Offensive woes plaguing Hurricanes
One glaring number tells the tale of Miami’s offensive woes. That would be “39,” which is the number of points the Hurricanes (5-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) have scored in a three-game losing streak that pretty much has eliminated their hopes of repeating as Coastal Division champions.
It’s the fewest number of points over a three-game span for Miami since the 2012 season when they managed only 37 in losses to Notre Dame, North Carolina, and Florida State. They scored just 41 over their last three games of 2017, all losses.
As they prepare for Saturday night’s outing at Georgia Tech, coach Mark Richt still is dealing with quarterback issues that no doubt have played a major role in seeing the Hurricanes tumble out of the national picture into a conference also-ran.
Senior Malik Rosier and redshirt freshman N’Kosi Perry both have struggled with their accuracy, combining to go 47-of-93 passing (50.5 percent) for 451 yards and one touchdown with five interceptions during the three-game skid.
Redshirt freshman Cade Weldon is coming off a four-game suspension and hasn’t played since the FIU game on Sept. 22, and Richt seems reluctant to throw true freshman Jarren Williams into the fray at this point.
So it will be either Rosier or Perry or Rosier and Perry against the suddenly hot Yellow Jackets (5-4, 3-3 ACC).
“I see both of them battling,” Richt said. “I see both of them wanting to prove that they should be the starter, which is what I was hoping and expecting to see.”
Rosier has started the last two games since taking over for Perry at Virginia. Perry did not play at Boston College, but did two stints last week in the loss to Duke.
He was in at the end and had the Hurricanes threatening for a potential tying score in the closing seconds, but an offensive pass interference penalty against receiver Lawrence Cager nullified a touchdown pass. His last two attempts fell incomplete under heavy pressure.
Richt was non-committal when asked if both Rosier and Perry would play at Georgia Tech.
“I haven’t figured that part out yet, but it would be tough to start rockin’ and rollin’ guys in and out,” he said. “We’d likely stick with the starter unless something happens.”
Richt also answered pointed questions on three other issues:
–He has no plans to shake up his coaching staff at this point of the season.
“No. 1, I have a lot of faith in his coaching staff,” he said.
–He said he has no plans to give up play-calling responsibilities and give the task to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown even for just one game.
“Right now I haven’t even thought about that,” he said.
–Finally, he isn’t thinking about giving a young quarterback (presumably Perry) more playing time to help get the youngster ready for next season when Rosier is gone.
“People can make that case, but I am looking to win games,” he said.”That’s what we are here to do, and we owe it to our seniors and we owe it to veterans. Our thought process is to try to win these games. That’s it.”
