Nick Saban issues clear message to Miami Hurricanes on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ ahead of clash with Ohio State
The legendary coach didn’t mince words about what Miami needs to do to overcome Ohio State on Wednesday.
Nick Saban was once a persona non grata in South Florida after bolting from the Miami Dolphins to become the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. His standing in South Florida is a little bit less tenuous after he argued for the College Football Playoff selection committee to go back and watch the Notre Dame-Miami game and see how physically dominant Miami was in the contest. The committee did, and the Canes got in the playoff over the Irish.
Now, with the Cotton Bowl and a quarterfinal matchup between Miami and Ohio State just a day away, Saban went on “The Pat McAfee Show”, and he had a very simple but direct message for the Hurricanes: be more productive on offense than you were against Texas A&M.
Nick Saban says Miami is going to have to do more on offense to beat the Buckeyes
“I think Miami is going to have to do more on offense to beat Ohio State,” Saban said. “They really played in the bag against Texas A&M. They played really good defense, and they just ran the ball and ran the ball. But I think against Ohio State, it’s going to be a little different story in terms of how they’re going to have to score more points make some explosive plays, sort of run the ball, but then have play action passes and attack down the field some to try to create some explosive plays. They’ve got the quarterback to do it.
“I think they’re going to have to score more points to be able to beat Ohio State because it’s a tough matchup against the Buckeyes now with the receivers they got, Julian Sayin. They struggled to run the ball a little bit against Indiana, but they still can make a lot of explosive plays.”
The Buckeyes have the nation’s best scoring defense and are littered with future NFL talent across the unit. Miami was able to lean on Texas A&M with the run and break it open late, but the offensive creativity and execution in the passing game was seriously lacking.
And Saban is right about the Hurricanes needing to implement play action in their passing game to a significant degree. Offensive coordinator will need to counter Ohio State’s athleticism by calling his best game of the season and create uncertainty about what his offense is going to do from play to play. The threat of Miami’s running game should be an asset that he uses to try to create some deep shots down the field.
We’ll find out soon enough if the Hurricanes can put up enough points to advance, with kickoff awaiting at 7:30 pm ET on New Year’s Eve from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
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