Miami Football: 7 Things Holding the Hurricanes Back from a BCS Bid

The Hurricanes will go into next season coming fresh off a mediocre 6-6 season.  Although they were bowl eligible, the school decided to turn down any bowl bids due to the NCAA sanctions coming their way.

With the 2012-2013 season coming up, there are many questions on if the Hurricanes are truly ready to make the next step—a BCS bid.

There is a ton of talent on the team, but here are my seven issues on what is holding the Hurricanes back from a BCS bowl bid.

Standout Wide Receiver

The Hurricanes lost four junior and senior wide receivers after last season: Aldarius Johnson, Travis Benjamin, LaRon Byrd and Tommy Streeter.

Johnson didn't play last year due to suspension and still had a year of eligibility but decided to leave anyway.

That leaves Allen Hurns and a huge question mark at the position.

Hurns had a great sophomore season last year, catching 31 passes, but he also dropped a lot of balls as well.  The rest of the returning receivers caught a total of just 19 passes combined.

With a new starting quarterback, that doesn't bode well for the new starting receivers.

Quarterback

The Hurricanes haven't had a reliable quarterback since Ken Dorsey was on the team nine years ago.

There have been plenty of quarterbacks that have come through that had a decent year or two, but none of them separated themselves from anyone else in the country.

Dorsey was an accurate quarterback that didn't make the mistakes previous Hurricane quarterbacks have made (see Jacory Harris).

With Harris having graduated, it leaves Stephen Morris and/or Ryan Williams calling the plays for Miami.

Although both players had multiple starts in their freshman seasons, neither really showed they could lead a team to the promised land.

If either quarterback can play to their potential, the Hurricanes can definitely make a run at a BCS bowl bid.

Defensive Woes

What separated the Hurricanes of the 1980s and 2000s was not only their ability to put points on the scoreboard, but they also had some of the best defensive teams in history.

They were outright nasty on the defensive side back in the day.

Over the last eight or nine years, the Hurricanes' defense has been less than stellar.  Teams do not fear Miami's soft defense, and it has showed every year.

Last year, Miami's defensive line and cornerbacks were horrible, finishing 45th in total defense against subpar teams.

Unless you have a high-potent offense, like the kind Oregon or Oklahoma State had last year, that will not get it done.

There is a reason why the SEC has won the last six BCS national championships.

Defense prevails—every single time.

Leadership

Besides lack of coaching, which has hindered Miami for over eight years now, the Hurricanes have yet to have a proven leader.

The coaches can only do so much from the sidelines, and that leaves one person that needs to put his team on his shoulders and lead the team to victory.

No one has been able to do that since Ken Dorsey in 2003.

Leadership is something a person is born with, something that can't be coached or taught. For nine years, Miami hasn't had anyone who could do that.

After looking at the roster and seeing all the players that are coming back, it doesn't look like they will have another one this upcoming season.

Lack of Creating Turnovers

Last year, the Hurricanes created just 15 turnovers, ranking them 105th in the country.  To put that in perspective, the No. 1 team (Oklahoma State) had 44.

Even though the Cowboys' total defense was ranked 105th in the country last year, they won games because of a high-potent offense and the ability to create turnovers on defense.

The Hurricanes haven't been in the top 20 in turnovers gained since 2005.

The last time the Hurricanes led the country in turnovers gained was 2001, the same year they won the BCS national championship game.

Playmaker

With the departure of Lamar Miller and Travis Benjamin, Miami really has no true playmaker on the team this upcoming season.

Some people keep bringing up the fact that true freshman Duke Johnson could be that guy, but I just don't see it yet.

Although there is no doubt in my mind that Johnson is going to be a great running back, I don't think it will be this year.

The Hurricanes don't have a player on the team that has the ability to take it to the house anytime he touches the ball like Benjamin and Miller could in the past.

Without a true playmaker on the team, the Hurricanes won't have that go-to guy many other BCS teams had last year.

Too Young and a Inexperienced

Although many of the the Hurricanes will be juniors or seniors this year, they are still a very young and inexperienced team.

The quarterbacks and running backs have yet to play a full year as a starter.  The wide receiver position is returning just one starter, and the offensive line is missing three starters from last year's team.

The defensive line will be led by a sophomore (Anthony Chickillo), and their best linebacker is also a sophomore (Denzel Perryman).

It is even worse when it comes to the cornerback position, as their best player may be true freshman Tracy Howard.

When you look at the entire team, they will only be starting five or six seniors on both sides of the ball.

That means there will be a lot of freshmen and sophomores that will need to step up and play big.

That's a lot of pressure for 18 and 19-year-old kids.