A Measuring Stick

Brick by brick.  Brick by brick.  Brick by brick.

That saying is based on the theory that you don't try to build a whole big, beautiful wall all at once. The objective is just to lay one perfect brick at a time, put one solid brick in place each and every day, and eventually the wall will build itself.

That was the latest and most creative of all of the slogans that Coach Al Golden has used to try to paint a picture for his team as they try to regain the glory that once once Miami Hurricanes football.

On Saturday during the second game of the 2012 season and even before the second layer of bricks were set in place and the plaster was allowed to dry, the proverbial wall came tumbling down all around the 2012 version of the Miami Hurricanes football team.

In what amounted to an absolute engineering nightmare Golden's team laid and egg, not a brick, against Kansas State.  The wall first showed early signs of cracking as the Hurricanes trailed 14-0 in the first quarter for the second straight week and then it eventually crashed down on them in Manhattan as Miami was dominated and soundly beaten 52-13 by the Wildcats.

It was as though the Wildcats took one of those bricks, smashed it through the front window of the Hecht Athletic Center in Coral Gables, and ripped out the heart of the Hurricanes football program.

In his own words after the game the Hurricanes were out-coached, out-played and so thoroughly beaten by the #21 ranked Wildcats that even the eloquent and smooth talking Golden had difficulty finding the right words to describe or explain the embarrassing and devastating loss.

The bottom line is that things got ugly in Kansas on Saturday. All of the nice slogans and wise sayings and accomplishments allegedly made from the "UTough" conditioning program over the Summer seemed to be all but erased on the Bill Snyder Family Stadium in a matter of just over three hours.

What should have been a motivational revenge game for the Hurricanes, a team that barely lost to the Wildcats last year in Miami, turned out to be just another depressing beat down at the hands of what now clearly appears to be a vastly superior opponent.

On Saturday before the UM football team got off of the buses outside of the Wildcats' stadium they were given a yard stick.  It symbolized the three feet that separated Miami from beating Kansas State last year at Sun Life Stadium when UM QB Jacory Harris could not get into the end zone from one yard out in the last minute of the fourth quarter.

Three feet was all Miami needed last year to beat Kansas State at home. But this year on the road against the Wildcats the distance between victory and defeat was so much greater than that.

In fact, you probably could have taken all 65 yard sticks from the UM players who traveled all the way to Kansas and lined them up end to end and they still would not have measured the gulf that separated the performance of these two teams on the Saturday in September.

This game was more than just the second game of the young 2012 season. In many ways it was a measuring stick to evaluate where this Miami team stacks up against a top 25 ranked opponent.

And simply put, Al Golden and the 2012 Miami Hurricanes football team just did not measure up.

Comments

[Felipe]

as a fantasy aside, there's a reason D'Qwell Jackson was the #1 overall IDP pick in most leagues, and in position-based leagues, a reason Joe Haden, D'Qwell, and Ward are off the board in mine. It's a solid nucleus to build around.

Do you really think "NFL no namers", which is a patently false description of the Cleveland nucleus of young players they have, have the same talent disparity as college guys? Or guys just now 18 years old? Seriously?

[Old Skool]

Getting ready to delete the game from the DVR.
Somehow there's no satisfaction in just hitting the delete button. I'd love to give it a Viking burial, but I doubt Verizon would understand.

[86Cane]

Collin Klein and Kansas State are demanding to be taken seriously — again.

The Wildcats were surprising upstarts last season, winning 10 games and getting to the Cotton Bowl after being picked to finish in the bottom half of the Big 12. Kansas State won eight games by seven points or less. Luck or skill?

The Wildcats are making a case for the latter. Klein accounted for four touchdowns in a 52-13 victory over Miami in Manhattan, Kan. The rout moved them up six spots in the AP Top 25 to No. 15.

Klein has a Tebow-esque style. He ran for 27 touchdowns last season, but wasn't a consistent passing threat.

Against, Miami he ran for three scores and 71 yards, but passed for 210 yards.

"He's improved at everything, because he works diligently to get better at everything," coach Bill Snyder said. "He's better in the passing game, he's gotten better in leadership, managing the game. I mean, he's just a guy who works diligently to get better, and he's done that across the board."

[Zakkee]

So you are saying that the Browns stopped and played well against the Eagles today because of their defensive talent?

My post wasn't about Ray Lewis vs. D'Qwell Jackson..once again..so I won't be draped off into that.

I'm a lifetime Clevelander, so I know this team pretty well and they aren't world beaters, aren't a known or intimidating defense in the NFL--is that not a fact?

To answer your questions: no, and the talent disparity depends on the competition from game to game. Today the Browns definitely played a far superior team. We out recruit K-State consistently every year, so IMO, the talent disparity was much more distinct in the Browns game than in the K-State game. The coaches can get more out of these kids. Do you disagree with that statement?

