Days after criticizing the Miami Hurricanes fans base for their lack of support, starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke responded with a less than stellar effort Saturday against Middle Tennessee State.
The Broncos shocked the No. 25 Hurricanes, 45-31, and Van Dyke struggled mightily under center in the blowout. Van Dyke finished 16-of-32 for 138 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Head coach Mario Cristobal benched Van Dyke in the second half in favor of backup Jake Garcia, who didn't fare much better, finishing 10-of-19 for 169 yards.
Through four weeks of the season, Van Dyke has passed for 809 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Taking away Van Dyke's two-touchdown effort in Miami's season-opening 70-13 laugher against Bethune-Cookman, and things look even worse for the sophomore.
After Saturday's upset loss to Middle Tennessee, Cristobal cited "scheme change" when speaking with reporters about what was wrong with Van Dyke.
"We've got to do a better job of setting him up for success and doing things offensively that allow us to have a more successful, more productive passing game," Cristobal said.
Van Dyke's performance Saturday couldn't have come at a worse time. Appearing on The Room podcast with former quarterback Jordan Palmer earlier this week, Van Dyke was critical of students for not showing up to Hurricane's games.
"I like away games better. We don't really have much of a college atmosphere because we play at Hard Rock [Stadium]," Van Dyke said. "We're about 25 minutes away from campus, so a lot of students don't go up most of the game unless it's a big game."
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