The Rundown Take
Rhett Lashlee, Cut the Check: U Talk Breaks Down the Alabama Blowout
The season opener came and went and Devin and Larry Frank Jr. came into the Monday show still stinging, running the full stat line from the Alabama loss and asking the question that dominated the rest of the night: how does a team with eight months of spring and summer to prepare show up this unprepared? By the end, the target had shifted from the players to the coaching staff, and further up the chain to athletic director Blake James.
Key Takeaways
- The final numbers: D'Eriq King finished 22-of-30 for 179 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and a fumble; Alabama out-gained Miami 501 yards to 200 and controlled the clock 37 minutes to 23.
- The third-and-seven run call on Miami's second series set the tone — Larry Frank Jr. calls it the moment he knew Rhett Lashlee's staff was playing scared.
- Caller Cuban Kane says Alabama attacked one side of the field all night, wherever DJ Ivey and Gurvan Hall lined up, and Manny Diaz has to bench them.
- Caller George Diaz, who rode out Hurricane Ida to be on the show, puts the blame squarely on athletic director Blake James for never running a real coaching search.
- If Miami finishes 8-3 or 8-4, Manny Diaz's three-year record matches Al Golden's 21-15 mark that got Golden fired — a stat the panel says tells the whole story.
The Stat Sheet Doesn't Lie
Larry Frank Jr. read off the numbers before either of them could get into feelings: seven offensive holds by Alabama's line by his count, including one in the end zone; a missed targeting call on a 94-yard touchdown pass that beat DJ Ivey; and a defense that gave up 354 yards through the air. Devin pointed to the fourth-down quarterback sneak from four yards back — with an offensive line already getting dominated — as the single dumbest play call of the night. Both agreed the frustrating part wasn't the final score against the best team in the country, it was that Tulane nearly beat Oklahoma the same weekend and Notre Dame took Florida State to overtime, while Miami never competed.
Manny's Excuses, Blake James' Mess
The panel's patience with Manny Diaz's postgame press conference ran out fast — pointing to him citing Alabama's margin over Ohio State as some kind of moral victory, and t-Rob (defensive backs coach) taking public accountability for the secondary while Manny and Rhett Lashlee offered explanations instead of ownership. Caller George Diaz redirected the anger up the org chart: Blake James paid a buyout instead of running a coaching search when Mark Richt left, and that decision, not just Saturday's game plan, is the root problem. The two floated names for the future — Marcus Freeman, Mike Locksley, Willie Fritz, Billy Napier — while noting Manny's seat is warm but not yet gone.
"He goes into game week without excuses. If you have the most experienced offensive line in college football and the third most experienced team in the country, and you still get blown out by 30 or 40, the criticism of you as a coach will be absolutely fair."
The panel closed looking ahead nervously to Appalachian State, agreeing the standard now is simple: compete, or the Al Golden comparisons only get louder.