Orlando, FL — After a (6-7) losing 2019 season, Manny Diaz’s expectations in his second season as the Miami Hurricanes head coach were simple, do better. On Tuesday evening, the 18th ranked Hurricanes completed the 2020 season with a winning (8-3) record, their best season in terms of winning percentage since the 2017 season (10-3), yet success for the Hurricanes football program feels a bit underwhelming.
In 2020, Miami was embarrassed in big games against Clemson (42-17) and North Carolina (62-26) but had a chance to somehow redeem themselves in the Cheez-It Bowl against 21st ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys. Falling behind 21-0 in the first quarter and losing starting quarterback D’Eriq King to injury in the second quarter was too much for the Hurricanes to overcome. Oklahoma State (8-3) defeated Miami 37-34 at Camping World Stadium handing the Canes their fourth straight bowl loss.
On fourth and nine in the fourth quarter, N’Kosi Perry, in at quarterback for the injured King, threw to Michael Redding III but he was stopped short of the line to gain at the Oklahoma State 45-yard line ending any hopes of a comeback. Perry completed 19 of 34 passes for 228 yards and threw for two touchdowns and had zero interceptions.
The Canes failed to win in the biggest games of the season which confirms that “The U” is not back, but other factors signify that Miami is on the right track.
The Game In One Sentence
Miami’s defensive lapses early and late prove costly.
Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders went 27-40 for 305 yards and four touchdowns. Three of his touchdown passes went to freshman Brennan Presley. Before tonight’s game, Presley had one catch on the season, tonight Presley had six receptions for 118 yards and three touchdowns. The yards and touchdowns by Pressley were freshman bowl records for Oklahoma State. The Cowboys, playing without NFL caliber running back Chubba Hubbard still gained 418 total yards compared to 512 for the Hurricanes. LD Brown filled in with 12 rushes for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Game Summary
The Cowboys of Oklahoma State marched down the field with ease in the first quarter and moved into Hurricane territory on their first drive. On a fourth down from the 30-yard line, redshirt sophomore quarterback Sanders rolled to his left and found a wide-open Presley at the goal line. The freshmen stretched the football over the goal for a Cowboy touchdown. The two Cowboys would connect again in the first quarter for a 32-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 21-0 after one-quarter of play.
The second quarter mostly belonged to the Hurricanes as King found junior tight end Brevin Jordan for a ten-yard touchdown early and the Canes found themselves in the red zone again looking to trim the lead to a one-score game when King scrambled to his right and was hit low from redshirt junior safety Tre Sterling.
King clutched his knee and was down for several minutes before being helped off the field. King scored on a 7-yard run earlier in the drive that was called back because of a holding penalty. Backup quarterback Perry entered the game and King was helped to the locker room. The Hurricanes settled for a 22-yard Jose Borregales field goal and trailed 21-10 at halftime.
“It’s harsh,” said Head Coach Manny Diaz in the post-game zoom press conference. “For a guy that does everything right, hopefully, we’ll get good news tomorrow, that’s a difficult pill to swallow for your entire football team. The fact that everybody rallied not just behind N’kosi, but everyone just rallied together, says a lot about the toughness of this football team.”
After a 40-yard Borregales field goal on the Canes opening drive of the second half, junior running back Cam’Ron Harris (Miami Carol City) would break free for a 42-yard touchdown run. Harris finished the night with six carries for 52 yards and a touchdown. The Hurricanes would line up for the two-point conversion and Perry would find Jordan in the flat, but his stretch for the goal line would be ruled a non-score after review to keep at a two-point margin. Cowboys would add another field goal to make it a 24-19 game going into the fourth quarter.
Two clutch touchdown drives orchestrated by Sanders would seal the victory for the Cowboys. The first, a seven-play 45-yard drive ending with a five-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Stoner. The second, a seven-play 75-yard drive culminating with Presley’s hat trick, a 16-yard touchdown that would be just enough to hold off the Hurricanes. Perry did his best in King’s absence, connecting with junior tight end Will Mallory for a 44-yard pass to the one-yard line. Perry would connect with Jordan on a corner route for a one-handed fourth-quarter touchdown.
“I was ready right away, I was keeping up with every single play of the game,” said Perry. “I think we are really building something here, it’s going to be really great for us next season.”
