The Miami Hurricanes' loss to UNC on Saturday now puts them at 0-3 against Power 5 teams this season. The 'Canes started the season with high hopes and expectations, but losses to Texas A&M, Middle Tennessee State, and now UNC have put them in a difficult position.
There were some key notes from Saturday's loss for the Canes. The Canes defense held a highly potent UNC offense to under 30 points for the the first time this season. Tyler Van Dyke showed flashes on why he entered the season as a Heisman Trophy candidate going 42 of 57 passes for 496 yards with three touchdowns and one interception on the final drive of the game.
Miami has shown flashes of potential, but they have yet to put it all together against a power 5 opponent. They will need to find a way to do so if they want to turn their season around. The good news for Miami is that they still have a chance to make something of their season. They are currently 2-3 overall but just 0-1 in the ACC. If they can win out the rest of their conference games, they will still have a chance to compete in the ACC Championship game and make a New Years Six bowl game.
For anyone that knows football, it should not be shocking that this young Hurricanes team is going to take some losses and it will take time for the program to get remolded under the Mario Cristobal regime. Yes, some would like instant gratification like Lincoln Riley is doing at USC but they too have seen their early on scares this season but USC found ways to pull off late game victories that they could also have a 2-3 record.
The only critique I would say is warranted right now by Canes fans is that they want to see that fast paced spread offense that they experienced the past two years when now SMU Head Coach, Rhett Lashlee was the Hurricanes offensive coordinator. The offense has been up and down this season with opposing teams dominating the line of scrimmage upfront making it a long day to watch the Hurricanes offensively. Yes, the passing game returned on Saturday but the run game was non-existent with 23 attempts for just 42 yards of production by the Canes very talented backfield of running backs.
It will be a tough road ahead for the Hurricanes, but they have the talent to make a run. We'll see if they can do it.