Miami RBs Limited by Tar Heels; Canes Drop 3rd Straight vs. UNC 27-24

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“Hope is a waking dream.”

Aristotle

Aristotle once called hope a “waking dream.” He assumed that hope is an act of the imagination that is so compelling that we believe it to be real, just like when we are captivated by the apparent reality of a dream during sleep. With Canes fans, however, they know that they’re still asleep. The past two decades of this once-dominant program have been filled with cries that this will be the year that “the U is back.” I digress.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — “Super Mario” Cristobal and the Canes collected themselves after the Bye Week and returned to Hard Rock Stadium to face FBS touchdown leader Drake Maye and the UNC Tar Heels. Josh Gattis’ Canes offense was stagnant for its first few drives with the Canes succumbing to a 14-0 deficit in the first quarter. (Oh brother, here were go again…)

The key early on was UNC’s aggressiveness: Mack Brown went for it on 4th down several times and Canes fans groaned as Cristobal often punted in similar 4th & short situations.

First, Maye capped off a 95-yard drive by connecting with WR J.J. Jones for a 74-yard touchdown.

Drake Maye to JJ Jones 74 yd TD 🔥 pic.twitter.com/VGRUPbEVwd

— tarheelupdate (@tarheelupdate) October 8, 2022

Miami struggled to run the ball all day long. The Tar Heels’ defense limited Miami’s three-headed-monster Parrish Jr., Knighton, and Franklin Jr. to a measly 40 yards off 18 carries (2.22 yards per carry… disgusting).

Mack Brown’s gunslinger mentality must have rubbed off on Cristobal, however, as the Canes appeared to become more aggressive, matching the tone set by the Hall-of-Fame head coach.

Canes QB Tyler Van Dyke established a rapport with TE Will Mallory towards the end of the 1st half, and TVD cut UNC’s deficit to 7 with a key Key’shawn Smith receiving touchdown.

.@Tyler_Van_Dyke with a 20-yard touchdown pass to @_ksmith_5

UNC 14, Miami 7 | 5:50 2Q pic.twitter.com/HMYdIPCbKn

— Canes Football (@CanesFootball) October 8, 2022

Drake Maye answered by converting a 4th & 8 to put the Tar Heels in the red zone with under two minutes in the half. Then, this happened:

HOW WAS THIS A TD!? 😱

(via @accnetwork) pic.twitter.com/DLCYEiBGbo

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 8, 2022

But Van Dyke wouldn’t be outshined by Maye in front of the fans to whom he owed an apology. TVD not only converted a 4th down with only 0:34 left in the half, but he displayed some Patrick Mahomes-esque stiff-arm sidearm magic to find a wide-open Henry Parrish Jr. in the endzone. Only two plays later, LB Keontra Smith intercepted a rare forced pass by Drake Maye to set up a Borregales FG to put the Canes within 4 at halftime.

.@Tyler_Van_Dyke with the stiff arm AND the TD throw 💯🤩 @CanesFootball pic.twitter.com/Rsb381BmQR

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) October 8, 2022

Maye came into today’s game with only 1 INT. The Canes’ defense picked Maye off TWICE.

Tyler Van Dyke arguably silenced his doubters on Saturday. Van Dyke finished the first-half 20/25 for 289 yards, including that tremendous touchdown pass to Henry Parrish Jr.

UNC dominated time of possession in the second half, and Miami’s best opportunity to tie the game came late in the 4th quarter. Van Dyke led the Hurricanes’ offense down the field with authority, and drama ensued when JUCO-transfer WR Colbie Young stepped up to make two HUGE plays, including his first touchdown as a Cane to cut the deficit to 3.

Colbie Young 1st TD as a Cane pic.twitter.com/LrxDfVNztu

— Grant (@NMDgrant) October 8, 2022

Miami appeared to successfully recover the subsequent onside kick, but an illegal touching penalty negated the call. Nevertheless, UNC’s offense stalled, and the Canes had one last chance to either play for overtime with a field goal or win the game outright. TE Jaleel Skinner failed to get out-of-bounds, and with no more timeouts, Van Dyke forced an errant pass and the Tar Heels intercepted it to clinch the win.

TAKEAWAYS:

1. Even though the Canes got off to a slow start and couldn’t run the ball, it was at least nice to see Tyler Van Dyke seem to get some of his mojo back. Van Dyke was much more decisive, making quick throws to his weapons and allowing them to make plays in space. TVD also did a better job this week sitting back in the pocket, identifying blitzers, and confidently delivering to the open man. If TVD can play like this for the remainder of the season, he may not only salvage his own rapidly declining draft stock but give the fans a reason to care about the rest of this disastrous season. (On a side note, I’m usually a pretty cynical guy… maybe I’ve been let down one too many times which can make it difficult to stay hopeful. Regardless, I’m going to have to explore whatever Tyler Van Dyke has been doing to improve his “positivity.” If there’s one thing I know about football, it’s that good vibes and rainbows create wins, not execution and accountability. The most frustrating thing about this team is the lack of emotion, urgency, and accountability. I understand Cristobal not wanting to seem in over his head, wanting to seem like he has this team under control, but I would have liked to see some more emotion and frustration from the players. There’s no need to throw anyone under the bus, but I’m wondering: At what point in the season will the players become so fed up with losing that we get an actual “soundbite”?)

   TVD has been working on his “positivity” this past week… @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/aoaHP3MM9q

   — Osky Serbin (@OskySerbin) October 9, 2022

2. Injuries to Miami’s offensive line undoubtedly stunted its potential success in the run game. In my opinion, Henry Parrish Jr. has been the Canes’ offensive MVP. However, even Derrick Henry would struggle to find success consistently running hard into a wall of defenders. After the game, Cristobal said that a lot of times it looked like there was a gaping hole, but then the play would (mysteriously) result in only a gain of a yard or two.

   “We’re out of sync in the run game.” @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/vQa9FpHZGu

   — Osky Serbin (@OskySerbin) October 9, 2022

   Mario comments on the (lack of a) run game. @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/7rH6BM4dYM

   — Osky Serbin (@OskySerbin) October 9, 2022

3. Next week, the Canes (2-3) go back on the road to play Virginia Tech (2-4). The outcome of this game should give Miami fans a better idea of where this team stands in the ACC. Hanging with the fast-paced UNC offense is one thing, but failing to put up over 24 points when Van Dyke threw for almost 500 yards is undoubtedly disappointing, especially when considering that UNC’s pass defense is among the worst in the FBS (ranked 102nd of 131 going into Saturday’s game).

FINAL | UNC 27, Miami 24

Miami