MIAMI – The 2018 season got off to an inauspicious start for the Miami Hurricanes on Sunday, as they were dumped by LSU 33-17 in a battle of ranked teams at a neutral site. But despite dropping 13 spots to No. 21, the Hurricanes' season is far from lost and they can begin righting their ship in their home opener Saturday against a Savannah State team coming off a dismal 52-0 loss to UAB.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, ACC Network. LINE: None
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What went wrong for the Hurricanes was almost a continuation of what went wrong during the team's 0-3 slide to end last season. Quarterback Malik Rosier once again shouldered a large portion of the blame, showing the same inconsistency that plagued him down the stretch a year ago as he hit on just 42.9 percent of his passes (15 of 35) against LSU -- his fourth consecutive sub-.500 passing day -- with two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown. "Obviously, if I keep messing up then by all means coach (Mark) Richt has the right to bench me and let somebody else play," Rosier said to reporters. "It's one bad game, and we've still got 13, 14 more and I don't plan on ever letting that happen again." While Rosier's play was troubling, so was the performance of a vaunted Miami defense that was unable to step up and make big plays in key spots against LSU and failed to get a turnover for the first time since the final game of the 2016 season.
ABOUT SAVANNAH STATE (0-1)
Not much good to take away from the shellacking at UAB as the Tigers only crossed midfield twice during the game while allowing 548 yards of offense and 36 first downs. Savannah State finished with just 23 passing yards on one completion by D'vonn Gibbons, which won't get the job done against a Miami defense that figures to be out for blood after its disappointing performance against LSU. The ground attack did amass 155 yards rushing, with Rashad Saxton gaining 46 yards, Jaylen McCloud adding 43 and Gibbons compiling 40.
ABOUT MIAMI (0-1)
The offense as a whole didn't execute well against LSU, with the offensive front not providing pass protection and failing to open room for a ground game that mustered just 83 yards, with Rosier finishing as the leading rusher with 47 yards on 16 carries, a stat Richt admitted has to change. Receiver Jeff Thomas was a bright spot with five catches for 132 yards but fellow pass catcher Ahmmon Richards is once again a question mark (knee injury) after he suffered through an injury-plagued campaign a year ago. "All I can tell you is our goal is to get our guys to do the right assignment, with energy and attitude and physicality and all that," Richt told reporters. "That's all they should focus on. ... If everybody does that every play, then we'll have success and we'll win a bunch of games."
EXTRA POINTS
1. Miami won the only previous meeting with Savannah State 77-7 in 2013.
2. Penalties were an issue for both Miami (11 for 85) and Savannah State (10 for 94) last week.
3. Opponents have converted 57 consecutive kicks against Miami, including 25 field goals in a row.
PREDICTION: Miami 55, Savannah State 3