Miami Hurricanes defense the catalyst to postseason success | D'Angelo
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Linebacker Wesley Bissainthe was just a freshman when the University of Miami was hitting the lowest of lows.
The Hurricanes were humiliated by Middle Tennessee in the fourth game of 2022. A game that was the defining moment for two very rough years at the start of his, and coach Mario Cristobal's, career at Miami.
"Man, I don't even know if I can find the right word," Bissainthe said when asked about that 14-point loss to an FCS team. "It was crazy. Being there at that game and the way that went down, it was heartbreaking, to where we are now … that's the work. The work we put in. Look where we are now.
"That was a rough one for everyone."
Hard work and deep pocketed alumni and supporters have Miami in a spot it has not been in 23 years – two wins from a national championship.
The Hurricanes (12-2) have slugged out two wins in the College Football Playoffs, and now face a dangerous Mississippi (13-1) team in the semifinals in the Fiesta Bowl. Ole Miss' football players are motivated by those doubting them after their coach, Lane Kiffin, took the LSU job and was not allowed to coach the team in the playoffs.
Miami's growth in the last year, more specifically, the last six games after a second regular-season loss, has been remarkable. And the catalyst to that resurgence has been the defense under first-year coordinator Corey Hetherman.
Since a 26-20 loss at SMU Nov. 1, Miami has allowed 58 points in six games, including 17 in postseason wins at Texas A&M (10-3) and against Ohio State (24-14) in the Cotton Bowl.
The defense has been suffocating, shutting down the run and providing massive, game-altering turnovers. Miami has allowed 134 yards on 59 carries in two playoff games. That's 2.3 yards per attempt. The Buckeyes were held to a season-low 45 rushing yards.
“They’re as good as anybody in the country and it starts with the guys up front and goes all the way to the back end,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said before playing Miami.
Day found out he was not wrong.
Miami has 12 sacks in the playoffs, seven against Texas A&M. That's the kind of pressure it will need in the Fiesta Bowl.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has completed 70.7 percent of his passes in the postseason. He's thrown for three touchdowns without an interception.
And the Rebels are an up-tempo offense — something Miami has not seen a lot of this year — that has accounted for 80 points and nearly 450 yards per game in the playoffs.
"They can get the quick game out there," Hetherman said. "I think they do a really good job and then they go fast. That's something that we've seen a little bit earlier, but we've got to make sure we're ready for that."
All-American Reuben Bain, Ahkeem Mesidor key UM pass rush
The Hurricanes have been built from the inside out. On defense, that means a line that was rated borderline top 10 in preseason and now is one no team in the playoff wants to face.
All-American Reuben Bain is the catalyst. But the projected top 10-15 pick in the NFL draft has plenty of help from defensive end Akheem Mesidor. The two have combined for 19 of Miami's nation-leading 46 sacks.
"Those two are game wreckers," Miami quarterback Carson Beck said. "Even just having one of those guys would be a huge impact for any defense. Being able to have both of them has completely changed the course of this season the way our defense plays."
Said UM offensive lineman Anez Cooper: "I'm happy I'm blocking them in practice instead of blocking them in a game."
Mesidor and Bain are part of that core group that experienced the lows, and not just the losing during the first two years under Cristobal.
Even in 2024, when Miami won 10 games, questions surrounded this program. The Hurricanes ended last season unfulfilled after having a playoff spot in their grasp until melting down on the last weekend of the regular season and blowing a three-touchdown lead at Syracuse.
But that seems so long ago, especially since the arrival of Hetherman, who brought a more physical brand of football to Miami, his latest stop on a long journey.
Corey Hetherman paid dues at Fitchburg State, King's College
Hetherman came from Minnesota, where he was the DC for one year. But since 2006, he has had stops at Fitchburg State, King's College, Springfield College, Northeastern, Western New England, Old Dominion, Pace, Maine, James Madison and Rutgers. Never having spent more than three years at any one school.
Not exactly the upper crust of the sport.
While physicality was stressed from the start, Hetherman attributes recent success to communication.
"Our guys trust each other right now," Hetherman said. "Our guys go out there and you can see them communicating just in practice; the way they talk, the way they communicate, the awareness to know this is the guy that's in the pit with me, or this is the guy that's helping me in coverage. I have someone protecting me right now."
But Miami needed more than a coaching change on defense to erase that miserable ending to 2024 that wasted the performance of the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, quarterback Cam Ward.
Cristobal did what he does best, and has built a reputation on: recruit. And nowadays that means combing the transfer portal, especially for quick fixes. He found that in stud defensive backs Jakobe Thomas and Keionte Scott, along with DB Zechariah Poyser and LB Mohammad Toure.
Scott had the biggest play of the win over Ohio State, a game-changing interception he returned 72 yards for a touchdown that put Miami ahead 14-0.
"It's not just the front seven, it's also the perimeter guys," Cristobal said when describing the new mindset for the defense. "The physicality and the dog mentality of our secondary, their willingness to run the alley, fit certain gaps in the run game, be the extra hat, and sometimes just flat-out make a play in space.
"Our technique, our willingness has gotten better, and just the understanding of the defense and where your help is allows you to leverage the ball. I think those things are showing up a bunch on tape."
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
Thursday's gameCFP SemifinalMiami vs. MississippiState Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ7:30 p.m., ESPN
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: CFP semifinal: Miami Hurricanes defense gives them chance vs. Ole Miss
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