Seven and Five

Your Miami Hurricanes finished the 2008 football season with a thud, losing 38-28 to North Carolina State on a cold, gloomy day in Raleigh.  Not even the presence of CanesgirlNC (seen here with her daughter and friends) could bring home a much needed victory over the Wolfpack.

The Canes, who at one point this season won five straight games and were ranked for the first time in three seasons, finished the year at 7-5 after dropping their last two ACC match-ups against Georgia Tech and NC State.

After finishing at 5-7 in 2007, Miami improved by just two games in 2008.  The Canes finished 4-4 in the ACC with wins over Duke, Wake Forest, Virginia and Virginia Tech and losses to the Seminoles, Tar Heels, Yellow Jackets and Wolf Pack.  The Canes late season decline saved Sun-Sentinel writer Shandel "Saluki" Richardson the ultimate embarassment of having to wear a Canespace T-shirt (seen above) to work.  But there is always next year Shandel, next year!

And, while the Canes did improve their W-L record and their play in general this season, they also showed that there is much work to be done and room for improvement before this team can compete for an ACC title, much less a national championship. 

With a young team and a tough road schedule in 2009 it is likely going to be 2010 before your Canes are once again knocking on heaven's door.  The lesson learned from 2008?  Be patient Canes fans; improvement may be slow, but better days will be here again.  The cutie pictured above told me so and I believe her, don't U! 

In the meantime, U may want to go out and cheer on Frank Haith's 21st ranked UM basketball team at the BUC. In case you missed it, they won again yesterday, beating Stetson 79-65.

The bowl eligible Hurricanes will now wait to hear where they will play their next game.  The choices appear to be limited to the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl in Nashville, The Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte or most likely the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco.  However it works out, it will be a disappointment after the Canes had a potential shot at the ACC championship and a possible date in the Orange Bowl game.

Speaking of the ACC championship game, Virginia Tech and Boston College will face off in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday, December 6 to represent the ACC in the Orange Bowl.  

The pictures above and below from the NCST game are from world renowned Canespacer Keoki who is famous for two things: (1) The awesome Canespace tailgate parties at TNP stadium; and (2) For creating the "Keoki Mystery Punch" that he served at these events. 

The red-colored punch, whose recipe remains a trade secret but is rumored to be a combination of cherry Kool Aid and several types of flavored rums and liquors, not only put the giddy up back in MaryLou's step but is the only known substance to temporarily quite Carlos' criticism of UM Offensive Coordinator Patrick Nix.  Yes, that is how powerful "The Punch" really is!

   

Comments

[OCALACANE]

1st

[Old Skool]

Three

[86Cane]

Ocala? No way! What's up in Lizard Land???

[OCALACANE]

Had no power for 4 f-ing hourrs just got my system back up and BAM...

[OCALACANE]

As they say timing is everything...

[OCALACANE]

DOLPHINS!!!

[SOUP]

U got that right! Tornadoes get U???

[Old Skool]

Damn missed three in a row by one.

Want to be Plexico's lawyer?

He shot himself in the leg in a club.

He did not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon in New York City

And he just pled not guilty to possessing a loaded unlicensed handgun in a place other than his residence or business.

Sounds like they'll be some extenuating circumstances.

[SOUP]

Miami 16, STL 12

[OCALACANE]

No but they say winds were near 50mph.

[SOUP]

Skool...three in a row would have been unprecedented! I think Solar had several firsts at one time, but I don't know if he ever went three in a row?

[SOUP]

Phillip Buchanon had an INT to seal the deal for the Bucs win and Jon Beason just had an INT for Carolina (3rd of the season) to seal that win for the Panthers.

[SOUP]

There was a tornado near Disney and two by New Smyrna Beach. Rain and wind here at the Canespace Control Center (CCC).

[OCALACANE]

Looks like the power surge blew up my big screen...

Arrrrrrg.

[SOUP]

REDSKINS HAD A NICE TRIBUTE TO ST#26 TODAY. PORTIS CAME OUT ON THE FIELD HOLDING A BIG #21 FLAG ABOVE HIS HEAD.

[Canefantasy]

Browns lose again!!! Bring Rob Chud back to Miami!!

[hurriphin]

coach sparano

[hurriphin]

Emerald Bowl vs. either Cal. or AZ?

