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ANALYSIS: Blowout loss to 'Bama shows Canes have lot of work to do

The general thinking heading into the season-opener against top-ranked Alabama, from a Cane perspective, was simple.

This was a measuring stick game.

A chance to see how close … or far away … this UM program under coach Manny Diaz is from the nation’s elite.

The answer? The Canes have a lot of work to do.

Alabama scored on its first five possessions, opening a 27-0 lead. And it was 41-3 with seven minutes to go in the third quarter.

By that point ‘Bama had a 435-181 yard advantage.

The final score: Alabama 44, Miami 13.

“The story of the game really in my mind was third down defense, allowed them to possess the football, keep our offense off the field,” coach Manny Diaz said. “They snapped it 15 times more than we did.

“It was tough to get any type of rhythm. … That said there are some positives that when we watch film I think we can build on to move forward. And a lot of ball left for this team.”

For the Canes, some good news was QB D’Eriq King really didn’t show any issues off his torn ACL suffered in the bowl game last year - he moved around and scrambled well (with a long run of 11 yards).

Against a ‘Bama D expected to be one of the nation’s best he finished hitting on 23 of 30 passes for 179 yards.

He threw one TD with a pair of second half interceptions that he threw into traffic.

“To see him back out there - you have to be brave dropping back and throwing against that front,” Diaz said. “Great completion percentage. Receivers made some really nice catches around him and we have something to build on.”

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The run game?

With Jaylan Knighton suspended the first four games the load fell to Cam Harris and Don Chaney.

Neither made much of an impact.

Harris had a nice 15-yard carry early in the second half but finished with 12 rushes for 37 yards. Do some math and you see other than that one carry he averaged 2.0 yards per carry.

Chaney added 23 yards on seven attempts.

“It was tough sledding, especially when they stack the box,” center Corey Gaynor said. “But we got a hat on a hat, played as physical as we could.”

Xavier Restrepo stepped up in the second half with Mike Harley (three catches, 23 yards) banged up. Restrepo had three catches for 55 yards including a highlight 29-yard TD grab.

“The coaches put me in a great situation and we executed it well,” Restrepo said of the TD. “We’ll keep preparing. It’s week 1, so we’re going to progress every week and be a very dangerous offense.”

Key’Shawn Smith had four catches for 40 yards while Charleston Rambo wasn’t able to turn his six receptions into much - he had seven catches for only 34 yards.

Alabama’s offense netted 501 yards compared to UM’s 266.

With 6:55 to play in the opening half the team had scored on every possession and led 27-0 with a 274-43 yardage advantage.

There were missed tackles and blown assignments that left receivers so open it was hard to tell who was supposed to cover them.

“We competed - they won the crucial moments,” Diaz said. “Those things happen. Highly contested catches - maybe that’s what make them the No. 1 team in the country.”

Miami had one sack it’s never a good sign when your top five tacklers in a game are all DBs - CB Tyrique Stevenson had nine, S Gurvan Hall eight, CB Te’Cory Couch seven, S Kam Kinchens six and CB DJ Ivey six.

I didn’t help that star safety Bubba Bolden was ejected for targeting on the second-to-last play of the opening quarter.

“We can fix third down defense, pass defense - the issue at hand is in a game where they just wanted to maul us, holding them to 146 rushing - that’s going to matter later in the year,” Diaz said.

The Turnover Chain made its first appearance in the third quarter when DE Chantz Williams got a sack/forced fumble and DT Jordan Miller recovered.

Per UM the helmet charm weighs 1,000 grams (one kilogram), while the chain itself weighs 3.5 kilograms and is roughly 34 inches long. There are 2,754 sapphire stones in the helmet – 2,245 white sapphires, 366 orange sapphires and 143 green sapphires.

Turnover Chain 5.0 took roughly three and a half months to complete.

“There are some things in pass rush we have to clean up, but our front seven was tough and physical,” Diaz said.

The scoring: Bama drove 75 yards on seven plays to begin the game, with John Metchie scoring on a 37-yard pass on a totally busted coverage. ‘Bama’s next series went 55 yards on 11 plays and ended with a 38-yard field goal to make it 10-0 with 4:39 to go in the quarter. A 10-play 80-yard drive on Alabama’s next series ended in a nine-yard TD grab by Cameron Latu and it was 17-0. After a fumble recovery Alabama converted a 51-yard field goal and it was 20-0. Alabama continued to score every time it touched the ball on the next possession, going 74 yards on seven plays with Latu’s 25-yard TD grab making it 27-0. The half ended with a 37-yard Andy Borregales field goal.

