How awful was the Miami Hurricanes’ defense against the Duke football team — this past Saturday’s game — ranked 87th nationally in total offense? The Canes gave up a whopping 583 yards — the fifth most in school history and the third most this season. That is typical of what must rank as the worst defensive performance in the history of this proud program. The U has never been so bad. Duke gained 151 yards rushing and 432 passing. Sure UM was missing LB Eddie Johnson who was suspended that Saturday for disciplinary reasons. Whenever he does play, Johnson is a force on the field. Consider that in 10 games he’s had: 59 tackles (7.5 tackles for loss); a sack; an interception; two pass breakups; one quarterback hurry; and three forced fumbles. Still, Hurricane fans are livid about the embarrassing performance of the defense this past season and many are calling for Head Coach Al Golden to make some changes. Certainly someone must be held accountable for the putrid performance of the defense that continuously took poor tackling angles, appeared to be undisciplined and was gashed for chunks of yardage by almost every opponent this year. Even worse, Miami simply could not stop the run. This must be fixed if they ever want to rise again to prominence. Yes, that may mean dumping Defensive Coach Mark D’Onofrio — Golden’s faithful sidekick. This program is about winning championships and playing with heart, tenacity and a ferocious, attacking defense. Despite being a young team, Miami must find its identity on defense. Their offense, however, was another matter. UM’s 52 points were the most scored since a 52-17 win over Virginia in November 2009. Led by the sensational Duke Johnson and QB Stephan Morris, Miami’s offense appears to be in good hands for the foreseeable future. If the D can ever catch up, the good ole days may not be so far away after all. We’ll just have to wait next season and see.
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