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Game Day Blog: Miami vs Virginia

And so it continues. 

Miami's next quest is to not go brain dead and do something stupid like lose to Virginia. Back in the day (1983-2003) if you ever doubted that Miami would absolutely pulverize the Cavaliers you would have been called crazy.

But not today.

In today's college football pretty much any team can beat any other team on any given Saturday. And that inlcudes your once high and mighty Miami Hurricanes. Manny Diaz has to be smart about this game and be on point if Miami is to win.

If so, the season so far reads as we made it to 5-1 and "we are like butter".

We are on a roll.

If not the season goes down as well we tried or "it was almost good enough".

But we are toast.

There is only one option that we as Canes fans are interested in.

And we want butter!

CANESPACE PREDICTION: MIAMI 34 - VIRGINIA 13

Miami Should Not be Cavalier When Playing Virginia

Definition of cavalier: (1) marked by or given to offhand and often disdainful dismissal of important matters.

Now that your Miami Hurricanes have advanced to a 4-1 record and notched a few fairly consistent wins over quality opponents, it is time to evaluate where they stand in 2020. It is certainly no time for the team to take a nap or take a week off against the Virginia Cavaliers this Saturday at 8 PM at The Rock.

 

 

In fact, we think that this is a really good time for the coaches to make sure that the players continue to improve until they can operate with military precision and maintain a laser-like focus on their tasks at hand.

 

And those tasks and goals remain the same as when the season started:

• Improve offensive line play: Grade C
• Improve QB play: Grade B
• Improve red zone play: Grade A
• Improve third down conversion rate: Grade D
• Improve overall defensive play: Grade C
• Reduce first downs allowed: Grade C-
• Reduce points allowed: Grade D
• Increase turnover margin: Grade C
• Improve special teams play especially at the kicker position: Grade A
• Win the Coastal Division of the ACC: TBD
• Play Clemson for the ACC title: TBD

So according to my grading above your Hurricanes have a respectable but far from stellar 2.3 GPA so far this season before the rest of the games are played and before the season outcome is decided. As you can see, this still leaves lots of room for studying, practicing and improvement across many of the critical areas of performance pretty much across the board.

It is definitely no time to be cavalier.

It is time to hit the books and study hard.

It is time to make sure that laser-like focus is intensified.

There is a lot of work left to do if you want to make the Dean's List in 2020.

Game Day Blog: Miami vs Pittsburgh

Today at noon your Miami Hurricanes will face off against ACC rival Pitt Tigers at The Rock.

A limited number of fans will be allowed in to see this serious azz whooping that UM is going to lay on Pitt.

The Canes offense is going to look completely different from last week's weak showing against Clemson.

We predict that WR Jeremiah Peyton is going to shine big time during this game.

Canespace Prediction: Miami 34 - Pitt 13

Please Do Not Fall Into The Pitt

After a week off, your 7th ranked Hurricanes lost to top ranked Clemson.

It was probably expected, but definitely not accepted.

Apparently, their cheerleaders were very happy with the win over an ACC opponent. And as fair is fair, maybe they should be.

Unfortunately, this has been Miami's standard modis operandi recently after a week off. Win big, come back slow and then fall asleep in the next game.

Sure Clemson is not your common bye week opponent but still it stings just the same. Miami needs to get this bye week problem solved and soon.

Next up, the Miami Hurricanes face off against Pitt on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium at noon. What this game presents is the final countdown.

Now, Miami needs to avoid being erased from the National discussion by falling prey to Pittsburgh. Can they do that? Well, the answer is yes, but it clearly depends on the offense and play calling.

If I told you that these two components would be completely different against Pitt than they were against Clemson, would you believe me?

Well you should. Because they will.

It will be like the FSU game, trust me.

Canespace Prediction: Miami 34 - Pitt 13

Hamburger Hill

Hamburger Hill was the scene of an intense and controversial battle during the Vietnam War. Known to military planners as Hill 937 (a reference to its height in meters), the solitary peak is located in the dense jungles of the A Shau Valley of Vietnam, about a mile from the border with Laos.

Under the leadership of General Melvin Zais, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division, paratroopers engaged a North Vietnamese regiment on the slopes of Ap Bia Mountain on May 10, 1969. Entrenched in well-prepared fighting positions, the North Vietnamese regiment repulsed the initial American assault, and after suffering a high number of casualties, U.S. forces fell back.

