Miami defensive back Te'Cory Couch leaves Middle Tennessee game with injury

Things simply can’t get much worse for the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon. First, they currently trail the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 31-17 in the third quarter. Second, ‘Canes defensive back Te’Cory Couch left the field clutching his right shoulder following a punt, per Manny Navarro of The Athletic. Miami had as bad of a first half as they could possibly have, turning the football over three times, including a pick-six. The turnovers put them in a 24-10 hole at halftime, but the team appears to be showing much more signs of life following the insertion of quarterback Jake Garcia in for Tyler Van Dyke.

The Miami secondary was already depleted before Couch exited in the third quarter, so that’s just more bad news for the ‘Canes. The Hurricanes were starting to show more signs of life on both sides of the football late in the third quarter.

The good news for Miami fans is that Couch returned to the game early in the fourth quarter, according to Manny Navarro. Middle Tennessee just played better in every way and deserved to win the game. The ‘Canes eventually lost 45-31.

Chase Cunningham took a blowtorch to the Miami secondary

Middle Tennessee quarterback Chase Cunnigham made some absolutely beautiful throws, completing 64 percent of his passes for 408 yards through the air, while tossing three touchdowns and one interception. MTSU receivers D.J. England-Chisholm and Jaylin Lane both had spectacular performances, hauling in over 100 receiving yards apiece.

Miami definitely made the game interesting in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late. The costly mistakes and turnovers ended up being a big difference in the game. That and the fact that the ‘Canes corners could find no answer for Chisholm.

The Hurricanes will go back to the drawing board on October 8th, as they face off against the North Carolina Tar Heels and Drake Maye.