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Richt’s review: Miami Hurricanes coach on Turnover Chain, Bethune-Cookman win, Arkansas State | Canes Watch
Centennial Bank Stadium, a 30,964-seat building in Jonesboro, Ark., is not the largest place Miami will play this season. In fact, it is the smallest.
At this point in the year, it will be the unfriendliest.
With three road games in their first five outings, UM worked all summer on preparing for loud crowds. They expect to meet one Saturday at Arkansas State (3:30 p.m., ESPNU).
This is the first road test for UM, which played 17 true freshmen in the opener. It won’t be what they’ll face at Florida State (home stadium capacity: 82,300). It may be a little louder than Duke (33,941). The atmosphere is a factor coach Mark Richt isn’t taking lightly.
“If something good happens for them, we’re going to know about it,” Richt said Sunday evening. “If something happens bad defensively against us and their fans go nuts, it kind of exaggerates what happens. It may not be good, but it’s not catastrophic like it can feel sometimes when the crowd gets behind their team. Same thing offensively. You get a sack and they go nuts, and you’re trying to go to the next play and it’s hard to ignore the roaring of the crowd.”
Arkansas State nearly silenced a road crowd in its opener. At Nebraska’s heralded home in Lincoln, Neb., in front of a crowd of 90,171, the Red Wolves fought back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit before falling 43-36 on the final play.
“They’re a fast, physical, athletic bunch that plays with a high amount of energy,” Richt said, adding that he has watched Arkansas State’s film “all summer.” He said they play man coverage, get their safeties involved in the run game, play four down linemen, “and they play hard.”
“Defensive coordinator [Manny] Diaz says they tend to go at breakneck speed (offensively), try to get you tired, get you out of position.”
Indeed. Arkansas State ran 89 plays against Nebraska. That number, incidentally, matches the Red Wolves’ play count from their 2014 loss at Miami, a 41-20 blowout in which Brad Kaaya threw for 342 yards and four touchdowns. For context, only two teams in the last five years (Duke, 2015; Virginia, 2014) have run more than 89 plays against UM in a game. Both ran 91.
Knowing the Red Wolves go fast, UM’s conditioning and substitution will be a factor Saturday. Richt likes his team’s depth and conditioning, but noted one area that can improve:
“The key is to get them off the field on third down.,” he said, noting Bethune-Cookman — an FCS team — had five drives of 10 plays or more. Miami allowed 8-of-17 third-down conversions. The Wildcats converted 2-of-2 on fourth down.
“Every time our defense goes out there, they’re allowed to get a stop,” Richt said, a little sardonically. “You know, three-and-out? Maybe five plays, six plays, whatever it is.”
Richards update: Richt didn’t say whether standout receiver Ahmmon Richards would play against Arkansas State.
“Just got to see where he is,” Richt said. “He’ll start if he’s healthy, that’s for sure. With a hamstring, they’re either all the way in or all the way out. You can’t really work your way in. Everybody’s got to practice the same speed.”
As for any other injuries stemming from the BCU game, Richt said he got a “thumbs up” Saturday night from trainer Vinny Scavo, and received no word from the medical staff on Sunday.
“I don’t think we had any issues in that game at all,” Richt said.
Running back Mark Walton, who said he had “a little tweak” to his knee late in the second quarter, reported afterward he was fine.
“There’s no ice on me, so that’s a good sign,” said Walton, who rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
Elsewhere …
* Richt on Miami’s special teams: “Kickoff coverage wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t great.” Punt coverage was “in pretty good shape” since freshman Zach Feagles produced the proper hang time. He said Arkansas State, which broke a 63-yard punt return touchdown and recovered a pair of onside kicks — one by surprise, one late in the game when Nebraska was waiting for it — l is “very impressive” on special teams.
* One thing Richt liked from Malik Rosier: how he turned a potential sack, and a 7-yard loss, into a 5-yard gain in third quarter. Rosier also rushed for a 23-yard option keeper on UM’s first offensive play, and scrambled for 15 yards on a bootleg. Brad Kaaya crossed the line of scrimmage a handful of times in his three years as UM’s starting quarterback. His longest rush was 12 yards.
* The “Turnover Chain” was also a topic of conversation. Richt joked the chain was designed by “Mr. T and Don Johnson, and from what I understand it is real gold, so it’s probably worth about, I don’t know, $50-100,000. It’s designed to get guys excited about getting turnovers.”
He paused.
“That was just a rumor on the other two things. I don’t know.”
Richt said defensive coordinator Manny Diaz alerted him to it “at the last second, and I was like, hey, if it’s motivational, I’ll deal with it. If it helps us get more turnovers, I’m fine with it. I didn’t see it until I saw it on the internet last night.”
