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Miami Shut Out 14-0 by Louisiana Tech in 2019 Independence Bowl
December 27, 2019
The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs notched their sixth straight bowl victory by outlasting the Miami Hurricanes 14-0 in the Independence Bowl at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana.
It was a win, but it was ugly.
The Bulldogs and 'Canes combined for the most punts ever and the second-fewest points in an Independence Bowl.
The contest remained scoreless through the first quarter—the first scoreless opening quarter at this bowl since 2010—before Louisiana Tech quarterback J'Mar Smith found running back Israel Tucker for a 26-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. Smith later ran in an eight-yard score in garbage time.
Miami showed signs of life when Gilbert Frierson intercepted Smith early in the fourth quarter, but the Hurricanes offense squandered the opportunity with a six-play, 11-yard drive that ended in yet another punt:
The Hurricanes regained possession still down just 7-0 and were driving when redshirt sophomore N'Kosi Perry, the team's third quarterback of the evening, threw an interception with Miami at midfield and 3:25 left in regulation to seal it.
Louisiana Tech put together a successful 2019. The Bulldogs rode an eight-game winning streak before losing two of their last three but finished at 10-3, their first 10-win campaign in program history.
Miami, meanwhile, ended a wholly disappointing season with a thud. The Hurricanes dropped their final two regular-season contests to unranked Florida International and Duke to land at 6-6. This loss put them at 6-7 to end a year below .500 for the first time since 2014.
The Hurricanes were without lead running back DeeJay Dallas after he suffered a season-ending dislocated elbow against FIU on Nov. 23. Tight end Brevin Jordan did not dress, as he had been out with a left foot injury before returning for the regular-season finale and aggravating it.
Wide receiver Jeff Thomas and linebacker Michael Pinckney also skipped the game to prepare for the 2020 NFL draft.
Notable Performances
Louisiana Tech
LA Tech QB J'Mar Smith: 163 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 10 carries, 33 yards, 1 TD
LA Tech RB Justin Henderson: 22 carries, 95 yards
LA Tech RB Israel Tucker: 5 carries, 13 yards; 1 catch, 26 yards, 1 TD
LA Tech WR Malik Stanley: 3 catches, 75 yards
Miami
MIA QB Jarren Williams: 94 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
MIA QB N'Kosi Perry: 52 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
MIA RB Cam'Ron Harris: 12 carries, 31 yards
MIA WR K.J. Osborn: 5 catches, 56 yards
Miami's Season-Long Offensive Woes Define Independence Bowl Outing
Manny Diaz could not have foreseen his first season as head coach going this poorly.
A bolded and underlined question mark at the quarterback position is the main reason the Hurricanes have so grossly underperformed, and that was on full display against Louisiana Tech.
Redshirt freshman Williams started the game but proved inaccurate and ineffective enough that redshirt sophomore transfer Tate Martell, who had not taken a snap at quarterback all season and was briefly transitioning to wide receiver, came in for a series in the second quarter. Martell didn't look any better:
The 'Canes entered the locker room at halftime with 135 yards of total offense, continuing a worrisome trend:
Miami finished the night with 227 yards of offense. Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reported that offensive coordinator Dan Enos and the team "are expected to part ways" after the Independence Bowl, and Enos' offense did not do much to change Miami's mind.
Even heralded Hurricanes alumnus and NFL Hall of Famer Ed Reed felt compelled to disavow Miami's performance:
Reed was far from the only critic:
Manny Navarro @Manny_NavarroLouisiana Tech's best defensive performance this season was a 35-7 win over Bowling Green in which it gave up 290 yards. Bowling Green was 3-9 this season and finished 128th in scoring. Miami has 149 yards of total offense and trails 7-0 with 11:09 left in the 3rd quarter
Diaz commented on his disappointment in an article published by the Sun-Sentinel's David Furones on Dec. 2:
"We had to correct the offense, and what we had to correct, specifically, was the quarterback position. I think that’s the most disappointing part here in the last few weeks because of the inconsistencies. ... When you step back and look at us, you say, 'Well, who are we? What are we on offense? Are we the bunch that scored 52 points and set school records against Louisville and the way that we looked at Florida State?' And then you look at the way we finished the final two weeks—not being able to score in the first half against FIU, starting the game with all the three-and-outs at Duke and not being able to—all we needed was a touchdown in the third quarter Saturday and nothing may have turned into a rout because, defensively, we were in complete control of the game.
"Quarterback play, which was very inconsistent—we had guys in and out of the lineup—that's the part that's the biggest disappointment, the biggest letdown. And that’s where my attention is because it's our responsibility to get it fixed and I will get it fixed."
The way Williams, Martell and Perry looked Thursday creates additional pressure on incoming freshman Tyler Van Dyke. 247Sports has Van Dyke ranked as a 4-star, pro-style prospect.
Beyond quarterback, however, Pinckney has expressed confidence in Diaz's ability to restore Miami to its 1990s and early 2000s lore:
Diaz, meanwhile, expected the Independence Bowl to be the start of the transformation.
"It has to start somewhere and that is what this game is all about," he said on Christmas Eve, according to 247Sports' David Lake. "We have talked about this game being a bridge to the 2020 season. ... We are trying to set the expectation of how to prepare for a bowl game and how to win a bowl game. How to win a trophy. That is a learned behavior."
Zero points later, the Hurricanes will instead want to forget this bowl and start completely over next year.