday morning because Golden dealt with a family medical emergency.
"We've got a good staff and been trying to work as much as I can between deals here," Golden said. "Not going into specifics of it but family deal right now (I) have to work through."
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