[canechic]

Thanks six I sent them a pretty harsh email because the number was busy for about an hour. I am quite sure the news director got an earful. I grew up in florida and when we were kids unless it was lightning, we were outside. Since when do we cover every t-storm? Come on guys it is over kill!!!!

Philip has a pick and jon beason to end a game.

Go Canes!!!

Posted by: canechic | November 30, 2008 at 04:37 PM

[Canez1]

I told you freaks way before the season started that Sparano was no joke. His offenses were unstoppable up here at UNH. I watched his teams for many years.

Our Phinz are in good hands with Parcells in the mix too.

The future is bright not only for our Canez but the Phinz as well.

Life is good....

Cav I was wondering where U were yesterday lol

GO CANEZ!!!!!

[OCALACANE]

Lots of rain blowin here at Lizard land...

[Esteban]

Chud has done enough to get another NFL OC job once Cleveland cleans house. If Cleveland had another year like last year he probably would be added to the list of head coaches to be. And still never know cause no one expected the Redskins to make their coach the head coach.

[MidWestCane]

"midwest,
when i say not tackle high i dont mean tackle low (van dyke style)...in highschool i was always taught to put ur hat on the ball aka tackle around the waist area with your head driving to the ball side if possible...obviously you get them down any way possible but thats the form tackle i was taught...tackling high leads to alot of broken tackles

Posted by: timcanes | November 29, 2008 at 12:04 AM"

timecanes,

I see where you are coming from, now. But, I still disagree that Randy isn't teaching the same.

-Its hard to believe that RS started for Miami tackling wrong.
-Its hard to beleive that RS survived Jimmy Johnson tackling wrong.
-It's hard to beleive that RS made it to the NFL tackling the wrong way.
-It's hard to beleive that he started in the NFL as a freshman tackling wrong.
-Its hard to believe NO other coach ever called him on tackling the wrong way.
-RS help put some of the NFL premier Linebackers in the NFL, teaching them the wrong way is unbelievable.
-Remember he was the DC Coach of the Year, but not by teaching the wrong way.
-Its very hard to thing that Micheal Barrow would stand by and then even agree with him teach these youngsters to tackle the wrong way.

All I am saying is, with Randy's job always in scrutiny and thus on the line, why would we beleive RS don't know what form takling is or would even tell his player to tackle wrong?

[Chinese Punisher aka Cavaleer]

Soup, you have a typo in the second sentence..."Not even the presence of CGNC COULDN'T.."

"THAT'S A DOUBLE NEGATIVE!!"...from ESPN of course.

[Chinese Punisher aka Cavaleer]

Midwest and Tim, I think it's a couple of things with the tackling.

#1..Most of if not all of the upperclassmen aren't good tacklers to begin with. For whatever reason they lose all technique and want to blow people up instead of making the tackle. So when you add the additional tip of trying to strip the ball that's just too much to process at one time.

#2...The best defensive plays of this year have come from freshmen or sophomores, except for Joe Joseph's play against FSU where and Cook's strip-TD against A&M. Time and again Spence, Forston, JoJo, Bailey and of late Marcus Aurelius and B. Harris have literally outplayed their upperclass teammates.

[Chinese Punisher aka Cavaleer]

Canez1, yeah I was out of pocket for a second. I was slightly surprised by how the Legion took the loss, especially since we could've won it.

The blame-game continues, although I wonder how it is that Butch and Les Miles and Mark Richt can't seem to figure out how to marshal their troops and they've been HCs for a while now, with a bunch of upperclassmen to boot??

To me, the team's demeanor is more a reflection of its personnel than it's coach. JJ's methods didn't do squat at OK-St but once he found players who had his mentality in SoFl, he created a juggernaut.

Right now, we have upperclassmen who are simply NOT winners, mentally or physically, and we have freshmen and sophomores who are winners but just aren't big, strong and experienced enough to impose their will on opponents.

Shannon can only do so much with certain raw material.

[MidWestCane]

timecanes,

I not referring to you when I say this, but now after everyone has seen what GT (Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets) did to UGA (Georgia Bulldogs) in rushing yards, we should now be able to distinguish truth from falsehood much better now. Meaning that many fans rush to assign blame for a loss of a game on the coach because they themselves have claimed, in the pass, that they never really was sold on him being the Head Coach.

[pb(CSROH09)]

No matter what the outcome this season, the one undeniable fact for 2008 is CGNC is really fine...

