Manny Diaz addresses Miami recovering from Alabama loss

Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz had a lot to discuss after Saturday’s contest, a game in which the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide blew out the No. 14 Hurricanes to the tune of a 44-13 final score.

“Quite simply, just congratulations to Alabama,” Diaz said in his postgame press conference. “I thought they played an outstanding game. I thought the difference in the game was third-down offense; I thought their quarterback made some plays, keeping plays alive outside of the pocket that extended drives.”

The quarterback to which Diaz is referring, Bryce Young, shattered what were already high expectations in his first regular-season start for Alabama. He left no doubts that he’s capable of leading No. 1 Alabama back to the top of the college football world, completing 27 of 28 passes, good for a 71 completion percentage, and throwing for 344 total yards and four passing touchdowns. He did not throw an interception, and his longest play was a 94-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams.

Despite the blowout margin, and despite Miami having no answer for Alabama’s potent offense, Diaz said he wasn’t concerned about his Hurricanes having to mentally recover from the loss.

“I don’t think so. This is not a — college football is famous for overreactions after Week 1,” Diaz said. “That’s not what this team is all about. You just don’t get your story written after one game into the season. We’re just not there yet. The guys in the locker room, if anything, what happened today will bring them even closer together.”

Miami’s defense struggled to contain the Crimson Tide, but in truth, Miami’s downfall reached further than its defense alone. Its offense put up only 17 points, accumulating just 266 yards of total offense — close to half of what Alabama’s offense managed, with 501 yards. A stagnant rushing attack from Diaz’s Hurricanes afforded them just 88 rushing yards — 2.8 yards per attempt — and Miami was able to convert on just six of 14 third-down attempts. Ultimately, quarterback D’Eriq King will shoulder much of the blame. Though he completed 23 of 31 passes, the passes turned into just 178 yards and one touchdown, and King threw two interceptions, leaving his quarterback rating at 54.1.

“Like I said, we’ve got a stretch of games coming at home,” Diaz said. “It’s a big deal for us to get in front of our fans. Our fans, I thought, were great tonight to have them out there. D’Eriq King has never played in Hard Rock Stadium with our fans in it. We’ve got to have a great atmosphere next Saturday night. This team’s story is not even close to being written yet, and we’ve got a lot of guys that have a lot of pride to make sure it goes the way they want it to.”

Miami will start a four-game home stretch on Saturday, Sept. 11, playing host to Appalachian State, followed by Michigan State, Central Connecticut State and Virginia.