Grading the Miami Hurricanes Domination Over Florida A&M
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Final: Miami 45, Florida A&M 0
Team Stats
1st Downs 8 23 Total Yards 110 405 Passing 58 250 Rushing 52 155 Yards Per Rush 1.3 4.3 Penalties 5-35 7-45 Turnovers 1 1 Possession 35:23 24:37
Top Performers
J. Harris - 12/15, 210 YDS, 3 TD
L. Miller - 11 RUSH, 65 YDS, 1 TD
D. Berry – 6 RUSH, 45 YDS and 1 REC, 32 YDS, 1 TD
L. Hankerson – 6 REC, 115 YDS, 2 TD
O. Vernon - 3 SACKS
R. Armstrong – 1 INT, 1 TD
Recap
Offense
The passing game was great with Jacory Harris playing nearly perfect football. Two of his three incompletions were drops. Although he only played a half, he showed signs of becoming an elite quarterback. His backups Spencer Whipple and A.J. Highsmith were okay. If Harris were to go down (knock on wood), the offense would be in big trouble.
The running backs were superb as well. They all looked fast and shifty. Damien Berry hits the hole hard and Mike James runs with great physicality. The most explosive back is clearly Lamar Miller, who moves with the fluidity of a deer.
The offensive line was phenomenal in pass protection giving up just one sack. Their run blocking was solid but not spectacular as there should have been some bigger holes at the point of attack on many running plays. Even freshman standout Seantrel Henderson saw a decent amount of snaps and looked pretty good as he engulfed the smaller, less athletic A&M players.
Miami killed A&M with the intermediate passing game. They showed up in zone and the Miami wideouts found the holes with ease as Harris got them the ball on point. Henderson got so open on a few plays, coach Shannon could have thrown him the rock.
GRADE: A
Defense
The pass rush was as good as advertised and the defense finished the game with eight sacks. They did a good job against the run as well, closing up most of the holes. A few times A&M quarterback Martin Ukpai escaped out of the pocket for some decent runs. Containing Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor will be a big priority next week, so there needs to be improvement in that area.
The linebackers played well, filling the few running lanes that opened up. It’s always a good sign that a defense can get pressure with just the front four, which was the case last night. Let’s see how the front does against a dominant Ohio State offensive line next week.
The secondary did their job and safety Ray Ray Armstrong came up with a huge interception that he took back to the house for six. All in all, the defense was very sharp.
GRADE: A
Special Teams
Matt Bosher nailed his only field goal attempt of 24 yards and connected on all six extra points. There were no punts which tells you a lot about the effectiveness of the Canes’ offense.
Lamar Miller showed his tremendous running ability on his only kickoff return with a solid run-back of 34 yards.
GRADE: A
Up Next: Ohio State – September 11, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
It’s time to see what this team is really made of…