[86Cane]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)- Russell Wilson threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score Saturday to help North Carolina State beat Miami 38-28 and become eligible for a bowl game.

Wilson threw for 220 yards and ran for 58 more for the Wolfpack (6-6, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who pushed ahead for good late in the third quarter on Wilson's 32-yard pass to Owen Spencer. Andre Brown also scored twice and ran for 93 of the Wolfpack's 219 rushing yards against a Miami defense ranked 20th nationally.

N.C. State entered the final month of the season at 2-6 before beating instate rivals Duke, Wake Forest and North Carolina to keep its bowl hopes alive. Yet, unlike last year, the Wolfpack made good on their last chance to become eligible for the postseason.

Last season, the Wolfpack bounced back from a 1-5 start with four straight wins, but ended the season with a 20-point loss at Wake Forest followed by a 37-0 home loss to Maryland to waste that effort. It was a memory that stayed with the team through recent weeks, particularly as they prepared for this game.

Javarris James ran for two touchdowns for the Hurricanes (7-5, 4-4), who led 21-20 midway through the third before the Wolfpack went ahead to stay. The Hurricanes were coming off a 41-23 loss at Georgia Tech on Nov. 20, a game in which they had a chance to reach the ACC championship game by winning out.

Now they're ending the regular season with two straight losses in which they couldn't stop the run. They allowed 472 yards rushing against the Yellow Jackets and their triple-option offense, then watched as Wilson, Brown and Jamelle Eugene each ran for at least 58 yards.

[86Cane]

Cav...thanks, I fixed it.

BTW, does anybody know what year the NCST QB is (Frosh, Soph, JR, SR)?

[MidWestCane]

"Most of if not all of the upperclassmen aren't good tacklers to begin with.

Posted by: Chinese Punisher aka Cavaleer | November 30, 2008 at 05:17 PM"

CP-C,

I couldn't agree with you more here. Their problem is mental or confidence, which is second guessed because they have to re-learn many of the basics that wasn't taught correctly under the Coker administration.

However, please take note of one thing if you will. The notion that Randy Shannon is teaching his players the wrong way to tackle is - mindboggling. And its absurdity is even more magnified by its use.

[86Cane]

Never mind, I found it:

Once again, Wilson's mobility caused headaches for an opposing defense. The redshirt freshman had a 29-yard scramble to set up his short TD toss to Brown on the Wolfpack's first drive, then scored from 29 yards early in the second quarter on a keeper to tie the game at 14.

[MidWestCane]

"No matter what the outcome this season, the one undeniable fact for 2008 is CGNC is really fine...

Posted by: pb(CSROH09) | November 30, 2008 at 05:38 PM"

pb,

Ain't that the Truth.

[86Cane]

SCORING OFFENSE G TD FG XPT 2XP DXP Saf Points Avg/G
1. Florida State 12 45 25 41 1 0 2 392 32.7
2. Miami 12 40 17 38 1 0 2 335 27.9
3. North Carolina 12 41 14 40 0 0 1 330 27.5
4. Boston College 12 40 13 39 1 0 0 320 26.7
5. Georgia Tech 12 40 11 33 3 0 1 314 26.2
6. Clemson 12 37 15 37 0 0 1 306 25.5
7. NC State 12 34 15 31 1 0 0 282 23.5
8. Virginia Tech 12 28 20 27 0 1 1 259 21.6
9. Wake Forest 12 27 18 24 1 0 1 244 20.3
10. Maryland 12 28 15 28 0 0 0 241 20.1
Duke 12 29 13 28 0 0 0 241 20.1
12. Virginia 12 24 9 22 0 0 0 193 16.1

SCORING DEFENSE G TD FG XPT 2XP DXP Saf Points Avg/G
1. Clemson 12 23 13 20 1 0 0 199 16.6
2. Boston College 12 26 9 26 0 0 1 211 17.6
3. Virginia Tech 12 25 14 21 1 0 0 215 17.9
4. Wake Forest 12 25 15 22 1 0 0 219 18.2
5. Georgia Tech 12 28 10 26 1 0 0 226 18.8
6. North Carolina 12 29 15 25 0 0 0 244 20.3
7. Florida State 12 28 17 28 0 0 1 249 20.8
8. Maryland 12 30 15 30 0 0 1 257 21.4
9. Virginia 12 32 12 32 0 0 0 260 21.7
10. Duke 12 35 11 34 1 0 1 281 23.4
11. Miami 12 36 12 34 1 0 1 290 24.2
12. NC State 12 36 19 36 0 0 2 313 26.1

Nix's fault?

