All the talk coming from this past Saturday’s game against Duke will be about the “Miami Miracle,” and rightfully so. While that return will be etched in stone as one of college football’s greatest plays, it may not have happened if it weren’t for a standout performance from a particular backup quarterback named Malik Rosier.
Coming into the game, did anyone think Rosier could lead the Canes to victory? I mean, how could you after the Clemson game?
Rosier proved the doubters (myself included) wrong with his spectacular throws and amazing poise against a solid Duke defense on Halloween night. There were a few mistakes – like the bad interception and intentional grounding in the end zone – but overall, the redshirt freshman’s performance was pretty gutsy.
Even after the fantastic performance and possibly his only spot in the limelight this season, the Mobile, Alabama native was quick to point to the team’s success and not his own.
“There are plays I have to get better at but at the end of the day my job is to get a ‘W’ and that’s what we did,” Rosier said after the game.
Rosier did more than just “get a W” for the Canes though. The redshirt freshman threw for 272 yards, the most by a Miami quarterback, in his first career start since Kenny Kelly had 245 yards in 1999. Rosier also threw for two touchdowns on the night, both of which were on beautifully thrown deep balls.
“He was just unbelievable,” Interim Head Coach Larry Scott said about Rosier. “He did an awesome job of preparing and he’s just a winner. He won a lot of games in high school and it was important he got some confidence early and after that, he made some really nice deep throws the rest of the way.”
I’m not saying there should be a talk of a quarterback controversy. Sophomore quarterback and team leader Brad Kaaya is phenomenal. But what Rosier did against the Blue Devils after struggling mightily last week was extremely impressive. Sure, the run game finally got going and that certainly helped, but a performance like that from a backup in a tough environment against a solid Duke team shouldn’t be forgotten from this crazy win.
“He had an unbelievable game,” senior wide receiver Herb Waters said of Rosier’s performance. “Coming in and winning us a big [ACC] Coastal game in his first start is just amazing.”
The ending of the “Miami Miracle” was fantastic and there’s no doubt about that. but don’t forget Rosier, because he was pretty fantastic too.