[TWEET]904460333372235776[/TWEET]
Centennial Bank Stadium, a 30,964-seat building in Jonesboro, Ark., is not the largest place Miami will play this season. In fact, it is the smallest.
At this point in the year, it will be the unfriendliest.
With three road games in their first five outings, UM worked all summer on preparing for loud crowds. They expect to meet one Saturday at Arkansas State (3:30 p.m., ESPNU).
This is the first road test for UM, which played 17 true freshmen in the opener. It won’t be what they’ll face at Florida State (home stadium capacity: 82,300). It may be a little louder than Duke (33,941). The atmosphere is a factor coach Mark Richt isn’t taking lightly.
“If something good happens for them, we’re going to know about it,” Richt said Sunday evening. “If something happens bad defensively against us and their fans go nuts, it kind of exaggerates what happens. It may not be good, but it’s not catastrophic like it can feel sometimes when the crowd gets behind their team. Same thing offensively. You get a sack and they go nuts, and you’re trying to go to the next play and it’s hard to ignore the roaring of the crowd.”
Arkansas State nearly silenced a road crowd in its opener. At Nebraska’s heralded home in Lincoln, Neb., in front of a crowd of 90,171, the Red Wolves fought back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit before falling 43-36 on the final play.
“They’re a fast, physical, athletic bunch that plays with a high amount of energy,” Richt said, adding that he has watched Arkansas State’s film “all summer.” He said they play man coverage, get their safeties involved in the run game, play four down linemen, “and they play hard.”
“Defensive coordinator [Manny] Diaz says they tend to go at breakneck speed (offensively), try to get you tired, get you out of position.”
Indeed. Arkansas State ran 89 plays against Nebraska. That number, incidentally, matches the Red Wolves’ play count from their 2014 loss at Miami, a 41-20 blowout in which Brad Kaaya threw for 342 yards and four touchdowns. For context, only two teams in the last five years (Duke, 2015; Virginia, 2014) have run more than 89 plays against UM in a game. Both ran 91.
Knowing the Red Wolves go fast, UM’s conditioning and substitution will be a factor Saturday. Richt likes his team’s depth and conditioning, but noted one area that can improve:
“The key is to get them off the field on third down.,” he said, noting Bethune-Cookman — an FCS team — had five drives of 10 plays or more. Miami allowed 8-of-17 third-down conversions. The Wildcats converted 2-of-2 on fourth down.
“Every time our defense goes out there, they’re allowed to get a stop,” Richt said, a little sardonically. “You know, three-and-out? Maybe five plays, six plays, whatever it is.”
Richards update: Richt didn’t say whether standout receiver Ahmmon Richards would play against Arkansas State.
“Just got to see where he is,” Richt said. “He’ll start if he’s healthy, that’s for sure. With a hamstring, they’re either all the way in or all the way out. You can’t really work your way in. Everybody’s got to practice the same speed.”
As for any other injuries stemming from the BCU game, Richt said he got a “thumbs up” Saturday night from trainer Vinny Scavo, and received no word from the medical staff on Sunday.
“I don’t think we had any issues in that game at all,” Richt said.
Running back Mark Walton, who said he had “a little tweak” to his knee late in the second quarter, reported afterward he was fine.
“There’s no ice on me, so that’s a good sign,” said Walton, who rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
Elsewhere …
* Richt on Miami’s special teams: “Kickoff coverage wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t great.” Punt coverage was “in pretty good shape” since freshman Zach Feagles produced the proper hang time. He said Arkansas State, which broke a 63-yard punt return touchdown and recovered a pair of onside kicks — one by surprise, one late in the game when Nebraska was waiting for it — l is “very impressive” on special teams.
* One thing Richt liked from Malik Rosier: how he turned a potential sack, and a 7-yard loss, into a 5-yard gain in third quarter. Rosier also rushed for a 23-yard option keeper on UM’s first offensive play, and scrambled for 15 yards on a bootleg. Brad Kaaya crossed the line of scrimmage a handful of times in his three years as UM’s starting quarterback. His longest rush was 12 yards.
* The “Turnover Chain” was also a topic of conversation. Richt joked the chain was designed by “Mr. T and Don Johnson, and from what I understand it is real gold, so it’s probably worth about, I don’t know, $50-100,000. It’s designed to get guys excited about getting turnovers.”
He paused.
“That was just a rumor on the other two things. I don’t know.”
Richt said defensive coordinator Manny Diaz alerted him to it “at the last second, and I was like, hey, if it’s motivational, I’ll deal with it. If it helps us get more turnovers, I’m fine with it. I didn’t see it until I saw it on the internet last night.”
[TWEET]904460333372235776[/TWEET]