[86Cane]

Miami DEAD LAST in INTs with only four, one for a TD. Who can name the Cane that scored on the INT?

INTERCEPTIONS G No. Yards TD Avg.
1. Boston College 12 25 603 5 24.1
2. North Carolina 12 19 467 4 24.6
3. Georgia Tech 12 18 245 3 13.6
4. Clemson 12 18 305 1 16.9
5. NC State 12 17 190 1 11.2
6. Wake Forest 12 17 222 1 13.1
7. Duke 12 15 151 1 10.1
8. Virginia Tech 12 14 286 3 20.4
9. Virginia 12 11 141 1 12.8
10. Florida State 12 9 56 1 6.2
11. Maryland 12 8 43 0 5.4
12. Miami 12 4 36 1 9.0

[86Cane]

Bosher for MVP:

FIELD GOALS G Made-Att Pct.
1. Miami 12 17-19 .895
2. Florida State 12 25-30 .833
NC State 12 15-18 .833
4. Virginia Tech 12 20-25 .800
5. Clemson 12 15-20 .750
6. Duke 12 13-18 .722
7. North Carolina 12 14-21 .667
8. Boston College 12 13-20 .650
9. Wake Forest 12 18-28 .643
10. Maryland 12 15-24 .625
11. Virginia 12 9-15 .600
12. Georgia Tech 12 11-19 .579

[hurriphin]

Ken Dorsey to start against Buf. next Sun.!!

My baby's back!!

[hurriphin]

sean spence took it back against FSU.

[86Cane]

Miami DEAD LAST in turnover margin:

TURNOVER MARGIN G Fumb Int Total Fumb Int Total Margin Per/G
1. Wake Forest 12 18 17 35 12 7 19 +16 1.33
2. NC State 12 10 17 27 5 11 16 +11 0.92
3. Virginia Tech 12 12 14 26 6 10 16 +10 0.83
4. Boston College 12 8 25 33 13 13 26 +7 0.58
5. North Carolina 12 8 19 27 10 11 21 +6 0.50
6. Georgia Tech 12 11 18 29 18 6 24 +5 0.42
Duke 12 11 15 26 9 12 21 +5 0.42
8. Clemson 12 7 18 25 13 14 27 -2 -0.17
9. Florida State 12 14 9 23 10 16 26 -3 -0.25
10. Virginia 12 12 11 23 10 20 30 -7 -0.58
11. Maryland 12 6 8 14 10 12 22 -8 -0.67
12. Miami 12 10 4 14 4 19 23 -9 -0.75

[86Cane]

sean spence took it back against FSU.

Posted by: hurriphin | November 30, 2008 at 05:56 PM

U are correct!

[j.w.]

What a discouraging end to the season! And now we're left with an Emerald Bowl berth if Cal is the opponent or maybe something even worse? These aren't what I was hoping for with my Thanksgiving wishes. :)

[86Cane]

Miami SECOND most penalized team after FSU:

PENALTIES G No. Yards Avg/G
1. Virginia Tech 12 64 442 36.8
2. Boston College 12 53 448 37.3
3. Maryland 12 55 486 40.5
4. Virginia 12 59 509 42.4
5. North Carolina 12 59 513 42.8
6. Duke 12 56 526 43.8
7. Georgia Tech 12 59 530 44.2
8. NC State 12 69 547 45.6
9. Clemson 12 65 568 47.3
10. Wake Forest 12 55 571 47.6
11. Miami 12 71 575 47.9
12. Florida State 12 95 852 71.0

[hurriphin]

....i can remember when defensive & sp tms td's were a given in miami-dade.

[86Cane]

When U are LAST in T/O margin and have the second MOST penalties U are NOT going to win many games, young, old or in between.

[MidWestCane]

One more thing, in fairness to those who created conversation of 'RS is teaching UM players the wrong way to tackle'.

Look, if form tackling I was taught to hit with my shoulders square, my spine straight, my head up, attacking the center of my opponent, while aiming to put the "Radell" logo of my helmet on the football, and at contact wrapping both arms around my opponent like John McCain greeting George W, and drive straight through my opponent keeping my feet moving.

