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Miami Football: 3 takeaways from Independence Bowl loss to Louisiana Tech

By Zach Bigalke

DURHAM, NC - NOVEMBER 30: N'Kosi Perry #5 of the Miami Hurricanes passes the ball against the Duke Blue Devils in the second half of the game at Wallace Wade Stadium on November 30, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke defeated Miami 27-17. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - NOVEMBER 30: N'Kosi Perry #5 of the Miami Hurricanes passes the ball against the Duke Blue Devils in the second half of the game at Wallace Wade Stadium on November 30, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke defeated Miami 27-17. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

2. The Miami defense came ready to play against Louisiana Tech

Miami set the tone right out of the gate on Louisiana Tech’s first drive of the game. After giving up a 39-yard J’Mar Smith pass to Malik Stanley on the  opening play of the drive, Jared Griffith and Gregory Rousseau racked up sacks on two of the next three plays to force a Bulldogs punt. It was an impressive start that continued throughout the course of the game.

The Turnover Chain came out in the fourth quarter as Gilbert Frierson jumped a screen route and tried to jump-start Miami in the fourth quarter. His return was neutralized by an illegal forward pass as he tried to lateral to a teammate for extra yards, and the Hurricanes offense sputtered toward another punt.

Louisiana Tech finished the game with only 337 total yards of offense. J’Mar Smith was allowed to rack up just 163 yards through the air as he completed only 13 of his  28 passing attempts. Smith threw one early touchdown pass and ran in one late score, but other than that they were unable to get in scoring range. Miami also held Bulldogs running back Justin Henderson under 100 rushing yards and did not allow him to get into the endzone.

That the Hurricanes left Shreveport with a loss, though, should in no way reflect on the solid job that the defense put in on Boxing Day. Louisiana Tech gained 108 fewer yards and scored 20 fewer points than they did on average during the regular season. That should have been enough to generate a win.

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