Canespace

Honey, I Bet The House

When it comes to Miami winning out this season, I suggest you bet the house.

And Orange and Green in the Vein, yes, this specifically means you.

When you look back at this season, remember that you read it here first: 

The University of Miami under first year head coach Manny Diaz will win their remaining two games in convincing fashion to finish the 2019 season with a 8-4 record and momentum going into the recruiting period and next season.

First before you go all crazy on me, let me explain what happened.

At this point I have to admit that Go Canes made me look into the light.

It was brief glance and really not a long stare, but I have to say that the light was significantly brighter than I thought it would be. I also have to report that if you squinted just right you could definitely see Art Kehoe, rainbows and unicorns all at the same time. 

There is every reason to believe that your University of Miami Hurricanes should be victorious over lowly FIU next Saturday at Marlins Park and against the quickly fading Duke Blue Devils in the season finale on the road in Durham, NC.

If Manny Diaz can achieve this small task he will have accomplished exactly what we asked him to do to assure that our continued faith, hope and love (we promised) would be solidly behind him going into 2020.

Now we would like to think that you agree this is something to cheer about.

Slowly but surely, the light is starting to grow brighter.

It could get even brighter with two more wins to end the season.

I suggest that if you are a betting man, you bet the house.

I have already told my wife: "Honey, I bet the house."

Don't Look Into The Light

The last time this happened we all fell for it.

The last time we all assumed that it would work and that it would last.

The last time the coach's name was Randy Shannon, Al Golden or Mark Richt.

After Miami's huge win over Louisville (SolarCane was right) we had to listen to Faith and Hope loudly banging on the door once again.

The fear is that Miami Hurricane fans will want to stare directly into the light and grasp around for all of those pretty shiny objects that seem to be almost everywhere (turnover chain, turnover chain) in recent days.

We have to caution you at this critical time: Don't look into the light!

Manny Diaz and his band or orange and green clad warriors are doing their very best to make you, me and all of us into true believers. They are scoring points, winning games and even taking some names.

We like that, yeah, we like that a lot.

But we have seen this circus in town many times before over the past few regimes in Coral Gables. They test you, they tease you and then they leave you weak kneed at the altar as they abandon you in your finest hour.

We literraly begged Diaz to take us home as winners for the rest of the season.

Now he appears to be very well be on the road to making that happen.

The initial love affair with him that turned way too sour way too soon has now reinvigorated itself into a luke warm relationship. We are starting to once again like Manny, but full on love, and total trust, is still yet to be determined.

But I think that most of us have child-like, forgiving and hopeful hearts.

If Diaz can win out for the rest of the season (we made a promise), and not let us down (we are begging you), and win a bowl game (against anybody but Wisconsin), then we may be all in, and in love, once again (with known risk).

But let's not get ahead of ourselves too soon or just yet.

And whatever you do: DO NOT LOOK INTO THE LIGHT! 

Game Day Blog: Miami vs Louisville

So here we are again.

One more time with our eyes wide open.

It is now when we will once again be tested to our orange and green core.

After an extremely rough start to the 2019 college football season your Miami Hurricanes have found a way to win two games in a row and even beat their arch rival on the road in the Florida State Seminoles. That got our attention.

We think our friend LT#36 would be proud.

Earlier this season it was easy to hate on Miami and Manny Diaz who was in over his head. Our minds were made up. We were all AngryCane (seen below R) and done for the season. At one point faith and hope had clearly left the building and all that was left was love. And our love was wavering.

Many Hurricane fans (me included) were able to once and for all emotionally distance themselves far enough away from their team to the point that their self esteem much less their daily survival was no longer in question.

As SolarCane very accurately put it: "We had become comfortably numb."

But then we got sucked back in. We made compromises. We offered deals. 

If you recall, in our "Let's Make a Deal" blog we pleaded with Manny to just win out and all woud be forgiven. And we sincerely meant it.

Now, many of have started actually believeing that Diaz may actually do it.

And therein lies the emotional risk, the potential reward and the obvious danger. We open ourselves for joy and celebration but also disappointment and dejection once again. But apparently, we can't help it. It is what we do.

In the dark of the night, while most Canespacers (except Alpine) were quietly alseep, Hope and Faith found a way to sneak back into the building. And even though they were wearing hoodies, dark shades and sitting way in the back corner of the blog, they are there. And they are smiling.

We once again are at risk of another crushing loss or another glorious victory.

I choose to see the glass as half full. I choose to see the game as:

Miami 34 - Louisville 13

Roach Coach

For just a minute I ask you to forget about former University of Miami head coaches Butch Davis, Larry Coker, Randy Shannon, Al Golden and Mark Richt.

Sure, we know that you are all excited that new head coach Manny Diaz may be starting to turn things at Miami around but he is just getting started.

Instead, I want you to turn your focus on a great man, a great leader and a long time great coach named Darrell Roach (R).

He goes on the blog by the name RoachCane77.

Yet, he and his coaching legend is so much more than that.

You see Roach is a coach of the women's golf team at Lemon Bay High School.

They just went to State Championships again (not even sure how many times?).

Darrell Roach (L) is a great and talented man, leader, teacher and coach.

And a huge Miami Hurricanes fan and a Canespacer from the very beginning.

He has earned and deserves your appreciation and respect.

He already has mine.

Diaz Can Boast And Taggart Is Toast

The University of Miami's big win against Florida State in Tallahassee had much larger repurcussions than is usually tied to beating your main conference rival.

