The 2020 season officially started for Miami football with a 31-14 win over the UAB Blazers and what an exciting start it was. In every phase of the game, we saw something new from Coach Manny Diaz and his team so let’s break it down.
Special teams
Starting off with special teams, wide receiver Mark Pope got off to a rough start with a fumbled punt return that led to a UAB touchdown. He ended with three punt returns, the longest being 20 yards plus a couple of kickoff returns. Miami only kicked a field goal once by confident kicker Jose Borregales.
Offense
I think everyone was excited to see how this new Miami offense would do in Week 1. Coming out with a team total of 495 offensive yards, I was pretty impressed with how the offense got the job done. We saw a bit of miscommunication between quarterback D’Eriq King and freshman WR Jeremiah Payton.
King would go on to finish with a total of 144 yards passing and added on a 12-yard rushing touchdown. King was very confident in his play and it showed. After a bit of a slow start running back Cam’Ron Harris muscled his way to 134 yards and two touchdowns.
Defense
With a few losses to the NFL and the loss of defensive end Greg Rousseau, I was eager to see how this defense would do especially with some new additions and I think the ceiling is still very high for this defense. UAB scored two first quarter touchdowns before ultimately being shut out with zero points for the rest of the game.
Overall
I think there is a lot of good to get out of this game but still a lot of improvement for the future. I like what I see in King. He’s confident and tough. Going into game No. 2, I think the main thing for the Hurricanes season is going to be consistency and different players in new starting roles are going to have to step up, leadership will be tested and that’s going to determine 2020 Miami football.