The soldiers of the North Vietnamese 29th Regiment—battle-hardened veterans of the Tet Offensive—beat back another attempt by the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry on May 14. An intense battle raged for the next 10 days as the mountain came under heavy air strikes, artillery barrages and infantry assaults, some conducted in heavy rainstorms that reduced visibility to near zero.

Due to the bitter fighting and the high casualty rate, Ap Bia Mountain was dubbed “Hamburger Hill” by journalists covering the Vietnam War.

Speaking to a reporter, 19-year-old Sergeant James Spears said, “Have you ever been inside a hamburger machine? We just got cut to pieces by extremely accurate machine gun fire.”

I don't want anyone to misunderstand my comparison of war with football or tragic death with losing a game. But, the performance by the University of Miami football team against the Clemson Tigers on Saturday night reminded me of this war movie. Both were brutal, ugly and difficult to watch.

The Hurricanes and their fans entered this game with high hopes and lofty dreams of returning to their glory days. Those hopes and dreams were dashed early and often by a superior team wearing orange and white with more talent and better coaching than the team in orange and green. 

Long time fans like Harry Miller, MaryLou and RoachCane want to know what happened. So let's look at some basic facts and stats to analyze what happened to Miami's dashed hopes to win this game:

• Yards gained: Miami 210 - Clemson 550
• Plays run: Miami 54 - Clemson 88
• First downs: Miami 9 - Clemson 34
• Third down conversions: Miami 4/15 - Clemson 8/17
• Time of Possession: Miami 21 minutes - Clemson 38 minutes
• Penalties: Miami 15/135 yards - Clemson 8/85 Yards
• Turnovers: Miami 3 - Clemson 1

Running Game: Miami never got their running game going. The Hurricanes leading rusher was their QB thanks in part to one long run. Clemson's rushing game was in full gear. Their leading rusher was their star RB Travis Etienne.

Passing Game: Clemson's QB threw for three TDs. Miami's QB threw one. Miami's leading receiver was a true freshman and someone you have never heard of named Keyshawn Smith. The other WRs were absent during roll call.

Coaching: Miami went for it on fourth down twice. Once, on the most crucial call, the RB they gave the ball to weighs 190. Miami has running backs that weigh 210 and 225 but they were not in the game.

Coaching: As is the new norm, Miami came out flat in the first and second half after a bye week. Miami had two weeks to prepare and get healthy for this game. On offense they had nothIng new, creative or special for this game. At the start of the second half they received the kickoff and proceeded to go three and out. It was the most clear evidence of an epic fail.

Game Ball: Goes to safety Bubba Bolden for his outstanding performance.

Helmet Stickers: Go to kicker Jorge Borregales and punter Lou Hedley.

A Bridge Too Far

A Bridge Too Far is a 1977 war film based on the 1974 book. It was the second film based on a book by historian Cornelius Ryan to be adapted for the screen (after 1962's The Longest Day). It was the second film based on the events of the failed Operation Market Garden during WW II.

Operation Market Garden envisions 35,000 men being flown 300 miles (480 km) from air bases in England and dropped behind enemy lines in the Netheralnds. Two divisions of US paratroopers, the 82nd and 101st airborne, are responsible for securing the road and bridges as far as Njmegen.

A British division, the 1st Airborn, under Major-General Roy Urquhart, is to land near Arnhem and hold the bridge there, backed by a brigade of Polish paratroopers. The forces are to push up the road over the bridges captured by the American paratroopers and reach Arnhem two days after the drop.

Urquhart escapes the battle zone with fewer than a fifth of his original ten thousand crack troops; those who were too badly injured to flee stay behind and cover the withdrawal. On arriving at British headquarters, Urquhart confronts Browning about his personal sentiments regarding the operation: does he think it went as well as was being claimed by Montgomery?

Browning's reply contradicts his earlier optimism: "Well, as you know, I've always thought that we tried to go a bridge too far."

Some University of Miami Hurricane fans believe that playing and beating Clemson, the reigning ACC Champs, so early in the season will turn out just like the movie "A Bridge Too Far".

We would like to respectfully disagree.

We believe that the 2020 Canes are building bridges many people here never dreamed of. And that they will cross and defend them too.

