With back-to-back wins over Cincinnati and Virginia Tech, much of the vitriol over Miami’s slow start to the season has quieted, but that doesn’t mean Hurricanes fans are pleased to be 5-3. And if there’s blame being assigned for another mediocre start to an ACC season, the finger is generally pointed at the defense -- and coordinator Mark D’Onofrio, in particular.

In spite of the unit’s improved play of late, there are a few gripes shared by many Miami fans. In no particular order:

1. The Canes can’t stop the run, particularly in the three games they lost.

2. The bend-but-don’t-break passing D bends too often.

3. The defense doesn’t make many big plays.

If you want to simply peruse the standard metrics, this all adds up.

Miami is eighth in the ACC in rushing defense against FBS teams. Opposing quarterbacks are completing 55.5 percent of their throws, which puts Miami in the middle of the pack among ACC defenses. The Canes have just 31 tackles for loss against FBS foes, which ranks 12th in the conference.

But those numbers really don’t tell the full story. Let’s take them one at a time.

Comparing Miami's Run Defense Team YPC vs. Miami YPC vs others Louisville 4.21 4.67 Ark. State 2.98 6.07 Nebraska 6.35 6.43 Duke 3.62 6.16 Ga. Tech 5.09 6.60 Cincinnati 2.96 5.18 Va. Tech 4.90 4.48

1. Miami’s numbers against the run aren’t great, but the Hurricanes have also played against some teams that are really good at running the football. And if we compare what those teams did against Miami to what they did against everyone else, suddenly the Canes' D doesn’t look so sloppy.

Fans loved Miami’s performance against Virginia Tech, but when we factor out sacks from the equation, the Hokies are the only team on Miami’s schedule that had a higher yards-per-carry average against the Canes than they did against the rest of their competition.

Overall, Miami is allowing 1.2 yards per carry less than its opponents are averaging in their other games. No one is stopping Georgia Tech or Nebraska, and while the Canes weren’t a stout exception, they also didn’t fare significantly worse.

2. The passing D suffers a bit from the lack of a strong pass rush, but that’s where D'Onofrio seems to have done his best work. Yes, opposing quarterbacks are completing a relatively high number of passes, and Miami’s interception rate is again middle of the pack. But overall, the Canes’ yards-per-attempt allowed is second-best in the ACC against FBS competition and its average yards per completion (10.1) is eighth-best in the nation.

Moreover, with the limited pass rush, the bend-but-don’t-break philosophy has worked well. The Hurricanes have allowed the fourth fewest passing plays of 20-plus yards against FBS foes of any Power 5 conference team. Miami’s adjusted QBR against FBS teams is 29.4, 13th-best in the Power 5 and ahead of playoff contenders like Auburn, Ohio State, Oregon and Florida State.

3. The lack of big plays is something of a concern, but it’s offset by a lack of big plays allowed.

As mentioned, Miami has allowed sparingly few pass plays of 20-plus yards. Similarly, just 30 rushes have gone for 10 yards or more, a rate that ranks eighth among Power 5 conference teams.

Overall, Miami’s opponents are being tackled for negative plays less often (12.9 percent of rushes against the Canes, 16.6 percent in other games) but also picking up big chunks less often (10.8 percent against Miami compared with 17.4 percent vs. others).

Add it all up, and you certainly don’t get a dominant defense, but Miami also isn’t playing with Ray Lewis and Ed Reed these days either.

Of the 33 four- and five-star recruits inked by Miami in the pst three classes, just 12 were exclusively defensive players in high school. Of the starting 11 against Virginia Tech last week, six were rated as three-star players or lower as recruits. The bottom line is that D’Onofrio seems to know what he has at Miami right now, and he’s employing a defense that plays to the skills of the players he has rather than ask them to perform like the NFL stars who used to call Coral Gables home.