Now, to do this one must get low. But most tackles end up high after the hit. So, why would RS teach the kids to tackle high if they were not tackling at the legs or ankles of their opponents. Ankle tackling is reserved for the secondary because of size advantage, and that is not even a rule.

What I am saying is, it is easy to listen to a commentator talk on tackling, or it is easy to read a book on it. But this is the difference in knowing, Have you put it in practice? If you have, you know you must get lower than your opponent in order to perform the perfect form tackle. I, being one who have, know that that is not alway possible.

[roachcane77]

Does this make sense?
(From ITU.com)

“We are going back in the weight room four times a week until when ever we start practicing again,” Shannon said. “We are going to be getting stronger for the bowl game and also next season. We have all these players that are young and you know your body can take it because you have had one full season in the strength and conditioning program with the weight room. Some of them are still living off August.”

"... still living off August?" Is RS saying that our team lifts NO WEIGHTS during the season?

That is just wrong from a strictly physiological point of view. You cannot just STOP lifting and expect to keep strength and muscle gains from "playing" and "practicing" alone. Hopefully, it is NOT the case.

BUT, if it IS the case... this could explain a LOT about our end-of-season meltdowns.

[The U needs A coach]

Nice article, even nicer picture of CGNC.

[86Cane]

Nice article, even nicer picture of CGNC.

Posted by: The U needs A coach | November 30, 2008 at 06:55 PM

Roger that!

[MidWestCane]

Posted by: 86Cane | November 30, 2008 at 05:40 PM

86,

That post is a great one because it reveals much about fans fickled nature.

1st, of all: The constant bashing of one coach (through out most of this year it has been Patrick Nix) when it is not clear who is really at fault. Example:

"NIX HAS TO GO
NOW NOW NOW NOW
Posted by: jerry | November 29, 2008 at 02:54 PM

shortbus jerry( credit to canez1 for that nick) rolls in blaming Nix for the 31 poits on the board.

peace

Posted by: solarcane | November 29, 2008 at 02:58 PM"

2nd of all: The shifting of the blame to cover up the obvious causes of the problem that surfaced at the time.

3rd: The attempts to demonize a new fan for stating the obvious cause of the problem when presented.

Last before the game last week I made three assertions:

One, it is misplaced aggression to constantly blame PN for most of Miami's woes.

Two, that it is shifting the blame to PN and other's when one fails to acknowledge that our Defensive Coordingator may just be leading in the fault catigory this year.

Three, a Run based Offense is Cane football, meaning a balanced Offense but a preference towards the run before the pass (SMASHMOUTH FOOTBALL).

Calvin, Carlos, and other's didn't agree.

Well, after breaking a defensive record last week giving up 475 RUSHING yards, and giving up 472 rushing yard this week, not to mention 4 other games that defensively Cane football was without a doubt absent, played by the other team against us, but the topic was ralitively silent on this blog, as it is this week. I hope its CLEAR to see now.

Signature:

The Nix apologist.

[JC]

Pretty good stats 86. I had mentioned a few times earlier, to crickets, that the inability of the defense to create turnovers was a big reason we were not winning games more handily or winning the games we lost closely.

Still, I'm really disappointed at the complete defensive collapse in the last two games. The offense was a bit better in Raleigh after the disaster in Atlanta, but the two QB system hopefully dies here. I understand that when you ONLY have two freshman QBs and no real backup, you need to get them both experience. But next year, we'll have a legit QB string:

1st string, hopefully the most talented guy
2nd string, an experienced and capable QB who isnt much of a drop off from #1
3rd string (which we did NOT have and have NOT had since... before Coker? Ethnic Sands anyone?) A legit QB who is young and green and waiting in the wings.

Most annoying part of the game Saturday was listening to the Raycom douches talking about Miami like they were the 2001 Canes. "So much speed, NC State has to weather the storm, talent all over the place, ball-hawking defense"

BS. This was an average team. Next season is a big year, b/c a mammoth improvement is gonna be needed to have any improvement on the record.

I don't think we're gonna get a new OC, so please can we not have an off-season filled with complaints? I think Shannon will give it one more year based on the stats 86 cited above and the desire for continuity. But there better be an identity, and that starts with identifying a #1 QB and #1 RB.