Absolutely electric win. I'll try not to rehash what others have said, but here are a few thoughts:
1) The defense looked so much better. Instead of adjusting to the offense, we were the enforcers, and Miami had to adjust to us. People are saying Miami spent that first half learning to play without Toney, and that may be part of it. But I think they weren’t expecting ND to come out that aggressive, and it threw them off. As we add talent, that has to become our identity: we set the tone and make offenses find answers, not the other way around.
2) We have to find a solution for Zackery. He’s young and may improve, but right now he isn’t ready for serious snaps on a CFP team. We have three weeks to fix it. Kick Gray out and put Golden at nickel. Or kick Gray out, put O’Brien or Talich at nickel, and play the other at safety. Or scheme around him. At minimum, he can never be left alone on an island.
3) Carr had a fantastic game, and we need to build on it. In the middle eight, I thought we’d found ourselves. The defense was aggressive, and the offense was hitting chunk plays over the middle. Then on the drive after Miami's first TD, we threw two fades to the sideline and went three-and-out. Woof. Carr is five times better when he uses the middle of the field. Over the next three games, the goal should be to develop that part of the offense, which should also open up the sideline throws.
4) Freeman needs to tell Denbrock to use true, hard play action seven or eight times a game. Don’t save it for the right moment. We can’t let linebackers lean on their toes before the snap and fire downhill the second they see run action.
A few more thoughts:
- The run defense played heroically while missing two DTs. Take away the 29-yard run and Miami had 72 yards on 27 carries, mostly from Mensah scrambling.
- Traore is a man. Losing him was easily a seven-point swing in the BYU game like Freeman said.
- Overcoming that questionable holding call after the pick was monumental. That’s when I knew we’d win. Even if Miami had tied it 31-31, I was fully confident Carr would get us at least a field goal.
Freeman’s teams often peak in November. Let’s hope this is just the beginning. I’m looking forward to Monday’s injury updates and to preparing for the three “playoff games” left in the regular season.
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