Hurricanes Downgraded to “Tropical Storms,” MTSU Blue Raiders Thrash UM 45-31

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MTSU Blue Raiders Thrash UM 45-31

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Canes came out this Saturday afternoon looking for vengeance after a lackluster performance last week versus a presumably superior Texas A&M team. A thunderstorm delay, pursuant to Tropical Storm Ian, could only prevent the Hurricanes from lining up against the Blue Raiders for about 20 minutes after scheduled kickoff time, as Miami expected to give Coach Mario Cristobal a must-needed bounce-back win on his 52nd birthday.

However, the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders proved that they are not an opponent to be overlooked. (And, not to toot my own horn, but I kind of called this last week.)

Miami (2-1) needs to bring energy early on because this MTSU team (2-1) is a feisty opponent looking to capitalize early on the U’s first-half struggles.#CanesFootball #MIAvsMTSU

— Osky Serbin (@OskySerbin) September 19, 2022

Middle Tennessee now moves to 3-0 all-time against the Miami Hurricanes. Its win today is inarguably more impactful than its last win against the U back in 1932. After kicking off to start the game and forcing a Blue Raiders punt, the Hurricanes’ offense began its opening drive with a Tyler Van Dyke interception. On a stick concept, Van Dyke stared down TE Will Mallory and MTSU’s Decorian Patterson undercut the route to secure an easy interception. The Canes’ defense held strong and the Blue Raiders chipped in a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead.

However, on the Hurricanes’ next drive, Tyler Van Dyke’s second pass of the game was tipped, intercepted, and returned for a 15-yard touchdown, all by MTSU DE Zaylin Wood. The Blue Raiders took advantage of its early two-possession lead over the “Tropical Storms,” never looking back. The Blue Raiders maintained their 14-point lead for the majority of the game. On Miami’s 3rd drive, RB Jaylon “Rooster” Knighton fumbled the ball away to MTSU. But Canes’ S Kamren Kinchens picked off MTSU’s Cunningham immediately in retaliation, and Andy Borregales put 3 on the board for Miami in the 1st quarter.

RS-SR QB Chase Cunningham BALLED OUT, going 16/25 for 408 yards and 3 touchdowns. The 5’11” 188-pound Cunningham channeled his inner Doug Flutie down in Miami Gardens, connecting twice with WR DJ England-Chisolm for long touchdowns of 71 and 98 yards. WR Elijah Metcalf added another long receiving score, catching a 69-yard touchdown. Cunningham and RB Frank Peasant each added a score on the ground for the Blue Raiders.

This Miami secondary looked like burnt toast, allowing a number of big plays in man coverage. The offense wasn’t any better, as fans at Hard Rock Stadium were chanting for backup QB Jake Garcia to enter the game in the 2nd half. The C-USA powerhouse (I’m being sarcastic if you haven’t noticed) outgained the Hurricanes 507 to 367 yards and won the turnover battle 3 to 1.

Although Gattis’ initial game plan was likely thrown off the rails by Van Dyke’s early interceptions, the Canes’ offense failed to spread the field. The Middle Tennessee defense looked content, overloading the box on multiple occasions, forcing Miami’s QB and WRs to execute its 1-on-1 matchups. It seemed like every drive resulted in a 3rd & long for the Hurricanes, and it took forever for the Canes to open up the playbook. Van Dyke did not throw another interception for the 30 passes following his first 2 that were interceptions, but he was very inconsistent in getting the ball to his open receivers. Several concentration drops also didn’t help TVD.

Early in the 2nd quarter, the Blue Raiders’ offense went the length of the field in only two plays: a huge gain on a WR screen from its own 6-yard line set Cunningham up for his 9-yard TD rush. The Canes eventually closed out the first half by squeaking out a 15-play, 87-yard TD drive. RB Henry Parrish capped it off with his 5th TD of the year, a 6-yard reception from Van Dyke.

The deathly silence at the Rock eventually dissipated as fans were rejuvenated after their calls for backup QB Jake Garcia were answered. Garcia stepped in for the Hurricanes in the 3rd quarter and immediately drove Miami down for a touchdown. The crowd’s energy definitely seemed to aid the Canes’ defense on its next drive, racking up back-to-back sacks to force a Middle Tennessee punt. However, Miami could not punch the ball into the endzone, and the Blue Raiders immediately capitalized on another Canes’ turnover on downs with a 98-yard touchdown strike. This last score seemed to suck the remaining energy out of the stadium and the Canes rolled over and took the loss.

TAKEAWAYS
Sloppy. Sloppy. Sloppy.

Don’t want to discredit the Blue Raiders because they came to play and proved themselves. On the other hand, the Canes seem to have regressed. Although several injuries to key starters (including Van Dyke’s go-to guy in slot WR Xavier Restrepo) shook up the Canes’ lineups, Miami clearly underestimated MTSU and did not adequately prepare. Hopefully, this game acts as a wake up call for the U as they enter its ACC schedule. The matchups will only continue to get tougher.

WHAT’S NEXT?
While the ruthless Miami fans will continue to create more controversy surrounding the starting QB position, Coach Cristobal and his players did not fuel the fire. The “Tropical Storms” look to use this Bye Week to see what went wrong, and they’ll get back to work to face North Carolina in two weeks. UNC just lost to Notre Dame, but the Tar Heel offense can put up some points. This Canes defense has lots to clean up if it wants to remain competitive, especially against better competition.

Coach won’t throw TVD under the bus, but holds himself and team responsible. @FootballHotbed @Brandon_Odoi pic.twitter.com/8z4T4aD6Jg

— Osky Serbin (@OskySerbin) September 24, 2022

Mario gives credit to MTSU and “tells his team the truth.” pic.twitter.com/pIMbSxTlAF

— Osky Serbin (@OskySerbin) September 24, 2022

Big plays were simply busted man coverages. Coach credits MTSU passing attack. @FootballHotbed @Brandon_Odoi pic.twitter.com/kZKiL3a5ks

— Osky Serbin (@OskySerbin) September 24, 2022

#CanesFootball S Kamren Kinchens sums up the loss. @FootballHotbed @Brandon_Odoi pic.twitter.com/5Jq7Apz71X

— Osky Serbin (@OskySerbin) September 25, 2022