Coming off a bye week, the Wolfpack had hopes of an upset win against Miami after a falling to UNC-Chapel Hill, but the team fell short again despite being able to maintain a lead until the fourth quarter.   

Recording three sacks and no interceptions and giving up 620 total yards to Miami, the defense was unable to improve its performance to hold back the Hurricanes offense. 

Miami quarterback D’Eriq King is a versatile player, able to throw well and rush the ball himself when necessary. Due to the combination of that and a strong Miami offensive attack, the Wolfpack defense simply couldn’t keep up as a whole in key plays. 

Secondary

Miami quarterback D’Eriq King and the Hurricanes offense kept the Wolfpack secondary on its toes this week. King threw for 431 yards and the secondary was unable to hold him back. The unit consistently dropped coverage on key plays, allowing for Miami to continue to score. 

Despite the secondary as a whole providing a less-than-stellar performance, junior safety Tyler Baker-Williams performed well, leading the Pack with 14 total tackles and one sack. The list of injuries from the Wolfpack secondary just seems to keep going, but at this point, the healthy secondary pieces need to start showing leadership on the field. 

Grade: D-

Linebackers

There wasn’t much to say about the Wolfpack linebacker unit from this game. Just between King and junior running back Cam’Ron Harris, the linebackers allowed 167 rushing yards and 194 on the ground in total.

Redshirt sophomore linebacker Payton Wilson notched 12 total tackles in the game, coming second to Baker-Williams. Redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Moore recorded the only sack from the linebacker unit. 

Because they were desperately trying to keep up with the versatility of the Miami offense, the unit didn’t have the proactive performance needed to hold back Miami. The Pack linebackers did have a slightly better performance than in the UNC game, and their grade reflects that. 

Grade: D

Defensive line

This week, the Pack defensive line proved, once again, that it could not provide the pressure needed to give the defense an edge over Miami. They were unable to pressure King, who connected 31 out 41 attempted passes. Redshirt freshman defensive end Terrell Dawkins collected the lone sack for the Pack up front. 

Grade: D