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CORAL GABLES — With a chance to breathe on UM’s bye week, defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio said he’s happy with how his group has played thus far.
“I think we’re top 10 in yards per play right now,” D’Onofrio said. “That’s all we can really go by. It doesn’t guarantee us anything for next week, but if you look at it, we’ve played 500-plus snaps, probably played as many as anyone in the country. We’ve played seven straight games. Give the guys some credit.”
Asked if he understands why external criticism has focused on his defense, D’Onofrio pointed to this: “The seven teams we’ve played are averaging about 450 yards per game, and we’re giving up 325 yards per game. They’re averaging about six yards a play, and we’re giving up four-and-a-half yards per play.
“Does that mean we’re satisfied? No. We could have done things better. But that’s a pretty good sample size. … Can you point to plays? Yeah, absolutely. Can you point to snaps? There’s no question. When you play that many snaps, it’s hard to be perfect. That’s what we shoot for.”
Miami (4-3, 1-2 ACC) visits Virginia Tech on Thursday (8 p.m., ESPN), with another chance to win a big game. UM is 0-3 on the road so far. All the games have come at night on national TV.
“All we can judge is who we’ve played and what we’ve done so far,” D’Onofrio said. “And we’ve played a lot of good teams on offense, and the stats would say right now we’re moving in the right direction.”
CORAL GABLES — With a chance to breathe on UM’s bye week, defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio said he’s happy with how his group has played thus far.
“I think we’re top 10 in yards per play right now,” D’Onofrio said. “That’s all we can really go by. It doesn’t guarantee us anything for next week, but if you look at it, we’ve played 500-plus snaps, probably played as many as anyone in the country. We’ve played seven straight games. Give the guys some credit.”
Asked if he understands why external criticism has focused on his defense, D’Onofrio pointed to this: “The seven teams we’ve played are averaging about 450 yards per game, and we’re giving up 325 yards per game. They’re averaging about six yards a play, and we’re giving up four-and-a-half yards per play.
“Does that mean we’re satisfied? No. We could have done things better. But that’s a pretty good sample size. … Can you point to plays? Yeah, absolutely. Can you point to snaps? There’s no question. When you play that many snaps, it’s hard to be perfect. That’s what we shoot for.”
Miami (4-3, 1-2 ACC) visits Virginia Tech on Thursday (8 p.m., ESPN), with another chance to win a big game. UM is 0-3 on the road so far. All the games have come at night on national TV.
“All we can judge is who we’ve played and what we’ve done so far,” D’Onofrio said. “And we’ve played a lot of good teams on offense, and the stats would say right now we’re moving in the right direction.”
