Your Miami Hurricanes have one final piece of business in 2020 and that is a game against Oklahoma State in the Cheez-It Bowl today at 5:30 PM. The Canes know a victory at Camping World Stadium will put the finishing touches on a strong season and give the program momentum to build off of in 2021.
“I think it could certainly serve as that effect,” head coach Manny Diaz said. “I think the last time we came to Orlando [for a bowl], and I think our big win against West Virginia really set us up for a great offseason. Where we started 10-0 the following year, so I do think there is a kick-on year. But every year still exists in its own universe as we’ve seen. Obviously, we’re nothing like the team that played in Shreveport a year ago. We would like this to sort of be a bridge to next year, but we know there will be some key additions coming to our team next year.
“There’s a way we want to do things and a way we want to establish the program and we’re trying to sort of knock down these things that have sort of gotten us in the past and a bowl win is staring us right in the face,” Diaz added.
“It’s a big deal for us. [Orlando] was the site of our last bowl victory back in 2016,” Diaz said. “And that was the only bowl victory for a decade prior to that. We’ve been trying to build the program step by step and part of doing that is you kind of try to accomplish things that have been hard to accomplish here over the past few years. Winning a bowl game is right in that category and then to beat a team with the quality that Oklahoma State has will mean a lot as well.”
Miami received some great news a couple of days ago, as redshirt senior quarterback D’Eriq King announced his intentions to return for the 2021 season. The unquestioned leader of the offense and one of the Canes’ four team captains, King believes his team is eager to earn a victory on Tuesday to finish the season on a high note.
“Bowl games are kind of weird in that the team that wants to be there and wants to win will most likely win the game,” King said. “It is very important for us. We have a nasty taste in our mouth from the North Carolina game and I feel like the last two weeks of practice have been good. I hate losing more than anything, so we are trying to go out there and prove a point.”
Redshirt junior safety Bubba Bolden, who is Miami’s leading tackler with 65 stops on the season, believes the Hurricanes defense is looking forward to the opportunity to bounce back from the regular-season finale against North Carolina. While the Canes had a tough showing against the Tar Heels, they have turned that loss into motivation ahead of their game against the Cowboys.
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“We take this very personally and [especially so] after the last game’s performance; that was not the Miami way,” Bolden said. “That was not how we play football, especially on the defensive side. So, we are coming into this game with a lot of fire, I’ll tell you that right now, and we’re going to come out and that’s what’s going to happen.”
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