The Rundown Take
The 50 Burger That Never Came: U Talk's Postgame Gut-Check After a Sloppy Win
Fresh off the final whistle of a 19-14 escape over Virginia, Devin fired up the postgame show still shaking his head. Somebody in the chat had been calling for a 50-point blowout all week, and the reality was a sloppy, soft-zone, blown-coverage mess that barely got out of town with a win. Co-host E joined mid-show still fuming from his own halftime Facebook Live rant, and together they picked apart a performance that had both sides of the ball catching strays.
Key Takeaways
- Miami survives Virginia 19-14 in an ugly, mistake-filled game the panel says looked nothing like Miami football.
- Amari Carter gets ejected for targeting again — his fourth ejection of the season — and the panel renews calls to move him to linebacker.
- A blown coverage on the game's final touchdown leaves a receiver wide open with no safety help and no timeout called to get the defense set.
- Mike Harley is named the game's MVP after a standout night, while Mark Pope's drops draw groans from the desk.
- E says Manny Diaz needs a "coming to Jesus moment" with both Rhett Lashlie and Blake Baker before this team is playoff-caliber.
Soft Zone Against No Deep Threat
E's biggest frustration was defensive coordinator Blake Baker sitting in a soft zone against a Virginia offense that had no real deep-ball threat to fear — a scheme the panel says handed away easy first downs all night. Once Miami finally switched to man coverage in the second half, the results were night and day, save for one blown assignment that led directly to Virginia's final score. Jalen Phillips, Nesta Silvera and Quincy Roche all drew criticism for a lack of energy up front, something E floated might trace back to Brevin Jordan's absence — arguing the tight end's presence energizes both sides of the ball, not just the offense.
Amari Carter's Targeting Problem
The recurring issue of Amari Carter picking up targeting ejections came to a head again, with multiple callers — including Cuban Kane and Wayne Foster — pushing the same fix: move him to linebacker where his physicality can be an asset instead of a liability. The panel's read is that he's playing out of position at safety, and until that changes, Miami will keep losing him for stretches of games it can't afford to play short-handed.
"What in the hell were we doing in a soft zone against a team that has no deep threats at all? It was no threat for them to throw down the field."
Roll Him Out, Again
The offensive line conversation was the same one the panel has been having for weeks — D'Eriq King getting hit in his own lap on nearly every drop-back — but the one bright spot came whenever Rhett Lashlie actually rolled King out of the pocket, including a second-play deep connection with Mike Harley. The panel's ask remains simple: do that more, because King's legs are the offense's best answer to a line that can't hold up. Mark Pope's drops, including one that would have gone for a long touchdown, only made the missed opportunities sting more.
A Coming-to-Jesus Moment
By the end of the show, E's verdict was blunt: Manny Diaz needs a real sit-down with both of his coordinators — Baker on defense and Lashlie on offense — because the vanilla play-calling and soft coverage schemes have gone on long enough. The panel isn't ready to give up on Diaz, but the patience is thinning heading into a bye week before a tougher NC State team on the road.