MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — No. 7 Miami (9-1, 7-0 ACC) control everything in front of them with a chance at the ACC Championship as well as the College Football Playoff in sight.
However, those ideas are not in the minds of the Hurricanes. They cruised to defeat Duke, despite the efforts of the best running back in the country Nate Sheppard.
Head coach Mario Cristobal loved what he saw from his players in the win but also knows that at this point of the season, they have to be near perfect.
Javian Mallory: Nothing Fazes Him
The thing about Cristobal is that when he has a star freshman, he is going to use him. Mallory has turned into Miami’s No. 1 back, but that is nothing for the star player.
Cristobal loves who he is and is always grateful for the moment. Mallory finished the game against the Blue Devils with 134 yards and three total touchdowns.
“I think he is unfazed,” Mario Cristobal said about his star freshman after the game. “Maybe a bit more tired,but that’s it. He blocks really well, he studies his tail off, and has great energy. You can’t get him in a bad mood. You can challenge him and coach him really hard…so we get after him here. He loves the opportunity.”
Penalties Fest Turns Into Fourth Quarter Dominance
Miami started the game with flag after flag, and the team finished the game with 10 penalties. That is one that drives Cristobal insane, but finding themselves in the fourth quarter helps them for what they want to become.
“Well, I think a couple things. Number one, early on, we had a lot of self-inflicted wounds, right? Penalties putting us behind and off schedule. I think also the way that there’s so much pressure and movement that you have to live with some of the short games or negative plays that come with that. You have to, but you still have to stick to the run.
“You have to find different formations and different ways to knock out the interior and cut off the edges, and we kept on going back and forth. It’s a little bit of a cat and mouse game, but we thought that we found ourselves getting some better push, getting downhill, and then our guys started breaking some big runs and taking over the game.
“But the fourth quarter certainly very indicative of just a really good summer strength and conditioning, being able to move the line of scrimmage as such. Would like to close it out better at the end on defense, but I saw a lot of progress on defense, much better play at corner, particularly in man coverage. The interception by X [Xavier Lucas] certainly stands out, but all in all, just really proud of our team.”
ACC Championship Game in Sights
With a win next week, the Miami can lock in a spot in the ACC Championship game with ease. Not only do the Hurricanes have a clear path to the championship game, but they are playing Virginia Tech who is coming off a loss to Stanford and allowing them score 40 points.
Stanford averages 22.3 points a game. Miami has the best offense in the country. Others are looking ahead to Wake Forest and a potential rematch; Cristobal is still focused on only one game ahead.
“1-0,” Cristobal said.
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