Yahoo Finance No. 18 Miami's Cheez-It Bowl comeback falls short after D'Eriq King's right knee injury
Miami quarterback D’Eriq King suffered a potentially serious right knee injury during the second quarter of the No. 18 Hurricanes’ 37-34 Cheez-It Bowl loss to No. 21 Oklahoma State.
King’s knee buckled with just over four minutes to go before halftime as he went to make a cut to try to jump over a defender. He immediately grabbed his knee after he was tackled and his teammates took a knee in concern as King was tended to by trainers.
This is the play where King was injured. Hopefully it’s a lot less serious than it looks. pic.twitter.com/pdPsYr0F7u
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) December 29, 2020
King was helped off the field and toward the locker room after the injury. He was unable to put much weight on his right knee as he limped toward the tunnel with the help of Miami staff.
He returned to the sidelines during the third quarter on crutches with a large brace on his right knee.
D’Eriq King now has a huge brace on his right leg. pic.twitter.com/854ZPgSu5j
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) December 30, 2020
The Houston transfer announced Saturday that he would be returning to Miami for another season in 2021. King was able to come back to the Hurricanes after the NCAA granted every player an extra year of eligibility because of the coronavirus pandemic.
King was one of the most dynamic QBs in the country in 2020 after he redshirted in 2019 at Houston ahead of his transfer to the Hurricanes.
The senior threw for 23 TDs in 2020 and ran for four more while completing over 60 percent of his passes. With Trevor Lawrence most probably heading to the NFL in 2021, King became the favorite to be the preseason All-ACC quarterback heading into next season when he announced his intention to come back to school.
King was replaced by N’Kosi Perry, who led a comeback attempt that ultimately fell short.
Miami was down 21-0
Oklahoma State (8-3) jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter as Miami’s offense sputtered early and the defense couldn’t get a stop.
The Hurricanes (8-3) started mounting a comeback in the second quarter, however. Miami cut the deficit to 11 by halftime and briefly tied the game at 21-21 with 8:45 to go in the third quarter.
That tie was short-lived, however. A two-point conversion that appeared to tie the game was somehow overturned. Miami instead trailed 21-19 at that point and never got any closer to the Cowboys.
Miami had two chances late
After cutting Oklahoma State’s lead to three points with 5:39 left, Miami immediately forced Oklahoma State to punt. If you believe in momentum, it was all with the Hurricanes at that point.
And then it all disappeared like it didn’t exist at all in the first place. Miami failed to gain a yard and had to punt back to the Cowboys.
Miami forced another Oklahoma State punt again with 3:14 to go. But again couldn’t get close enough for a game-tying field goal. The Hurricanes at least gained some yardage on that drive, but a 4th and 9 tunnel screen came up yards short of the first down and Oklahoma State was able to drain the clock.
Miami scores most bowl points since 2002
The 34 points Miami put up on Tuesday night are the most points the team has scored in a bowl game since Miami put up 37 on Nebraska to win the national title in the Rose Bowl in January of 2002.
That’s obviously a positive. But it was counteracted by the defense’s inability to contain OSU, especially in the first half. The Cowboys had 418 total yards and averaged over 7.5 yards per pass as Spencer Sanders picked apart Miami’s pass defense.
Brennan Presley’s big game
Oklahoma State freshman wide receiver Brennan Presley entered the game with just one catch. He increased that total exponentially against Miami.
Presley had six catches for 118 yards and three touchdowns against the Hurricanes. His production was needed as star wide receiver Tylan Wallace had just six catches for 45 yards before sitting out the second half. The ESPN broadcast of the game cited Wallace’s departure from the game as a player’s decision and multiple reports from Oklahoma-based reporters said that the unique plan entering the game all along was for Wallace to only play a half.
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