The Hurricanes roared into the State capital and laid waste to the Seminoles by putting an old school style beat down on FSU. Even the weather channel's veteran reporter Jim Cantore couldn't believe the devastation left behind.

Manny Diaz can boast about the win and even more so because he turned Willie Taggart into toast as FSU announced today that they had enough and sent Taggart packing with a mid-season firing (and a $20 million dollar price tag).

Canespace insiders are not claiming that Coach Diaz is the next Howard Schnelleberger, but hey we will take what we can get.

Wham-Bam thank you Manny!

For all the criticism we (me included) have heaped on Manny Diaz this season he has now managed to salvage at least one small token of sincere respect: He beat FSU. And he did so in what we like to call "convincing fashion".

Now if he can motivate his team to play up to their ability for the rest of the season he may earn a much larger serving of gratitude from Miami Hurricane fans desparate to maintain their faith, hope and love in their team.

All of us at Canespace offer our support (and coaching advice) and wish you much success in future games this year. As we agreed in our "Let's Make A Deal" blog last week, win out and all will be forgiven.

The first step has been successfully accomplished.

But let's be clear, anything less will be unacceptable.

Until next week: Go Manny Go!

Game Day: Miami vs Florida State

So here we go again.

Rivalry week: Miami vs Florida State.

Wide right, wide right, wide left...wide right.

Now I know what you are thinking.

Sure, we all know that in the long running series of games between these two teams, these terms have come into play many times and often had a direct impact on determining the game and the season for both squads.

But we are not talking about FSU's kicking game but Miami's. This year it is Miami's kickers that are seriously suspect going into this ACC rivalry game.

Still we don't think that the kicking game will even come into play this year in Tallahassee. Or as some people call it Trailernasty.

We think that the 'Canes will dominate the 'Noles. 

Canespace Prediction: UM 34 - FSU 13

Let's Make A Deal

Manny Diaz walked into the head coaching job at the University of Miami with the love and support of an overwhelming majority of Hurricane fans. He was the hero of the UM defense that had re-invented aggressive swagger and even invented the creative turnover chain.

He was a made man who could do no wrong.

He worked the transfer portal like a dealer at a blackjack table.

He and the fans placed their bets and they were all in.

Of course, that was all before the season started.

Then things started to get twisted and go awry.

The defense wasn't so aggressive or effective under a new coordinator and the offense, the sore spot under former coach Mark Richt, seemed like they couldn't score to save their lives.

Losses to lesser teams started to happen (again) and wins seemed painfully difficult against weaker opponents (again). But, here we are and here's the deal we are willing to make with you Manny Diaz.

You have a mission, should you choose to accept it:

1. Priority #1 is BEAT FSU.
2. Win the remaining games in 2019.
3. Show us that the team is improving late in the season.
4. Give us hope for 2020.
5. Don't screw this up.

Do this and maybe some other impressive things and all will be forgiven.

Fail and the wrath of Miami fans will fall on you like a anchor around your neck.

Or maybe a small plane with a large banner in the sky.

Until then, we wish you faith, hope and love.

And maybe even a little luck on the side.

Miami Beats Pittsburgh

We are so happy!

Miami beat Pittsburgh 16-12.

What else can we say?

Except it was not a pretty game.

The UM starting QB was removed.

The injured former QB was inserted.

The Canes won. 

We are so happy!

That is all.

Game Day Blog: Miami vs Pitt

Today your Miami Hurricanes travel to the Steel City to play the Panthers of the University of Pittsburgh.

We look for the 'Canes to have a bounce back game after a tough loss to Georgia Tech at home.

The Hurricanes have a commanding 26-11-1 all-time series lead over the Panthers, including a 12-6 mark in road games. As ACC counterparts, the two teams have met six times and Miami leads, 4-2.

The two teams have traded similar results in the last two years; as ACC Coastal champions in 2017, the #2 Hurricanes were upset by the Panthers to snap the nation's longest winning streak. Last year, UM upended the Coastal champion Panthers, 24-3, at Hard Rock Stadium in the regular season finale.

CANESPACE PREDICTION: UM 34 - PITT 13

Comfortably Numb

This blog was written by Canespace HOF blogger SolarCane...

“When I was a child, 

I caught a fleeting glimpse, 

Out of the corner of my eye,

I turned to look but it was gone,

I cannot put my finger on it now,

The child is grown, the dream is gone,

I have become comfortably numb”

Surely Pink Floyd's David Gilmour must be a Miami Hurricane fan.

Every one of us deals with reality in different ways.

You might find yourself in denial, cursing the television, throwing stuff all over the place. Maybe you are the type that suffers in silence and just shake your head in disbelief. I used to be both of those type fans, sometimes even during the same game.

Now nothing horrible the Canes do on the field upsets me or even surprises me.

I have become comfortably numb.

Fortunately I was able to move on from denial a long time before most of my Canespace pals were willing to let go. I was in the minority a decade ago when I predicted the Miami Hurricane football team would dwell in the eight wins four losses neighborhood for all eternity.

Nobody wanted to believe me back then, yet here we are.

Sure, the Canes continue to tease us and win a couple notable games in spite of themselves, but they never look like "The U" is Back. I don't really believe we will ever be back. We are the football version of the Chicago Cubs. I don't know if we can pull off 108 years between championships, but we are giving it a hell of a shot.

Remember when you were a kid and fell off your bike and how bad it hurt for awhile and how you hated that bike?  Then in time your bruise became numb and you realized that you still really loved that bike after all.

Rooting for the Miami Hurricanes is something like that.

We all have become comfortably numb.