Orlando, FL: College football is BACK! The Camping World Kickoff was a clash of two in state rivals and what a game it was with Florida holding on late to beat Miami in a classic. The Gators defensive line absolutely dominated the game with ten sacks and gave Miami quarterback Jarren Williams problems throughout the night in his first ever start.
Miami’s new Head Coach Manny Diaz led his team in a very up and down performance which at times saw Miami moving the ball very well on offense, and other times looking like they were getting in their own way. The Hurricanes totalled 308 total yards on the night but were undone by 14 penalties for 125 yards in key situations that could of had Miami up in this game.
Florida looked in contrl of the game late as Miami failed to convert a third and nine with 4:35 left to play. On the very next play Gators quarterback Feleipe Franks made maybe his only mistake of the night and threw the ball directly to Romeo Finley. Finley gave the Hurricanes the lift they needed until Miami shot themselves in the foot once again with a 15 yard penalty. Three disastrous plays later and on fourth and 34, the Gators we’re called for pass interference giving Miami life once again. Miami still yet to capitalize was given life for the final time with ANOTHER pass interference on Florida and the unorganized Miami offense still failed to capitalize with the Gators coming away victorious.
Early on the ‘Canes offense was moving under new offensive coordinator Dan Enos with Jarren Williams playing well and looking accurate when he had time on the ball. Williams finished 19 of 29 with 214 yards and one touchdown despite being sacked ten times. Several delay of game penalties and false starts plagued the offense through the night and stalled promising drives including the potential game winner late.
Diaz was happy with what he saw from his redshirt freshman quarterback and backed him after the game.
“You probably can’t put a guy in a more adverse situation and he never blinked.” Said Diaz. “I think you can see why we picked him to be our guy”
The Hurricanes defense did all they could do to keep the Gators contained on the ground with just 86 yards allowed rushing, but did give up 254 through the air to Feleipe Franks. The new and improved turnover chain did make its debut as Miami had 4 turnovers on the night. Defensive linemen Scott Patchan was the first to wear the ‘305’ chain as he recovered a fumble on a bad handoff between Franks and Perine. On offense the ‘touchdown rings’ made their debut with Brevin Jordan sharing the honor with Williams on their first touchdown of the season.
Despite the swag, the Hurricanes have a lot of work to do to be “back”. The offensive line looks like a major concern over the season especially at the two tackle positions, the run game suffered from a lack of holes created and the defensive line couldn’t bring the quarterback to the ground enough to make an impact. These things can be worked on but there’s plenty to be excited about with this Miami team also. They took the 8th ranked team in the country down to the final minute and had a good chance of winning this game if it wasn’t for self inflicted mistakes. The ‘Canes look like they have a real quarterback moving forward, a tough defense, and some of the best skill position players in the country. It’s disappointing but Miami could become a really solid team by years end if they can get it together.
The Gators next game is set against Tennessee Martin at home while the Canes must travel to North Carolina to face off against the University of North Carolina Tar Heels to open conference play September 7th.
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Darrell Wilkinson TheSkyBoat.com
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Twitter: @TheSkyBoat
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@DarrellW_Sports
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