The Browns team is young as well.

Putting the roster up should have ended this discussion (it did with a laugh for everyone except you), so I won't be responding. I'll agree to disagree.

[86Cane]

Miami allowing nation's worst 10.5 yds per pass after playing 2 QBs who were ranked 77th & 100th in pass efficiency last yr.

[Zakkee]

Colin Klein will not be a QB in the NFL.

The majority of our players will and do make NFL rosters.

Our "talent" shows out when coached up.

Jimmy Graham anyone????

[Montreal-Cane]

Very impressive run for a TD by Frank Gore

Boy do i miss the good old days when the Canes were simply the best.

[The Dude]

I will say this about talent and the Miami Hurricanes: As far as 3rd down is concerned, Miami does not have the defensive front talent to only rush four.

[solarcane]

Co, Zak,86
Good stuff by you guys today read the entire comments and enjoyed everyone's theories and conclusions

86 remember way back when Randy was just starting to catch hell and I told The Truth we would be an 7-5 to 8-4 team with an occasional 9 win season for the next decade?

Remember the flak I took day in and day out because coaches that play Chess instead of Checkers always win championships?

Here we are 6 years later still being too young too thin at key positions and any other excuse we have heard a million times

But hey we are the most recognizable brand and are right next to the most desirable city in the world or whatever crappola we were sucking back a couple years ago.

canesteeler ogv zakkee are right the magic that was "The U" is dead.
We are The Miami Hurricanes and that is it until we earn respect by putting a competitive winning team on the field week in and week out

smh

[The Dude]

And to expand on that I'm not saying that Chickillo, McCord, Hamilton and Terry cant grow and become great pass rushers. I'm saying as DEs they are not talented enough to get pressure on a QB without bringing more that four. Rushing the passer in college has to do with how talented you are. The power and speed you bring at the OL. The next step is the coaching part, the technique part where you can be disruptive w/o sacking like hands in throwing lanes, etc. DE is a mans position. We should be redshirting most of these kids. McCord should be standing up on 3rd down and using his speed around the OT.

[AlpharettaCane]

Solar,

At least we didn't dance on their logo prior to kickoff.

We are progressing, albeit ever so slightly...lol

[Montreal-Cane]

Question:

A lot of players took to Twitter and it seems flushing the loss and ready to move on...

Al Golden

"Today is our day off. I asked them to leave that game in Manhattan. I hope they didn't say anything foolish on Twitter.

Monty: Just Ban twitter.

[CaneRock]

Do you really think "NFL no namers", which is a patently false description of the Cleveland nucleus of young players they have, have the same talent disparity as college guys?

Posted by: Felipe | September 09, 2012 at 06:39 PM

EXACTLY! It's all RELATIVE. I've never seen a scheme turn "Humpty-Dumpty" into Dick Butkus.

[Montreal-Cane]

Anyone got some fresh news on Sean Spence...the surgery etc.

[360Cane]

Watching Schiano win for our Bucs today makes me wonder what if...

What if we gave the job to Schiano instead of Coker? Would the Porche still be running?

[The Dude]

Posted by: CaneRock | September 09, 2012 at 07:41 PM

How about in San Francisco where Alex Smith now looks like an NFL QB? What about Carson Palmer after Pete Carrol and Norm Chow took over at USC?

[The Dude]

Posted by: The Dude | September 09, 2012 at 07:50 PM

What about Aurthur Brown from Miami to Kansas State?

[The Dude]

What about Sam Shields from Miami to Green Bay?

[4-Real]

Yall do know Louisiana Monroe beat Arkansas right!!?? No f'n excuses!!

[solarcane]

here was the final regular season poll on dec 7 2002

how many of these teams have rebuilt or reloaded over the last decade while we continued to fall into the 60th ranked teams in 2012
How do most of these schools over come obstacles for decades and rebuild?
1 miami
2 ohio st
3 uga
4 usc
5 iowa
6 wash st
7 ok
8 kansas st
9 nd
10 texas
11 mich
12 penn st
13 colorodo
14 fsu
15 w va

[4-Real]

Canespace is the only thang Miami got goin

[86Cane]

Dude...I really like San Fran. They look good. Tough defense there.

Solar...Canes will finish 9-3 this season. Unless of course they don't. But I think they will.

[solarcane]

alph lol !! yea that was another low-lite,

that was when teams like Louisville and Boise were just lucky and no way in the world would they ever be on par with The U

[BigWIndyCane-Forecast1]

Bottom line is that the Canes lost this game in the trenches. DL got no penetration and were not disruptive, and the OL allowed too much penetration.

Glad to see Robinson back to add depth, and Seantrel needs to be integrated back into the lineup somewhere. When Seantrel was in the lineup, the Canes never had a problem running the ball behind Seantrel.

