Beating Holy Cross Is the Minimum. Miami Needs to Look Like It Learned Something.

Chuck Martin did not insult our intelligence after Miami lost 59-14 at Pittsburgh.

He did not pretend the score was misleading, reduce the afternoon to a few unfortunate plays, blame the officials or ask everyone to remember how young the roster was. Martin credited Pitt for imposing its will, acknowledged that Miami was far worse than it should have been and said, plainly, “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

That was exactly what I wanted to hear.

Martin has done a fantastic job rebuilding Miami into one of the most consistent programs in the MAC. One ugly afternoon does not erase three consecutive conference championship appearances, five straight bowl games or everything required to drag this program out of the hole he inherited.

But the expectations surrounding Miami football have changed. The roster investment has changed. The transfer talent has changed. The stated ambition has changed. What qualified as progress five years ago cannot remain the permanent standard for a program now talking about becoming nationally relevant.

Martin understands that, too. After Pittsburgh, he said Miami needed to “take a giant step in the right direction” because “we’re a ways away, as we showed today.”

Holy Cross is where that response begins.

Not because beating the Crusaders would erase what happened at Pitt. It will not. Miami should win this game comfortably. The more meaningful test is whether the RedHawks start looking like the team they spent an offseason asking us to believe they could become.

This Should Not Be a Competitive Game

Holy Cross enters Yager Stadium at 0-2 after losing 35-10 to Lehigh and 35-10 to Colgate.

The Crusaders have moved the ball through the air, with Pitt transfer David Lynch throwing for 577 yards in two games. That production has resulted in only one touchdown pass, five interceptions and 20 total points. The running game has been even less effective.

Holy Cross is allowing 216.5 rushing yards per game. That should sound wonderful to a Miami offense that produced only 27 rushing yards against Pitt.

The RedHawks do not need another full afternoon of David McComb trying to rescue the offense in his second collegiate start. They need to prove that an experienced offensive line and the reigning CAA Offensive Player of the Year can produce something resembling a dependable running game.

What Miami’s Offense Needs to Show

McComb was one of the few reasons to feel better after Pittsburgh. He threw for 240 yards and a touchdown without committing a turnover while receiving almost no support from the running game.

Now Miami needs to make his job easier.

I especially want to see how Miami uses Scoop.

He produced 157 all-purpose yards at Pitt, opened the game with a 55-yard kickoff return and was tackled inside the one after a 30-yard reception. His speed was obvious every time he touched the ball.

That should lead to more than a few isolated opportunities. Move him around. Put him in motion. Make Holy Cross identify where he is before every snap.

The same applies to Witten. His 75-yard touchdown showed what happens when McComb gets the ball to him in space. Miami has too many interesting offensive pieces for explosive plays to feel accidental.

There is also an offensive-line question to monitor. Brian Beidatsch replaced injured returning starter Eric Smith against Pitt, and Miami had not publicly clarified Smith’s status as of the official Holy Cross preview. Regardless of who starts, this is a matchup Miami’s offensive line should control.

If the RedHawks cannot run the ball against a defense that allowed 281 rushing yards to Lehigh and another 152 to Colgate, Pittsburgh will become harder to dismiss as one terrible afternoon against superior talent.

Miami’s wider availability list is also worth watching. Thomas Gotkowski remains expected to miss the season, while Keith Reynolds, Brady Simmons and tight end Eric Karner have been listed as season-long absences. Devin Hyatt and Leo Scheidler have appeared as questionable.

Those absences make the early emergence of Scoop, Witten, Isom and Billups-Williams more important. They do not excuse the overall performance at Pittsburgh.

What the Defense and Special Teams Need to Show

Pitt’s seven touchdown passes went to seven different players. That matters because Miami was not simply scorched by one star. The Panthers created matchup problems everywhere, and the RedHawks never found an answer.

Holy Cross does not have Pitt’s talent, but it can still test the same area. Lynch has thrown 75 passes in two games. Myles Abernathy had 129 receiving yards against Lehigh, Ty Curran produced 130 against Colgate and tight end Drae Tyme already has a 59-yard reception.

Miami cannot treat the Crusaders’ 20 points as proof that they are incapable of creating problems through the air.

Miami’s defense has recorded 107 sacks over the past three seasons. This is the kind of matchup where that identity should reappear.

Blayne Myrick, CJ Young, Malcolm McCain and the rest of Miami’s front seven should control the line of scrimmage. The secondary should look organized. Holy Cross should not be able to turn passing volume into another afternoon of wide-open receivers.

Special teams may already be Miami’s clearest strength. Scoop nearly broke two kickoff returns against Pitt, including one where Martin believed he would have scored before appearing to cramp in the open field.

If Holy Cross gives him another opportunity, I would strongly recommend not kicking the ball to the extremely fast 5-foot-5 man.

That is free advice.

A Win Is Not the Entire Test

Miami is favored by approximately 30 points. That does not guarantee a blowout, but it establishes the reasonable expectation. Holy Cross is an 0-2 FCS team that has been outscored 70-20, struggled to run the ball and turned it over repeatedly.

Miami should win. The evaluation comes from how it happens.

A slow start, another nonexistent rushing attack or repeated defensive confusion would preserve most of the concerns from Pittsburgh. A controlled performance would not erase those concerns, but it would show that Miami can identify failures and correct them.

That is especially important with Cincinnati coming next.

The Holy Cross game should give McComb a chance to build confidence, Nelson a chance to establish himself and the defense a chance to restore some basic credibility. Ideally, Miami also creates enough separation to develop its depth during the second half.

If McComb is still being asked to save the game in the fourth quarter, my irrational hype may need to be placed back into storage.

The First Response Has to Be Convincing

Martin said what he needed to say after Pittsburgh. He credited the opponent, criticized Miami’s performance and admitted how far the RedHawks were from their expected standard. There was no fake positivity and no attempt to talk around a 45-point loss.

Now comes the part that matters more.

Holy Cross cannot prove Miami is nationally relevant. It cannot recreate the physical challenge Pitt presented or answer whether the RedHawks are ready to beat Cincinnati. But Miami can show us the beginnings of a real response.

An experienced offensive line can create a running game. A defense with established veterans can eliminate catastrophic mistakes. A promising young quarterback can operate without being asked to overcome everything around him.

My irrational Miami hype is already creeping back, because apparently one week is all the recovery time it requires. It is slightly more subdued now, and I have placed it under adult supervision.

I have also decided not to terrorize my group chat with renewed Miami football hype until Cincinnati week. I will sit back, watch this one quietly and try to analyze it like a normal person.

No promises once the Victory Bell is involved.

Beat Holy Cross convincingly, look like the better team from the opening possession and give us something tangible to carry into Cincinnati.

Martin promised a giant step in the right direction.

On Saturday, we need to see one.