Then came the start of the third quarter. After UM was stuffed on a fourth-and-goal King run attempt up the middle from the one, Alabama hit on a 94-yard TD to Jameson with DJ Ivey beaten badly and Gurvan Hall not able to catch up … that made it 34-3.

“That long touchdown pass was a tough pill to swallow,” Diaz said.

Then the Crimson Tide turned an interception into points, with Trey Sanders running in from 20 yards out.

With 5:18 to go in the third quarter the Canes got their first TD on a perfectly placed 29-yard TD pass to Xavier Restrepo, making it 41-10. After recovering a fumble at the Alabama 35, UM made it 41-13 on a 28-yard Borregales field goal. The Crimson Tide added a 40-yard field goal with 7:52 to play.

That was the final score.

“My job is to not let this game beat us twice,” Gaynor said. “After 24 hours we have to move on to App State.”

Diaz said after this loss the team will get right back to work.

“We have to be honest with the film and what it says about us - the coaches, the players,” Diaz said. “It is so early in the season. There is a lot of ball left for this team. And they are excited to get in front of our fans.

"We have to improve, get better, and I'm confident that we will."

Miami Starters: Offensive ­­­ QB #1 D’Eriq King, LT #60 Zion Nelson, LG #64 Jalen Rivers, C #65 Corey Gaynor, RG #55 Navaughn Donaldson, RT #51 DJ Scaife, Jr., RB #23 Cam’Ron Harris, TE #85 Will Mallory, WR #11 Charleston Rambo, WR #5 Key’Shawn Smith, WR #3 Mike Harley. Defensive -- DE #53 Zach McCloud, DT #81 Jared Harrison-Hunte, DT #96 Jonathan Ford, DE #12 Jahfari Harvey, LB #11 Corey Flagg, Jr., LB #4 Keontra Smith, STRK #5 Amari Carter, CB #8 DJ Ivey, S #21 Bubba Bolden, S #26 Gurvan Hall, Jr., CB #23 Te’Cory Couch.

KEY MOMENTS

FIRST QUARTER

On the opening series Bryce Young threw deep on snap 2 to Jameson Williams with DJ Ivey and Bubba Bolden beat badly downfield … but it didn’t connect with the receiver stumbling. Tyrique Stevenson gave up a first down catch on the next play, a third-and-seven. That drive ended with a John Metchie TD catch of 37 yards on a totally busted coverage.

On its first drive UM got some momentum with a first down on two quick passes but three runs sandwiched with a Zion Nelson false start brought up a punt.

Jon Ford, Tyrique Stevenson and Keontra Smith missed tackles on an eight-yard run to start ‘Bama’s next series. A third down was converted when UM rushed three and got no pressure, and there was a missed Bubba Bolden tackle on a 19-yard run by Brian Robinson to the UM 17. Bolden deflected a third down throw into the end zone, forcing a field goal that made it 10-0.

After three runs ended UM’s prior series, the first two plays on the second Cane series were also runs to Harris, bringing up a third and eight - a throw to Key’Shawn Smith was two yards shy of a first down.

Williams beat Ivey on a third-and-six from the Alabama 36 on the next series - with Keontra Smith chasing him down Young made the nine-yard completion.

The next snap was a big loss for the Canes: Bolden lowered his head on a tackle attempt and hit Robinson helmet-to-helmet. Bolden was ejected on the second-to-last play of a forgettable opening quarter for UM.

SECOND QUARTER

The first play of the quarter? No one lined up near JoJo Earle at the line and he took a quick pass and wasn’t hit until he was 10 yards downfield, gaining 16. Two plays later Cameron Latu caught an easy TD down the middle with Keontra Smith lagging a step behind him. Oh, and if Smith had covered him well then tight end Major Tennison didn’t even have a defender on him on a busted coverage.

After King scrambled for a first down DJ Scaife was beaten badly around the corner and King was hit, fumbled and ‘Bama recovered at the Miami 33. King was limping after the play.

The U defense held, with Smith reading a swing pass perfectly and dropping Robinson for a loss of four. The 51-yard field goal was good and it was 20-0 with 11:33 to go.

Miami faced a quick third-and-10 trying to get something going on offense, and King barely had time to look downfield before getting a man in his face with Scaife struggling … he scrambled and UM punted. The Canes have just 43 yards compared to Alabama’s 200.

Alabama then took just two plays to drive into Miami’s territory - an 11-yard throw and 15-yard run. Facing a third-and-eight from the 25 Latu got open running down the middle. There was no one that seemed assigned to cover him on the play and the referee made more contact with him than Cane defenders (he ran into the ref at the start of his route). Oh, and Ivey missed a tackle on the play. It was 27-0.

