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QUESTION: What is the biggest reason for Miami’s improved play?
The long-term outlook for the Miami Hurricanes certainly has improved over the past few weeks. A season which seemed in danger of missing a bowl game now looks like an 8-4 season.
To be sure, 8-4 is not what Miami hoped for. The Hurricanes very likely won’t win the ACC Coastal Division. They just as likely won’t make the Orange Bowl game, a big prize for the 13 non-Clemson teams in the ACC to chase this year. Miami definitely left something on the table; that can’t be forgotten.
However: The Canes now look like a program which has set the table for a step forward in 2020.
It seems that the offense and coordinator Dan Enos have figured a few things out.
One more note of caution before we pour on the praise: This was Louisville’s road-field offense Miami carved up in a 52-point explosion on Saturday in South Florida. Louisville allowed 59 points at Wake Forest in its previous ACC road game. The limitations of the Cardinals’ roster emerge most clearly on defense. It’s not as though Miami eviscerated the 1985 Chicago Bears.
Enough talk about the limitations and cautionary notes, though: Miami is definitely getting better. The late rally at Pittsburgh definitely gave this team reason to believe, and the Hurricanes have run with that belief. They dump-trucked Florida State in a physical manhandling of the Seminoles, getting Willie Taggart fired in the process. They have now devastated Louisville and halted the Cardinals’ ascendancy.
What is at the heart of this? A few things, but one more than any other.
Yes, Dan Enos and young Jarren Williams are learning how to work together. Yes, Williams has stayed the course instead of losing faith and trust in himself, his coaches, and his teammates. Williams did show promise in the Week Zero game against the Florida Gators. That promise is beginning to be realized. The player — most of all — and the coordinator (Enos) both deserve credit for this resurgence.
Yet, the biggest reason lies somewhere else: up front.
Miami didn’t allow a sack in the process of scoring its first 35 points against Louisville. Jarren Williams threw touchdown pass after touchdown pass because he was given a clean pocket. Williams completed such a high percentage of his passes because he was comfortable. Miami was physically dominant against Florida State and retained that nasty, butt-kicking identity against Louisville.
If the O-line is right in 2020, Miami could put all the pieces together. I wouldn’t guarantee anything, but for now, that mere possibility represents a 180-degree turn from a month ago.
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