The messages have been sent, now its time to win.

I was disgusted by one of the worst losses I have seen since Donovan McNabb put up 50 on us. I am consoled by the memory that less than two years later, and the Canes were dominant not only good, but dominant.

I think I will have to be a little more patient with this young Canes bunch. They are young and inconsistent.

On defense, they appeared to regress a little yesterday, but they also lost Senior leadership with Cookie and the safety play over the last two games has been the worst I have seen.

On the positive side (if there is one), a loss like this allows the coaches to refocus the team. If they get better over the next 2-3 weeks, then we know that the coaches are doing a good job.

Communication, assignements and reading keys need to improve a lot on defense. DL needs to play a lot better.

Golden will get these problems fixed.

[solarcane]

Posted by: 86Cane | September 09, 2012 at 08:06 PM

I heard that from someone a couple times a season for like .. well like awhile.

How heartbreaking would it be for the NCAA to come and say
"We are sorry but you will have to vacate ALL or BOTH of your wins over the last 6 seasons which ever is greater."

[AlpharettaCane]

CGNC and Tony were right. This one ranked with:

LSU (Matt Flynn was their back-up!)
Louisville
Oklahoma
Virginia
Notre Dame Sun Bowl

Was it USF that was Shannon's last game? That was a tough one as well.

Seems like it's been a long time since we went into Blacksburg and roughed up Vick's younger brother. Last time I remember really going crazy during a 'Canes win.

Whoever said the 'Canes were downgraded to raindrops were right. Sun shower is more like it!

[CaneRock]

Posted by: CaneRock | September 09, 2012 at 07:41 PM

How about in San Francisco where Alex Smith now looks like an NFL QB? What about Carson Palmer after Pete Carrol and Norm Chow took over at USC?

Posted by: The Dude | September 09, 2012 at 07:50 PM

Posted by: The Dude | September 09, 2012 at 07:50 PM

What about Aurthur Brown from Miami to Kansas State?

Posted by: The Dude | September 09, 2012 at 07:51 PM

What about Sam Shields from Miami to Green Bay?

Posted by: The Dude | September 09, 2012 at 07:55 PM

I don't know about no Carson Palmer, but as far as Alex Smith is concerned, who's the HC of the 49ers...yeah that's right, Jim Harbaugh. And from what I hear, the 9ers simplified AS's reads. And as far as Sam Shields and Arthur Brown are concerned, those two aren't "Spring Chickens". Check the last time we beat VT, those 2 SET THE TONE! on special teams. On one particular kickoff, I remember SS was the first to hit the returner, followed by AB finishing it off. And what about the KSU game last season, how many times did AB run down Miller. So, like I said, ain't no scheme make those guys fast (SS), or big fast hitters (AB).

[The Dude]

Posted by: solarcane | September 09, 2012 at 08:17 PM

Can we vacate some of these losses too? Because there are a bunch that I would like to think never happened.

[Montreal-Cane]

Cannot stand Manning lets go Steelers!

[solarcane]

dude amen brudda!

[solarcane]

soup,
Bob Seager sent your next blog article in

Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then

Against the wind
We were runnin' against the wind
We were young and strong, we were runnin'
Against the wind

The years rolled slowly past
And I found myself alone
Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends
I found myself further and further from my home
And I guess I lost my way
There were oh so many roads
I was living to run and running to live
Never worryied about paying or even how much I owed
Moving eight miles a minute for months at a time
Breaking all of the rules that would bend
I began to find myself searching
Searching for shelter again and again

Against the wind
A little something against the wind
I found myself seeking shelter sgainst the wind

[The Dude]

I disagree. I cant remember a single time either of those two players set the tone for a game. Both were marginal players at best. Scheme matters. Coaching matters. As far as Alex Smith is concerned, I will take his dumbed down offense where he leads his team to an NFC championship game any day compared to his 6 years of mediocrity prior. To paraphrase you, you said that you've never seen a scheme turn a bad player into a good one. I thought of those guys in like 5 seconds. I'm just pointing out that coaches turn around players all the time, regardless of if they are "spring chickens" or not.

[solarcane]

willis mcgahee " Miami" even willis gets it

[AlpharettaCane]

D'Nofrio must be wondering what the hell to do. Play press coverage and his DBs get torched. Play off and they surrender chunks of yards.

Manny at the Herald said it best; the inexperience of the Front 7 is going to plague this D all season long.

I'd load the box and go like hell after the QB. That strategy couldn't be any worse than what the D has turned in so far, no?

[Ohio_Cane]

McGahee changed it up and said Miami instead of The U in his introduction

[86Cane]

Wake Forest 28 UNC 27

I know Gio Bernard was out, but you can't lose your ACC opener, to Wake Forest, when you have Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech in your division. Maybe the Demon Deacons were prepping for North Carolina all Fall practice as they racked up just 293 yards against Liberty a week ago. Jim Grobe is now 13-2 at home against his four in state rivals. No wonder Wake fans love him so much. This marks the 10th time in 12 years the Tar Heels have lost their ACC opener.

