College Sports | Hurricanes’ Offensive Woes Deepen as Um Fails to Reach End Zone in Brutal Road Loss to N. C. State

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Hurricanes went to North Carolina seeking an end to an offensive drought, but conditions remained dry in Raleigh.

Miami (6-3, 2-3 ACC) failed to reach the end zone in a 20-6 loss to N.C. State (6-3, 3-2 ACC), scoring a season low in points and recording its second-lowest yardage of the season.

“We’ve got to get our guys to perform better,” UM coach Mario Cristobal said. “We’ve got to design a couple things that might help us see things a little bit more clearly. But (it is) a little bit of everything.”

The Hurricanes’ offense was out of sync from the start. Though running back Mark Fletcher Jr., making his first career start, provided a bright spot with his hard running, the passing game could not get in rhythm.

Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke had one of his worst outings of the season, completing 21 of 38 passes for 173 yards, a season-low 55 percent completion percentage, and he threw three interceptions. Van Dyke has thrown 10 picks in his last four games.

“I’ve just got to be better, honestly,” Van Dyke said. “It is frustrating. Felt like I put a lot of work into watching film this week and did a great job preparing. Just got to put that work in on the field, as well. Had a great week of practice. Just got to be better on game day.”

After Andy Borregales opened the scoring with a 48-yard field goal, N.C. State responded with a five-play, 72-yard scoring drive capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback MJ Morris to Jordan Poole.

The second quarter was a turnover-fest for both teams. Hurricanes cornerback Jaden Davis forced a fumble when he sacked Morris, and defensive lineman Jared Harrison-Hunte recovered.

Although Miami took over at the N.C. State 29-yard line, Van Dyke threw an interception in the end zone. UM Safety Kamren Kinchens ended the subsequent Wolfpack drive with his fourth interception of the year, but Van Dyke then fumbled on a sack by Red Hibbler.

N.C. State took over in excellent field position, starting at the Miami 9. But a sack by Francisco Maugioa pushed the Wolfpack back, and a hold set them at the 27. N.C. State had to settle for a field goal.

The third quarter brought much of the same, as the teams traded failed offensive drives, combining for five punts on six drives (the lone exception being a missed field goal attempt by Borregales).

But Miami’s offense finally showed some life at the end of the third frame and continued into the fourth, driving down the field to the 3. But N.C. State forced Miami into a fourth-and-1, and Fletcher’s run came up a foot short.

Faced with 97 yards to go, the Wolfpack drove the dagger in. Running 4:44 off the clock, N.C. State drove down the field and scored its second touchdown of the night on a 31-yard run by Kendrick Raphael with 5:03 left in the game. The Wolfpack added another field goal with 1:37 left to play. After struggling on offense all night, Miami had no chance of matching it.

Five takeaways

Offense sputters again

The Hurricanes offense is mired in a deep slump, and they could not snap out of it Saturday. N.C. State, which entered the game with the No. 47 defense in the nation, held UM to only six points.

Miami gained 292 yards in the game, but their drives all came up short of the end zone, and the only points came courtesy of Borregales’ foot.

The Hurricanes have been held under 300 total yards in back-to-back games, and they averaged 4.2 yards per play — a season-low.

Van Dyke’s struggles continued in ACC play. In four conference games, Van Dyke has completed 51 percent of his passes for 1,015 yards. He has five touchdown passes and 10 interceptions.

“I think it’s not just pointing a finger at Tyler,” Cristobal said. “I think, offensively, there’s things that we need to do better. The passing game certainly hasn’t been what it needs to be, especially when we started the season in such a strong manner. But it’s tied into us being able to put it all together and synchronize it.”

Defense excels until the end

While the Hurricanes’ offense was struggling, the defense was having another strong game. The Wolfpack reached the end zone twice and notched one field goal.

UM held N.C. State to 231 total yards, its second-lowest total of the season against an FBS team. However, the offense could not pick up the defense.

“We limited them to under 50 plays, under 50 snaps,” Cristobal said. “When you do that, you should walk away with a favorable result. Put pressure on the quarterbacks, stopped the run, contained some of their explosive players for the most part. They made a couple plays, too. They played their hearts out. They gave us every chance to win the game.”

Turnover-ridden second quarter

The teams’ offenses stalled in the second quarter as both teams turned the ball over twice.

Van Dyke’s turnover issues continued to plague him, as he threw his eighth interception in four games and fumbled when a pass-rusher got around right tackle Francis Mauigoa.

However, Miami’s defense got the ball right back. Davis forced the first turnover in the series, forcing the ball out of Morris’ hands. After nearly picking off two passes early in the game, Kinchens notched his fourth interception of the season. The Hurricanes had a negative turnover margin entering the game and that worsened by forcing only two turnovers to the Wolfpack’s four.

“We’re emphasizing ripping the ball out, getting the ball out, attacking the ball every time we get a chance to tackle,” defensive lineman Branson Deen said. “But it just didn’t matter today.”

Fletcher’s best so far

A week after Mark Fletcher Jr. scored a winning touchdown in overtime, he got his first career start. He rewarded the Hurricanes’ coaching staff with the best game of his young career.

The freshman running back from American Heritage set a career-high with 115 yards on 23 carries.

“I thought he was really good. Really good. Really tough,” Cristobal said. “Saw things really well against a defense that’s really good. They don’t allow much on the ground or in the air. Really good in protection, also. He’s a really good player. He’s really going to be a great one.”

Third- and fourth-down woes

Although the Hurricanes outgained the Wolfpack 292-231, Miami struggled in key situations.

The Hurricanes finished the game 4 of 15 on third downs and failed on their two fourth-down attempts. The first fourth down in question was Miami’s best opportunity of the night, coming up just short on fourth-and-1 at the Wolfpack’s 3-yard line. The second was a desperation heave late in the fourth quarter that N.C. State intercepted.