And like pop star Bruno Mars would say: "Don't believe me just watch"!

We think that these Hurricanes will be focused, strong and attacking.

We believe that they will win the game. We believe that they will dominate.

Canespace Prediction: Miami 34 - Clemson 13.

Broken Arrow

The United States military uses the term “broken arrow” to describe any incident in which a nuclear weapon is lost, stolen or inadvertently detonated. That might seem like a rare phenomenon, but records show that this has happened more than 30 times since the beginning of the nuclear age. 

Hollywood even made a relatively successful movie about it back in 1996 with some guys named John Travolta and Christian Slater in it. John Woo directed the movie that made over $150 million worldwide.

The term "broken arrow" came to mind as I was trying to find a blog title that would somehow capture what has happened to the once proud, and highly successful, Florida State football program. Sure, I will be the first to acknowledge that Miami has had it's struggles over the last decade as well, but what is going on at FSU over the last few years appears to be even worse.

After Terrance and NativeCane stole their best women, what was left to save?

When Miami recently put a dominating, devastating 52-10 ass whooping on FSU it may have signaled rock bottom for the Seminoles. Their vaunted "Fear the Spear" slogan has been replaced with "The Broken Arrow".

Apparently, the spear had it's flame completely extinguished by the suddenly powerful Hurricanes. It seems that the only thing that the once dreaded (and annoying as hell) "Tomahawk Chop" has produced in recent years has been chopped liver.

Not that I am feeling sorry for the Seminoles (well maybe a little). God knows that they have had their run over the Hurricanes in the past. But to see them so completely down and out is a little disheartening and not so good for the ACC.

The conference is always best when Miami and FSU are competitive at the highest levels of college football. The long time domination by Clemson is not healthy for the conference when looking at the big picture.

Maybe, just maybe Miami will have something to say about that in another week from this Saturday. We sure hope so after the Hurricanes impressive performance against the arch rival Seminoles last week.

Game Day Blog: Miami vs FSU

Here we go again.

Let the hate commence!

It is always hate week when Miami plays Florida State.

This year is no different even if everything else about the game is different.

We don't have too much to say say about the game other than our prediction.

Canespace says: UM 34 - FSU 13.

Don't Look Into The Light

It seems that this happens every year around this time.

The University of Miami Football team wins a couple of games, one impressively, and their fans get all excited, and cocky and then decide to stare directly into the bright light given off by their Nationally ranked football team.

Then they are blinded by the light and completely lose their hope and vision for another successful season after a few inexplicable losses.

But will this year be different? Maybe, just maybe. Here's why.

It now appears that after some first game jitters and maybe trying to hard (pressing) that the Hurricanes new QB may actually be all he was hyped up to be. D'Eriq King looked so impressive during the Louisville game that one of the TV announcers actually said: "Miami fans have not seen tight spirals like that since Ken Dorsey was the QB at Miami."

OK, sure it was only one game but still it gave fans hope that the man behind center may have the skills to lead Miami not only down the field but into the end zone more often than the opposing team. What a concept!

So far, both of the internationally sourced special team kickers are looking tatted up, tough and terrific. Aussie Punter Lou Hedley and Hispanic kicker Jose Borregales have been rock solid and better than even imagined so far this season. This, maybe more than anything else, gives Canes fans great confidence that at least 1/3 of the game can be managed effectively. If Miami can develop a return game then this could become the strongest part of the team.

The Hurricanes could very well have the best backfield and tight end combinations in the Country. Period. No questions asked. So instead we will move on to the next area of the team that need much more attention.

The defense has been just above average and anything but great. DL = B+, LB = C and DB = C-. No killers here but good enough, with some continuous improvement, to possibly compete with the best of the best. We will see.

The offensive line remains offensive and inconsistent but may have a fighting chance based on the mobility of the QB and Rhett Lashlee's new offense. Time will tell on this unit and any improvement during the season is welcomed.

Next up is some team called FSU. Here is our Canespace prediction:

Miami 34 - FSU 13.

Game Day Blog: Miami vs Louisville

Your Miami Hurricanes travel to Louisville, Kentucky to take on the Cardinals in an early season ACC match-up.

Let's see how much improvement happens between games one and two in this strange and unpredictable 2020 college football season.

Canespace Prediction: Canes 34 - Da Ville 13.