Don Chaney got his first carry on the next series, taking the opening snap up the middle for a gain of six. After netting a first down back-to-back sacks and a Harris run ended that series.

Starting at the 27, a Kam Kinchens tackle of Williams forced a fumble that Gurvan Hall seemed to recover … but ‘Bama on replay recovered. That didn’t stop Miami from taking out the Turnover Chain before the final call was made, though. Yikes. That drive stalled thanks to a drop 20 yards downfield by Traeshon Holden - that brought up a third-and-11 throw that was incomplete forcing Alabama’s first punt of the game.

UM had the ball back at its 20 with 1:57 to go in the half. Miami drove from the 20 to the UM 45, then a false start against Charleston Rambo pushed the offense back with 38 seconds to go. Facing a third-and-15 from the 40 King was pressured quickly on a four-man rush and threw a five-yard pass to Rambo on the right sideline. Miami went for it on fourth and 10 with 20 seconds left and Smith came up with it on a great catch in traffic at the Alabama 35. On the next snap King launched a deep pass to Rambo, who was matched up on a safety, and he drew a pass interference call … although the defender didn’t really initiate contact on the play.

With five seconds to go in the half Miami had the ball at its 20. After centering the ball and using a timeout Borregales came in and converted the 37-yarder.

It was 27-3 at the break, with Alabama tallying 291 yards compared to UM’s 107.

King is 11-12 passing but for only 78 yards, and Harris has eight carries for 18 yards. The team’s top receiver is Smith with four for 38.

THIRD QUARTER

Miami faced a quick third-and-six and converted on a Mike Harley seven-yard catch. Then facing a third-and-seven Harley got open down the middle for 17 yards. Xavier Restrepo followed with a 16-yard grab to the ‘Bama 28. Then, facing third-and-five, Harris got something going on the ground with a 15-yard run to the eight. From there, facing third-and-goal from the six, Chaney ran to the one.

On fourth-and-goal UM went for it. And King was stood up on a QB draw, giving Alabama the ball back at the 1.

Facing third-and-five from the 6 … disaster for the Cane defense. Williams ran right past Ivey and Hall on his way. Alabama now has 390 yards with over nine minutes to go in the third quarter.

Two plays into Miami’s next drive a throw into traffic was batted up in the air and intercepted. It appeared Mike Redding was held slightly on the play, but it wasn’t called and was a tight window to throw into regardless.

‘Bama easily converted a third-and-three with a pitch to the left side that found a big hole for a gain of nine by Trey Sanders … that put ‘Bama at the Cane 29. Two plays later Sanders ran into the end zone untouched from 20 yards out.

It was 41-3 and Alabama has 435 yards to UM’s 181.

The Canes then went on a seven-play 75-yard drive for the team’s first TD - Restrepo got that on a 29-yard catch in one on one coverage … and he helped set it up by drawing a pass interference call on a deep pass.

Alabama converted a quick third-and-eight with a pass down the middle to Latu just past the marker. Two plays later Chantz Williams hit Young, who fumbled and Jordan Miller recovered at the ‘Bama 35.

Facing a third-and-one from there Chaney inched ahead for the first down. Then, on third-and-goal from the five, King was sacked, and UM settled for a field goal to make it 41-13 with under a minute to go in the quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

Alabama converted a third and five with a five-yard run on the left side and kept moving the ball from there with the Canes mixing in Al Blades, James Williams and Gil Frierson on defense. And Frierson was called for offsides on a third and 10 play from the UM 38.

A six-yard pass in front of Stevenson moved the chains on the next play.

On a third-and-one from the Miami 18 … with the clock running under nine minutes to go … Keontra Smith and Jared Harrison-Hunte teamed up for a tackle for a loss of four to force a 40-yard field goal.

King’s first pass of the ensuing Cane drive was into traffic and netted his second interception. Jaylen Moody picked it off and set up Alabama at the Miami 48.

With Paul Tyson coming in at QB for ‘Bama the team went three and out, running the ball - and clock - on each snap.

Tyler Van Dyke came in for the Canes’ next series and did not look comfortable. Facing a third and 11 he threw behind Will Mallory on a short pass to force the punt.

A couple of runs and conversion pass let ‘Bama run the clock down close to two minutes remaining, and UM then stopped Alabama on downs after four straight runs but only 15 seconds remained. The Canes ran a final play - a Van Dyke 18-yard scramble - and that was it.

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