CU Whistled 16 Times
The Buffaloes were called for 16 penalties for 104 yards in their 23-3 loss to the Hurricanes. Colorado entered the game with 16 penalties in its first two games but couldn’t stop committing fouls against the Hurricanes. At one point, CU gave Miami an automatic first down after two off-sides penalties in a row, with the Hurricanes gaining five yards each time.
On the flip side, the Hurricanes entered the game a week after being called for 14 penalties at Clemson. The ‘Canes finished with five penalties for 75 yards, but most of those came when the game had been decided. A major positive for the Hurricanes was that their offensive line didn’t commit a single holding penalty all game long, a far cry from the week before.
‘canes Can’t Punch It In
Miami entered the red zone six times on Saturday and was only able to score one touchdown. The Hurricanes also came away with three field goals, making them four for six from that territory. Miami’s lone touchdown from the red zone came when Kyle Wright took matters into his own hands and ran into the end zone from two yards out on a naked bootleg. With Jon Peattie missing two field goals and struggling so far this season, the Hurricanes would like to get into the end zone a lot more.
“I’m very concerned about the red zone offense,” said Head Coach Larry Coker. “We’re not going to be anywhere near where we want to be if we kick field goals in the red zone.”
A major reason for the struggles in the red zone was the inefficiency of the running game in those situations. Miami couldn’t get anything going on the ground, which made it much tougher for the Hurricanes to score with a shortened field.
O-Line Improves
After allowing 14 sacks in its first two games, the Miami offensive line didn’t allow any on Saturday. Although the Hurricanes had their worst running performance of the year, Kyle Wright was able to get the ball down the field because he had time. Wright finished 20-for-39 for 264 yards and a touchdown. Not only did the offensive line give him time, Wright made smart decisions when a play broke down. Wright didn’t hold the ball in situations where he may have in the first two ballgames.
“For myself, one of the points of emphasis this week was to really get rid of the ball, whether it’s getting outside of the pocket and throwing it away or finding my check-down,” Wright said. “That comes with more playing time.”
Sinorice looks like Santana
Sinorice Moss was one yard shy of a career day. Moss finished with five catches for 111 yards, including three spectacular leaping grabs. Not too bad for the 5-8 senior, whose brother Santana also had quite the week for the Washington Redskins. Sinorice Moss’ career high for yards is 112, which he collected against FSU last year.
Douglas C. Kroll can be contacted at d.kroll@umiami.edu.