The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Virginia Tech Hokies 2024 Edition

WHEW!!! Survive and advance, right?! The Miami Hurricanes did everything wrong for a long time tonight, but found a way to sneak away with a 38-34 win over the Virginia Tech Hokies . Mike McCoy joined me at the game and has your game recap. Mike Schiffman has your 3 stars, as per usual.

And now, let’s dive into The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: The Good The Bad The Ugly Team Grades Offense: B Look, I know the turnovers were horrendous and entirely on Cam Ward’s shoulders. Those negatively affected the offense, and nearly cost Miami this game. BUT.



Miami had 500 yards of offense, finally got the run game going when they needed it most (welcome to the show, Damien Martinez in the 4th quarter), and put up 38 points and WON! Not perfect, but still pretty good on the whole. Just, the damn turnovers! Defense: C- Man, the defense struggled today. Missed tackles were a problem, as were the multitude of outside runs (tosses and wide zone) that VT employed throughout the game.

And, I have questions about the playing time of several defensive players, but that’s a conversation for another time. In all, the defense did what needed to be done in the end, but it was a tumultuous journey to get there. And, that’s not even to mention the fact that the game came down to a Hail Mary that was inches away from being caught.

Whew. Man. Special Teams: A+++ Andres Borregales nailed a clutch 56 yard FG just before halftime to give Miami some much needed momentum, and points! Dylan Joyce was solid with another 42.

5 yard average. Chris Johnson Jr. almost broke a KR for a TD.

There was good coverage on all kicks. And, the most impactful play, Malik Bryant snuffed out and stopped VT’s fake FG attempt. This was probably the best unit on the day and this grade reflects that.

Coaching: C This wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough. For a large part of the game, both OC Shannon Dawson and DC Lance Guidry were getting their lunch taken by VT. It was so bad, on one screen play, VT’s defenders all congregated around the receiver and dared Cam Ward to throw the ball.

There were good times. Miami SHOULD have been up 21-7 without that phantom holding call. And Miami’s defense got a clutch 3-and-out ahead of the final scoring drive.

But, there were scheme issues, and operational issues, and player rotation issues that made life more challenging than it should have been. But, in the end, there was enough done here to earn a victory. I’m just not really enthralled by what I saw along the way to that victory.

That’s it for this installment of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Share your thoughts, grades, and commentary in the comments section below. GO CANES.