Miami Football Defensive Preview

Cardiac Canes

CJ Clark via @canesfootball on twitter

Miami’s defenses under Mario Cristobal have steadily improved over the course of his coaching tenure. Throughout this portion of the 2024 season, the Hurricanes have done a really solid job at putting opposing offenses behind schedule without the need for mass amounts of pressure. Their last game was the most inconsistent one they’ve played this season on the defensive side of the ball, missing a lot of tackles and letting Kyion Drones consistently have enough time in the pocket. Despite the Canes escaping, the messaging has been consistent in the lead up for Cal, that standard won’t cut it and needs to be corrected immediately even coming off a win.

2023 Defense in Review

• Gave up 22.8 points per game

• Had a rash of injuries along the defensive front that forced a changed mid season to three down linemen

• 6th ranked scoring defense in the ACC

  • 4th in the conference in sacks, forced fumbles, and 6th in interceptions

• Had some solid games against Clemson and NC State but also had befuddling performances against Texas A&M, North Carolina, and Virginia

2024 Setup

• The Canes are led by DC Lance Guidry

  • Guidry primarily runs a base 4-2-5/4-3 but can pivot to three down linemen in a pinch

  • Generally has a philosophy of “not coaching from a playbook but from experiences”, in the sense that he doesn’t try to fit players into one specific avenue but rather takes stock of what he has good or bad

  • Not afraid to mix up pressure looks at the line of scrimmage, namely bringing in linebackers only to send both, neither, or even just one of them. He’s a coordinator that loves to keep offenses on their toes

• Miami’s defensive line is getting healthier and creating a lot of havoc at the line of scrimmage. Other than the lowly VT performance, teams such as South Florida and Florida were rendered ineffective at the point of attack because they couldn’t win one on one battles

Provisional Starters

DE Rueben Bain (probable, making return this week off injury), DL Simeon Barrow (questionable with injury suffered against VT) OR Ahkeem Mesidor, DL Tyler Baron, DE Malik Bryant

LB Francisco Mauigoa, LB Wesley Bissainthe

CB Dy’oni Hill, Nickel Daryl Porter Jr, S Mishael Powell, S Jaden Harris (questionable), CB Jadias Richard

Players/Personnel to Watch

One player that jumps right off the map is Rueben Bain, who is projected to make his return this week after suffering an injury against Florida. Bain is the reigning ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year, having racked up 12.5 TFL’s and 7.5 sacks in the 10 games he started. While Miami has mostly produced in his absence, his energy and tone setting ability adds an injection of life to the defense and gives Cal a lot more to account for.

Two other players who have performed in his absence are Tyler Baron and Mishael Powell. Powell takes on a leadership role from his secondary spot and leads the Canes with three interceptions taken away this season. He’s active and does not hesitate to get down hill to blow up a play and the Bears need to keep a mental note of him at all times. Up front, Tyler Baron can seemingly do wrong. Baron leads Miami in TFL’s and sacks, with 7.5 TFL’s and 4.5 respectively. Until the VT game, there was no need for Miami to worry about their defense being out of place, but if its on the mend like reports say, these two will be leading from their respective spots.

How Cal can win this game

It sounds so simple, but Cal needs to play smart football. They cannot have as many pre snap penalties as they’ve had this season. Fernando Mendoza can’t get hit or put into as many 3rd and longs as they’ve this season. Most importantly, the ball has to stay out of harms way in order for the Bears to find their way to the red zone and capitalize when they get there.

Miami’s defense showed some cracks in the armor after Virginia Tech. Cal needs to find a way to continually jab at the defense and force missed tackles, churn out 4 yards on any given carry when the lane may only afford two. The second the Canes can pin their ears back and go after the quarterback, it can spell a world of hurt.

For Cal, its going to take everyone to best Miami. Mendoza, Jaydn Ott, the whole offensive line. There is no superhero approach to this, play smart, play within your confines without shooting yourself in the foot, and then you have a chance at being in this game late into the 4th. No one said it would be easy and with College GameDay in town, the opportunity to make a name for yourself is there for the taking.