Brewer threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Ford, but the Hurricanes answered with their final touchdown drive.
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“Having the referees out here was a good thing to see”. Now, Coley and the rest of the Miami receivers must contend with CB Brandon Facyson, who’s picking up where Kendall Fuller left off in pass coverage.
“We have to run the ball better”, Golden said. “We’re angry. But we can’t feel sorry for ourselves”, Motley said Saturday. It’s been a long time since Miami has been this active on the back end.
Burns is on a tear this season, leading the Hurricanes with five interceptions in six games, and ranking third nationally with his total.
On the other side of the ball, Miami is 11th in the ACC against the pass, 12th against the run and 12th overall.
That’s not meant to be an indictment on the sophomore quarterback, shouldering a major load and often playing well beyond his years.
“We will have to beat them- they certainly don’t beat themselves”.
A year ago, the Hurricanes pounded Tech on the ground. Muhammad, coming off a season’s suspension, has sacks in consecutive games (and, like Thomas, gets held by offensive linemen quite often).
“When the pocket breaks down, he can create”, Golden said.
“We’re going to have to adjust quickly”, Golden said.
“It’s just the right time for Virginia Tech to have Michael as our quarterback”, Tech offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler said. He is an ACC-best 15-of-16 from 49 yards or less (he has missed twice from 50-plus and once from 24).
Loeffler said there was no thought given to starting Brewer at Miami. It was expected UM would struggle up front after replacing two National Football League draft picks, an National Football League free-agent signee and kicking a would-be starter off the team; but it’s been a rough go for this unit.
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Brewer is returning to the starting role just in time to face a Duke defense that suddenly looks like one of the best in the country. Everyone will be back next year. The Hokies out shot the Hurricanes, 13-10, including an 8-1 advantage in the opening half. The Hurricanes came up with four takeaways including an interception by linebacker Juwon Young and a forced fumble and recovery by linebacker Trent Harris. The Hokies failed to force a turnover for the first time this season. Good thing Muhammad and Harris have emerged as standout Rush linebackers. He’s also second on the team with 220 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Sirk also added 13 carries for 53 rushing yards. Clemson is 5-0 as they host Boston College next weekend while Georgia Tech is 2-4 as they prepare to host Pitt next weekend. The three man rushes have allowed QBs far too much comfort in the pocket. He led the team with four catches for 76 yards and a score against Miami on Saturday. It’s simply to underscore that without a commitment to running the football, defenses don’t have to respect Yearby or Walton and will continue going all-in to rattle Kaaya an jam up receivers; especially in those disastrous third down and/or red zone situations.
