Miami suffered its third loss of the season falling on the road at NC State 20-6, virtually eliminating any chance of making the ACC championship game, committing four turnovers and failing to get in the end zone.

It was a disappointing performance coming off of back-to-back conference wins.

In his sixth year of eligibility, Brennan Armstrong transferred from Virginia to NC State in the offseason, only to be benched in favor of the sophomore MJ Morris.

It's time Miami makes a similar move.

The Miami quarterback is responsible for twelve turnovers in his last four games. Not many teams can overcome such mediocrity from their starting quarterback. Tyler Van Dyke is suffering in many areas, but the main one is his decision-making.

Against Virginia, many thought that his leg injury played a significant part in his inaccuracies and lack of mobility. Against NC State, he proved that he was mobile enough to get first downs but also confirmed that his inadequacies were not because of injury.

Miami was 4 of 15 (26.7 percent) on third-down attempts, with most of those failures to convert resulting in Van Dyke incompletions. Miami averaged 1.3 yards per third-down attempt and was also one of three on red zone attempts.

On third down, Miami averaged nine yards to go, and of the attempts of third down and nine or more (obvious passing downs), the Hurricanes converted zero percent (0-5).

The first interception came in the second quarter, canceling an opportunity to get points. The Hurricane defense forced a fumble, setting up the offense at the NC State 29-yard line. Four plays later, Van Dyke underthrows Jacolby George in the end zone leading to the pick.

The defense would counter with a Kamren Kinchens interception, but Miami would falter again on the ensuing drive.

Van Dyke is also suffering from pocket presence. On Miami's next possession, he did not feel an incoming rusher, which led to a sack near his goal line. The Hurricanes would hold the Wolfpack to a field goal on the drive.

The Miami quarterback is suffering from game awareness. On the next drive, Miami faced a 3rd and 15, and Van Dyke threw short to Cam McCormick with no chance of making a first down.

Down 10-6 in the second half, we begin to see indications that Offensive Coordinator Shannon Dawson is not trusting Van Dyke to make a throw. On 3rd and 8, on the Wolfpack 32-yard line, Miami chose to run the ball with Mark Fletcher. Miami also decided to run the ball with Fletcher on a critical fourth down on the NC State three-yard line that would be stuffed short.

Van Dyke's last two interceptions were in desperation time, where he overthrew Xavier Restrepo on a fourth down and then underthrew his favorite target on the last play of the game.

Although Miami's chances to come back on the last drive were slim, the lack of urgency was glaring. Van Dyke completed passes as if he had plenty of time on the clock. Van Dyke needed two scores quickly, took no shots to the end zone, and did not throw the ball away when a chunk play wasn't there.

Tyler Van Dyke seems mentally broken, and it's time for a change at quarterback.

With all the offensive inefficiencies, Miami still had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter. A touchdown could have put the Hurricanes up 13-10 with a defense playing lights out to that point.

Miami has been running the ball effectively the entire game with Fletcher, and NC State was ready to stop the run on 4th and 1 at the three-yard line.

Wide Receiver Colbie Young seemed to miss a block or thought it was a pass play, allowing the NC State defender to come around the corner for a tackle.

The Wolfpack would march down the field after the turnover on downs and score their second touchdown.

It's disappointing for Hurricanes fans not to see some creativity with the playcalling. Dawson was brought in to change vanilla play calls from 2022 to a modern-looking offense. The call (because it didn't work) looked predictable, and since it was, one would expect Miami to execute a play whose strength is its run game.

If you can't get a yard, you don't deserve to win.

Most have been expecting an explosive offense going into the 2022 season, but during ACC play, it's been anything but. Miami had three big plays in the game with zero clearing 20 yards. Of those three plays, most of the yardage was made by the receiver after the catch.

The offense fails to connect on big-chunk plays downfield, and the tight ends are rarely involved.

The running plays, for the most part, were inside the tackles with a lack of creativity. Brashard Smith has shown he can make plays from the backfield this season but did not register a carry.

Smith was targeted twice in the game, with one being an overthrow by "TVD" and the other a near interception. It is baffling why the most explosive player on the Miami offense does not register a touch aside from kick returns.

This loss is not on the defense. Miami lost arguably its best corner, Daryl Porter Jr., in the first quarter and arguably its second-best corner, Davis, in the second quarter. Yet, Miami held NC State to ten points until the fourth quarter.

Many will point to James Williams whiffing on a tackle on Kendrick Raphael on a 31-yard touchdown run, which is warranted, but the offense had to help the defense and score at least one touchdown, which they failed to do.

The defense held NC State to 231 total yards, 3-11 on third down, caused two turnovers, and held dynamic playmaker Kevin Concepcion to five receptions for 61 yards and six rushes for 22 yards.

Can't ask for much more from this defense.

Fletcher was the bright spot of this offense. The true freshman proved he can be an every-down back for the Hurricanes. Miami was without RB Ajay Allen due to injury, and Henry Parrish and Don Chaney saw minimal carries (five total) in this game.

He finished the game with 115 yards rushing on 23 carries (five yards per carry) and converted first downs with his power and vision. The running back position has been one of the most consistent this season for the Hurricanes, no matter who is in the backfield.

Still, Fletcher proved that he can produce positive yardage every time without missed blocking assignments.

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