Big 44-yard pass completion from Perry to Will Mallory sets up a first and goal from the one-yard line. Perry hits Brevin Jordan on the corner route and brings it down with one hand for the TD. @CanesFootball trails Oklahoma State 31-26 early fourth quarter. @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/3eZvjMqanB
— Marcus Benjamin (@_BenjaminReport) December 30, 2020
Year In Review
The year 2020 will historically be known as the year of unprecedented circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic raging through the country in the spring put the fall football season in jeopardy. After about a week of spring practice, all facilities at the University of Miami were shut down and life as we know it changed. Face coverings, zoom meetings and social distancing became the norm and the Hurricanes prepared for the worst with autumn approaching.
“It’s been a trying year,” said Diaz. “ I think one thing we are all looking forward to is we can get on the right side of this pandemic in 2021, you know, coming out and playing in a packed Hard Rock Stadium next year and getting back around our fans. This team, they have advanced us a level in our program. I am proud of them for that. We haven’t done everything the right way, and we respect the expectations that we all have for this program. But we’re building and I think our players see that, and you know, but there’s more to come.”
Thoughts of canceling the season quickly vanished as the ACC conference decided to start its season on September 10th with Miami opening the against UAB on a Thursday night nationally televised game. The game also marked the debut of Houston transfer quarterback King.
Against UAB, King started the season completing 16 of 24 for 144 yards and a touchdown but most impressive was his ability to make plays in the running game. During the 2020 season, King rushed 130 times for 538 yards and scored four rushing touchdowns including 83 yards and a rushing score in game one. King’s night ended with a 175.3 passer rating in the Cheez-It Bowl.
Transfer Portal Proving Vital
Along with King, Miami was able to bring in players from other teams via the transfer portal. Players, by entering their name into the portal database make themselves available to switch schools. Miami arguably was the best team in all of college football in obtaining players via transfer. Three players named to the AP All-American team were able to raise their NFL draft stock by making the transfer to the Hurricanes football program. Defensive ends Jaelan Phillips (UCLA) and Quincy Roche (Temple) were named to the 2nd and 3rd All-American teams and kicker Borregales (FIU) was the lone Cane named to the first team. Borregales (Miami Booker T. Washington) will likely be the first kicker taken in the 2021 NFL draft, Phillips likely to be taken in the first round, and Roche is projected to be taken as high as the third round. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA has allowed players to return to school for an additional season in 2021.
The Return Of The King
King, announced that he would return to Miami next season giving the Hurricanes stability at the quarterback position. Fellow Houston transfer and offensive tackle Jarrid Williams has yet to make a decision on whether or not he will play for Miami for an additional year. Williams started every game for Miami this season. Phillps and Roche opted-out of the Cheez-It Bowl and will enter the NFL draft. King after the injury did come out onto the field to cheer on his teammates in crutches with a brace on his right leg.
Showcase Games
The pandemic has put the Miami Hurricanes in the spotlight in nationally televised games all season. Following the home-opener with UAB, the Hurricanes were the featured ESPN national broadcast in games with Louisville, Florida State, Clemson, NC State, and North Carolina during the regular season. The Canes were also featured as ESPN Gameday’s showcase game on three occasions with Louisville, FSU, and Clemson.
Recruiting Trending In The Right Direction
The brightest star from the 2020 class is running back Don Chaney Jr. (Miami Belen Jesuit) who emerged as the lead back in the 2020 season. Junior running back Cam’Ron Harris started off as the lead back but the freshmen Chaney and Jaylan Knighton (Deerfield Beach) took over the bulk of the carries along with King. Chaney Jr. had six carries for 50 yards in tonight’s Cheez-It Bowl.
The incoming 2021 recruiting class gives plenty of reason for Hurricanes supporters to be excited about next season. Miami’s class is ranked number nine by most major recruiting sites and their top two signees, five-stars Leonard Taylor (Miami Palmetto) and James Williams (American Heritage, Plantation) both are from South Florida and can make an immediate impact next season. Fifteen of the 21 signees are from Miami-Dade and Broward County. The two counties claim 12 of the last 16 state championships in the last two years.
The Cheez-It Bowl marked the first of six ACC teams to participate in the 2020 bowl season. The matchup is the first matchup of ranked teams in a bowl game so far this season. The game formerly known as the Camping World Bowl and takes place at Camping World Stadium commonly known as the Citrus Bowl. The Hurricanes’ last bowl victory, also in the same bowl game (then known as the Russell Athletic Bowl), a 31-14 victory over Big 12 team West Virginia in 2016. The win over the Mountaineers snapped a six-game bowl losing streak and catapulted the Canes to a 10-win season in the following year.
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