Well, that ACC title game was embarrassing -- if you're a Canes fan.
Welcome to the Miami Sports Weekly Rundown, I'm David Baumann.
What happened to the Miami Hurricanes?!
They got absolutely steamrolled by the reigning champion Clemson Tigers in the ACC Championship Saturday night.
This game was OVER early.
It was 14-0 after one quarter. 21-0 at the half. Then it was 38-0 after three quarters!
Some people were genuinely more entertained by the turf repair in the Big 10 Championship Game than they were with the action (or inaction) in the ACC Title Game.
Canes head coach Mark Richt inexplicably opted for a field goal rather than go for it on 4th-and-one inside the 10-yard line with 3:29 left in the 4th quarter.
I guess he just didn't want to risk getting shut out.
Despite the successful 22-yard chip shot, it still drew a chorus of boos as well as hearty criticism from the ESPN broadcast.
Miami Hurricanes Fall Fall From Grace At ACC Championship
It was a 38-3 final score.
All three phases the game shared the blame, starting with the offense.
Offense was a real struggle as Miami was without key playmakers -- TE Chris Herndon and WR Ahmmon Richards -- who went down to knee injuries in the past week.
Malik Rosier finished just 14/29 for 110 yards and two interceptions.
There's some chatter (online) whether he'll be the team's starter next year, which I think is a ridiculous overreaction.
Rosier threw for nearly 3,000 yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions over the long haul this year and is largely responsible for getting "The U" back into the national spotlight.
Anyone who says Rosier isn't the right QB for 2018 needs to stop right now.
As for the defense, the Canes did a decent job defending the rushing attack of Clemson -- allowing just 77 yards on 41 attempts (1.9 yards per rush)...
But the Tigers were able to score four touchdowns on the ground.
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Through the air, there wasn't any defense whatsoever against Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant. He completed his first 15 passes -- an ACC Championship Game record -- and finished 23/29 passing for 252 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.
The turnover chain really belonged to Clemson in this game. They won the turnover battle 3-1.
As for special teams...Miami's punt coverage recovered a fumble on a muffed punt inside Clemson territory in the first quarter with the score 7-0.
But Cane's kicker Michael Badgley would promptly miss a field goal attempt, handing the ball right back to Clemson.
On Clemson's next drive, the Canes forced another fumble on a pass play over the middle of the field, but Canes DB Malek Young overran the loose football. Clemson recovered and would score a few plays later on a Bryant TD run to make it 14-0.
Again, the edge in offense, defense, and special teams all went to Clemson.
Clemson, the reigning National Champions, will undoubtedly maintain their current #1 spot in the CFP rankings.
Meanwhile, Miami will play in the Orange Bowl against Wisconsin.
Now, step back for a second and just think about that.
Miami is 10-2 -- they won their division -- and are about to play in the Orange Bowl.
How many of you can say you correctly predicted THAT back in August?
All-in-all, it's been a fine year for the Canes, even with back-to-back losses prior to the Bowl Game.
Sure, the recent losses stink, but the consolation is still pretty nice.
Now it's time to find a way to get back to the winning ways.
David Baumann is a Sports Columnist for 305area.com and can be heard Tuesdays 7-9p on EK Sports 96.9 The Game Orlando (and anywhere on iHeartRadio).
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