Orange Bowl Wraps a Season of Highs and Lows for Miami

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Brandon Odoi

The Miami Hurricanes lost the Orange Bowl 34-24 to Wisconsin on Saturday night.  A game that they had control of turned into a test of wills for Miami as their defense couldn’t overcome the overwhelming disparity in time of possession.

Malik Rosier had one of his most forgettable games in his career, ahead of an off-season that will be filled with speculation about whether or not he’ll be back and be the starter of this football team in 2018.  Partly because of performances like tonight, where he went 11 for 26 for 203 yards passing a touchdown and three interceptions.

Oddly enough, with a touchdown pass to Lawrence Cager in the third quarter, Rosier set the Miami record for touchdowns responsible for with 31. He entered in a tie with Vinny Testaverde for first in Miami history with 30 – set during Testaverde’s 1986 Heisman season.

That stat alone proves the different element (using his legs) that Rosier brought to Miami this year and gives even more hope for N’Kosi Perry and Jarren Williams’ future at Miami.

But it was a Malik Rosier interception in the second quarter that turned the tide for Miami when they were up  14-10. Wisconsin would go on to score twice and take a 24-14 lead into the half and never looked back.

“Obviously very disappointing loss. You know, I take as much responsibility as anybody. Actually more because I’m in charge of everything. I didn’t coach good enough, and we will get better,” said Miami head coach Mark Richt after the game.

After doing a fairly good job stopping the run in the first half, Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor racked up 130 yards total on the ground.

Add that to Alex Hornibrook’s fantastic 24 for 34 for 258 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions. Miami, who is second in the nation in turnover margin, only forced one turnover.

Instead, they couldn’t keep Wisconsin’s offense off the field. Final time of possession; 20:08 and Wisconsin nearly double at 39:52.

Miami closed the season with three consecutive losses and in each one, their quarterback’s play was the worst it had been during the season to date.

About Brandon Odoi

Brandon Odoi is a tenured journalist. He's covered youth football since 8th grade, high school football since 2009 and began covering college football in 2011 as a beat writer for the University of Miami Athletic programs. In 2011, he founded Football Hotbed a national multi-media platform for football across the country. He's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and spent his first five years as a professional working at ABC Television Network, ending his career as a producer in Miami. He's married with two sons and a daughter and resides in South Florida.
This entry was posted in ACC, Brandon Odoi, Florida and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.