35 - 3 Thank goodness Mark Richt has 2 straight wins over Florida State because since a regular season loss to Pittsburgh to end the 2017 regular season it’s just gone downhill for Miami.
Since a 10-1 2017 start Miami, is 4-9 against against Power 5 opponents.That’s not just unacceptable at Miami, that’s unacceptable anywhere. In year 3 of Mark Richt’s tenure, signs should have started to show that the Canes were getting closer to being perennial top 20 team. What we are seeing is that Richt won with Al Golden’s players, and is mis-managing the current roster.
Richt’s handling of his QB situation was a complete disaster. Neither Malik Rosier and N’Kosi Perry improved as the year progressed, and Richt’s haphazard substitution and replacement pattern left both QB’s without confidence and the offense without any continuity. He basically wrecked both quarterbacks to be honest. Miami has players transferring and recruiting de-commitments left and right.
Rather than becoming a destination program again, the Canes are scrambling to keep themselves from total irrelevancy in the college football landscape.
Wisconsin bullied and pushed Miami around all in the Pinstripe bowl. Georgia Tech got pummeled 34-10 by Minnesota, and that wasn’t even the worst ACC performance against a Big 10 the last two nights. The Badgers rolled the Canes 35-3, and it really wasn’t that close.
The honeymoon is over in Miami for Mark Richt, and those wins over FSU will only last so long. Many Cane fans are ready to pull the plug on the Mark Richt era. He won’t be fired before next year, but the off-season will not be easy. His QB situation is a mess, and his recruiting class is in danger of completely falling apart. Wisconsin manhandled Miami upfront 2 years in a row. LSU did the same early in the year. Clemson did it in the ACCCG. Basically there’s been no progress in making Miami a more physical team since Richt’s arrival.
The win over Notre Dame last year was more a result of an emotional tidal wave in a wild home environment. It was Richt’s high-water mark at Miami, but he has failed to build on it so far.
2018 was a huge letdown of season for the Canes. Richt won’t get another pass of a season like this whether he beats FSU again or not.
