Miami Football: Grading the Hurricanes' Loss to Boston College

The Hurricanes saved one of their worst games for the last game of the season, losing to a poor Boston College team 24-17.

Jacory Harris, playing his last game as a Hurricane, ended the game with four interceptions.

Just like all the other games this year, the defense struggled stopping the run, and the Hurricanes offensive line struggled at blocking.

Here is my report card for the Hurricanes' last game of the year.

Quarterbacks: F

Jacory Harris played very well all season long, throwing only five interceptions going into the Boston College game.

He ended the game completing 23 of 39 passes for 245 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. 

Harris was back to his old self on Friday, throwing lob passes and into triple team coverages.

Running Backs: B+

Lamar Miller ran for 114 yards and a touchdown on just 12 carries, most of the yards coming on a 79-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

That was about it for the running game all day, as Jacory Harris and Mike James were the only other Hurricanes to carry the ball, and it was four carries for eight yards.

I am not 100 percent sure why the Hurricanes never ran more, but whatever the case was, Miller ended the season with his seventh 100-yard game.

Wide Receivers: C

The reason I gave a lower grade to the Hurricane wide receivers was because they played with no enthusiasm all game long.

If you were to watch a replay of the game, look how many times the Hurricanes receivers gave up on their routes.

Travis Benjamin, Allen Hurns and Tommy Streeter combined for 164 yards receiving, but didn't do enough attacking the ball.

Benjamin led all Miami receivers with 75 yards on three catches.

Offensive Line: D

The offensive line was once again a big disappointment, as they were pushed around all game long.

They had their moments, but Harris was limited in the backfield and forced to throw errant passes because the line couldn't give him the protection needed.

The running game was also limited, except for the one long run by Lamar Miller.

Defensive Line: D

Not even sure what to say anymore about the defensive line.

The lack of size of the defensive line and the injury to Marcus Forston can take some of the blame, but most of it I'll just say they just aren't very good players.

Curtis Porter, who missed almost two years due to injuries, had a decent game, and Anthony Chickillo had a so-so game, but the rest of them were horrible.

They go absolutely no pressure on the Eagles quarterback Chase Rettig, allowing him to complete 13 of 17 passes and two touchdowns.

Linebackers: C-

The linebackers were the only unit on the defense that I gave a grade higher than a "D" to because of one player: true freshman Denzel Perryman.

Like I have stated in the past, Perryman is the future of the Hurricanes defense, and I am going to say right now he is going to be a better player than even Sean Spence was.

Perryman ended the game with 14 tackles and three tackles for loss.

The rest of the Hurricane linebackers had a pretty decent game as well, but missed too many tackles and were less than stellar on pass coverage.

Defensive Backs: D-

How could I give the defensive backs such a poor grade when they gave up less than 200 yards threw the air?

It was easy. The opposing quarterback, Chase Rettig, is not a good quarterback, and the Hurricanes defense made him look like an All-American.

Rettig came into the game with one of the worst pass completion percentages in the country and ended the game completing 13 of 17 passes.

Like all year, the Hurricane defenders played too soft and were burned every far too many times.

Just like every other game, it was a lack of quarterback pressure by the defensive line that allowed Rettig to have all day to complete his passes.

Special Teams: B

Even though Miami never did much on their return game, the coverage teams did a very good job in limiting Boston College in terms of starting field position.

Punter Dalton Botts had another solid performance, punting six times for a 47-yard average.

Jacke Wieclaw had a perfect game, connecting one his one field goal (49 yards) and going 3-for-3 on extra points.

Coaches: D-

I am at a loss for words on why the offense played so poorly, but I have to put some blame on the coaching staff.

Just like the rest of the season, Miami didn't utilize their playmakers and didn't run the ball enough.

When you have a player as good as Lamar Miller in your backfield, there is no way he shouldn't have had at least 25 carries.

The Hurricane coaches will need to understand that they have playmakers at Miami, and they need to use them next year a lot better than they did this year.

Intangibles: F

The Hurricanes should have beat the Eagles on Saturday. The talent comparisons between the two teams aren't even close.

I honestly thought Miami would beat them by at least three touchdowns.

I should have known better.

The Hurricanes have a plethora of great players, but as a team, they are just decent.

The game was just like their season, a roller coaster ride, and unfortunately, it ended the same way it began.

A loss against an inferior opponent.