Well....a win is a win, right? But it has to be said, that the Hurricanes overtime 29-23 victory over the scrappy Virginia Cavaliers had a decidedly unwhelming feel even with the dramatic nature of the the game. Miami is now 6-2 but for some reason it doesn't feel as good as it should.
Perhaps because there is a realization that they escaped today at Hard Rock Stadium, and quite frankly, this team really didn't play all the well. And the offense especially was flat and uninspired.
You could say that an emotional letdown was expected after last weekends big win over Clemson but they were still playing at home against a 19 point underdog.
But hey, after last season -- and really the last two decades -- we should savor all the victories that come our way. Yet there is an elephant in the room that can not be ignored. Tyler Van Dyke has become a huge liability. After a strong start to the season, he is now a guy that seems unsure of himself as he releases the ball, and quite frankly, the fan-base collectively holds it's breath praying that these passes don't end up in the oppositions hand.
The offense which at one time was so dynamic and explosive, is now slow, lethargic, boring and unproductive. As Miami took a knee -- yeah, I know, I know -- to take the game into overtime, they had 27 seconds and all three timeouts. But to be frank, the staff simply doesn't trust TVD at this moment. And I don't blame them. I was actually relieved that they took this strategy.
And it was telling that in overtime, after giving up a field goal, that the Miami game winning drive consisted of three Mark Fletcher runs. The last one a highlight reel rampage from 11 yards that saw him shrug off one defender, and then keep his balance along the sideline to crash into the endzone. It looks to be the first of many highlight reel plays from the true freshman.
At this moment Fletcher looks like he should be the focal point of this offense for the time being. But the reality is that the vaunted Miami offensive line really didn't get that much movement upfront today. The Miami run game only produced 113 yards on 26 carries. What was frustrating to see was UVa crashing down defenders on early downs, and Miami not exploiting that with early shots downfield. But again, maybe Shannon Dawson understands what he has at quarterback.
Now, it has to be mentioned that Van Dyke is/was banged up, and there was a lot of chatter that perhaps he would be better served taking another week off. As of this morning, no one outside the staff really knew who would be Miami's starting quarterback on this day. Would Miaml have been better served going with Emory Williams once again?
For the day, Van Dyke was 20-for-30, 163 yards, and two interceptions. There was another throw or two that was perilously close to being picked off. You can absolutely make an argument that he should not be out there in his current physical state. The argument could be made that while it's easy to blame the players for their individual performances, the coaching staff that keeps throwing them out there bear some responsibility too.
Regardless, Van Dyke wasn't very good, fortunately he got bailed out by the likes of Andres Borregales and Fletcher.
