It’s football season, which means the undercurrent of restlessness and angst surrounding Miami is as strong as ever; the circumstances change, but the mood does not. A crushing loss at Syracuse last season cost the team a shot at both an ACC title and a playoff appearance in 2024, and this year losses to Louisville and SMU have the season hovering over a trash bin.
As the air leaving the balloon makes an extended fart noise, the Hurricanes are left to figure out what they can make of their last three games now that just making the ACC title game is highly unlikely.
They have managed disappoint in a different way this season—Carson Beck hasn’t been worth his price tag at quarterback, and Miami’s offense has been inconsistent right along with him. In the team’s two losses, Beck threw a total of two touchdown passes and six interceptions. Miami didn’t score more than 21 points in either game, and one of them went to overtime.
Miami has a very talented offensive line that has been exceptional at keeping the Canes out of disadvantageous situations: they’ve allowed only eight sacks, which ranks eighth nationally, and 30.0 TFLs (sixth nationally). But that hasn’t translated into the results you’d expect—Beck’s play has been a component, but so has a ground game averaging a modest 3.7 yards per carry in league play. The whole thing is a bit confusing, Beck aside.
NC State’s defense needs to keep that ground game under control and hope it can coax Beck into a couple of whoopsies. If Miami doesn’t turn the ball over, it should be fine on Saturday, because NC State’s offense probably isn’t going to move the ball consistently against the Hurricanes’ defense, which has probably the best defensive front in the country.
That line includes one of the nation’s best edge rushers in Rueben Bain. Miami’s defense: it’s the Bain of a quarterback’s existence!
Opponents have had very little success running the ball on the Hurricanes, and (oddly enough) only Syracuse has managed to crack 150 rushing yards in a game against them. They have limited teams to fewer than 100 yards on the ground six times, and fewer than three per carry in five games.
Here at least the Hurricanes complement themselves nicely, with that success up front translating into an excellent pass defense. While they haven’t exactly faced an elite cadre of passers this year, the results are impressive: opponents are averaging 6.0 yards per pass attempt and have thrown nearly as many picks (nine) as touchdowns (10).
CJ Bailey not only needs to be great on Saturday, he needs to be great despite likely being under a whole lot of pressure. It’s a lot to ask for a quarterback to carry his team to victory under these circumstances, but barring unexpected developments in other aspects of the game, there’s no way around it.