[CaneRock]

I disagree. I cant remember a single time either of those two players set the tone for a game.

Posted by: The Dude | September 09, 2012 at 08:32 PM

Well, to paraphrase you, special teams counts also.
And just because you "can't remember", doesn't mean it didn't happen.
And another game where at least AB made an impact on special teams, is the FSU game in 09'.

[The Dude]

So that is stting the tone at Miami now? You have set the tone for a game by making a big play on a kickoff? Not for shutting down the entire offense yourself like Sean Taylor or scoring 5 TDs against VTech? Now setting the tone for a game is contributing on special teams. I guess we are debating the meaning of setting the tone now though and no longer whether or not scheme changes bad players into good ones?

[elliott]

Not sure who clwtran is but he should b banned for posting ridiculous comments such as the one he posted directed towards myself been doin this longer than u brother I go back to 07 newbie

[j.w.]

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', ("This is my message to you-ou-ou:")

Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"

[CaneRock]

Now setting the tone for a game is contributing on special teams.

Posted by: The Dude | September 09, 2012 at 08:58 PM

So Devin Hester never set the tone in both Florida games that He played in?

How about that Louisville game?

What about Robert Bailey's big hit in the 91' Cotton Bowl.

[The Dude]

Posted by: j.w. | September 09, 2012 at 09:01 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaGUr6wzyT8

Missing the link j.w.

[j.w.]

Thanks, Dude. :)

[CaneRock]

I guess we are debating the meaning of setting the tone now though and no longer whether or not scheme changes bad players into good ones?

Posted by: The Dude | September 09, 2012 at 08:58 PM

You brought up 3 players that you "thought of in 5 seconds".
One player changed schools, that had nothing to do with scheme.
Another player went from O to D, that had nothing to do with scheme.
Now Alex Smith, you got a point there, but the scheme didn't all of a sudden give Him John Elway arm strength.

[The Dude]

I really wouldnt put either of those guys on the same level as Devin Hester. Also, explain to me like a little child how that goes into scheme not turning bad players into good players.

EXACTLY! It's all RELATIVE. I've never seen a scheme turn "Humpty-Dumpty" into Dick Butkus.

Just because you've never seen it, doesnt mean it hasnt happened. LOL! ;)

[JCane]

For old timers like I am, this was a game like the old-time Canes....from the late 60s through almost the end of the 70s when they started to improve under Lou Saban.

We all (well, most) gave Shannon more than enough time to turn things around, which obviously was a mistake. Given the Coker and Shannon years, along with many years of mediocrity (which at the moment would be an upgrade), it will be harder to right this ship. The ONLY way this will be done will be by upgrading the talent/recruiting level, which may seem harder to do with this kind of play, but appears to already be underway. If this coaching staff continues to recruit well, there's no reason (well, maybe little things like sanctions could cause trouble...) this team should improve quite a bit over the next few years. However, in a best case scenario, this team is not a top 25 team for at least 2, and more likely 3, years. We shall see. However, I'm in no hurry to see them start over in the coaching circle yet, even with assistants.

Haven't been here in a while. Hope all is well with you all, and that life is treating the big dogs like 86 and Solar well.

[The Dude]

I think I see what you are saying. You are saying that the X's and O's arent making a kid have better tools to play the game? I will say this: To win right now, Miami coaches need to fit their scheme to the players they do have rather than the players they wish they had.

[86Cane]

Haven't been here in a while. Hope all is well with you all, and that life is treating the big dogs like 86 and Solar well.

Posted by: JCane | September 09, 2012 at 09:18 PM

Still here, still good. GO CANES!

[WWIN]

Posted by: CaneRock | September 09, 2012 at 08:21

Are you saying that Shields was good here? Bcuz nobody thought he was worth a quarter while he was here and nobody definetly that he would be were he is at today. Except me lol, only bcuz I blamed his results on the coaches. His freshman year was good here then once they coached him up he wasn't good anymore. His senior year was pretty good in my book considering he never played db before

[CaneRock]

I think I see what you are saying. You are saying that the X's and O's arent making a kid have better tools to play the game?
Posted by: The Dude | September 09, 2012 at 09:18 PM

Yes, but at the same time, I also think that the coaches can help the players develop those tools.

I will say this: To win right now, Miami coaches need to fit their scheme to the players they do have rather than the players they wish they had.

Posted by: The Dude | September 09, 2012 at 09:18 PM

True, but at some point, the coaches are gonna have to hang their hat on SOMETHING! The more you switch it up, the LESS the players believe in you.