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

[nemo2002]

NOTICE FROM THE MANAGEMENT:

Let me just say that I have never been as POSITIVELY impressed with the people here on this blog as I have been over the last few days. People, and by people I mean everybody in general here, have expressed their opinions in an open and fair manner without direct attacks at each other.

Posted by: 86Cane | September 10, 2012 at 09:26 AM

THANKS! Too bad the CANES football team is not nearly as good as the CANESPACE blog.

[pbcfrcane13]

Is it more or does anybody else have an issue with a DE who weighs 245 and a LB who is 210! Cain should be playing LB IMO and Tyrone needs to be a Safet and or not play till he gets bigger. Thats why we get pushed around all over the place...we have had undersized LBs for years and yes it worked back in the day but not now when you have a 210 LB going up agains a 310 Olineman. Well hopefully Ill still be able to make it out to the game on Saturday so I can finally meet some folks all depends on the surgerory blah!

[THE MAN]

The problem is the whole team is soft and not very smart. Sick of the inexperienced schtick. Tons of teams have "inexperienced" players play at a high level or even at an average level! We've been hearing the same expcuses to the same problems for 5+ years now! Someone needs to stop the bleeding that has been ocurring for so long. So far it hasn't happened.

[THE MAN]

Before the snap everyone on the defense is looking to the sideline like they have never stepped foot on a football field before wondering what to do. It's no wonder they are constantly out of position, taking bad angles, getting absolutely engulfed by blockers and missing assignments and letting guys run free. I highly doubt all those things are resulting from inexperience and coaching. These guys have been playing their whole lives.

[Brevardcane]

I agree. I think the only thing missing from golden's "process" talk is long and painful.

[Brevardcane]

I was hoping for short and sweet

[orange 'n green in the vein]

If the 300+ OL is too slow to touch the 210 LB before he makes the tackle on the 195 RB, the extra 90+ pounds don't matter. Now if you're running a defensive scheme designed for slow guys with more strength and weight on them and he can't get there then the 75+ pounds become a factor and the LB needs to be strong enough to do what screaming D'No keeps yelling about on the practice field, engage, shed, then find the ball. I'd cut out the engage and shed part and get the fastest defense I can find to screw things up for an offense as quickly as possible. But then again, I did go to a school that made it's living doing just that unlike the current coaches, so I probably have a different frame of context to draw from when I envision a championship college football team.

[pbcfrcane13]

OGV I agree with what your saying the problem is if the DL could hold the block and the small fast LB could get the gap we would be fine.....but the OL are getting off our DL and getting to the second level. Most plays to the wide outside we can stop because we have the speed. Its the plays that stay in the middle or between the guard and tackle or counters.

[pbcfrcane13]

I understand coaches see players everyday and know more than we do, but I wish somebody would ask why Cain is playing DE and not LB and why Tyrone is at LB and safety.....

[orange 'n green in the vein]

And just for a frame of reference, yes, coordinators get let go after week 1, so do position coaches after week 2. I wonder if Markuson got into a big shouting match with his fellow staff watching the tape of their embarrassing road loss Monday before the ax?

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8361472/wisconsin-badgers-fire-offensive-line-coach-mike-markuson-reports-say

[THE MAN]

There are people who get it and their are people who don't get it and it's that simple. Obviously the current scheme isn't working so change it. All DB's should be playing at the line and bumping the wr's. They are getting beat anyway so why not? Blitz a LB or two. Obviously they aren't making the plays when needed so let them try and get pressure. This defense will give up 500+ yards a game till there is pressure on the Qb plain and simple.

[raizecane]

The Badgers fire their o-line coordinator after 2 weeks of a pour rushing performace -
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8361472/wisconsin-badgers-fire-offensive-line-coach-mike-markuson-reports-say

We need to really think about our d-coordinator.

[Jiggafras]

Now do people understand what i say when we are the ones tolerating what this team has been doing for the last 8 years or so. Wisconsin gets it. You don't wait till it festers and talk about how young you are and how much time you need. No excuses, you don't get it done, you're let go. It quite simple. No'D has had two offseasons to get through to these players. Giving up 500 yards per game is unacceptable no matter if its your first or last game. We can't stop teams from running and we can't stop them from throwing? Someone please tell me what can we do. Golden, i love the guy but he told us n excuses and proceed to give us plenty. Stop taking up for No'D what ever he is selling, no one is buying, he has had 14 games for this to get better and it actually has gotten worse. We're young, yes but i think we were younger in 08 and other than the GT game, i never seen us this bad. Honestly, and Shannon was quite lax with the team. So now we play BCC this weekend who has a running QB, who wants to bet we can't stop their QB from running anytime he wants to?

[CGNC]

Posted by: Jiggafras | September 10, 2012 at 11:34 AM

"Tolerating"? We are kind of stuck with what we have. LOL the AD and President of the school do not care one iota what Jiggafras thinks in the blog world

[86Cane]

Manny Navarro‏@Manny_Navarro

D'Onofrio said best players on D will play and get most reps going forward. No longer Pop Warner "everybody plays

[Hassan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Bostad

this is Wisconsin's old O-Line coach, he got a promotion to the NFL last year. If the bucs struggle in a year or two he can have a job coaching O-Line for the Canes or even the Phins.

[Ohio_Cane]

D'Onofrio said best players on D will play and get most reps going forward. No longer Pop Warner "everybody plays

Posted by: 86Cane | September 10, 2012 at 12:25 PM
---------------------------------------

Uhhh, it's about time?

[Sarasota 'cane]

Posted by: Jiggafras | September 10, 2012 at 11:34 AM

They fired a line coach, not a coordinator. We have to "run what we brung" until when/if we can replace him.

Grrrrrrrr 'canes!

[Zakkee]

There's a reason why this administration ignored Mike Leach and it doesn't have anything to do with winning ball games, scoring points or motivating kids, because he does that.

UM's administration wants to win a certain way, but more importantly--they want to lose a certain way (keep it close and show good effort). This coaching philosophy/culture comes down from the top. We need a coach who says, "f' that" (behind their backs of course because they won't hire a coach who they believe will buck on their concept/approach. They were stuck with JJ because he was winning and the $ looked good. JJ bucked their complacent and mediocre code.

It was us against conformity and money as the whole goal and source of inspiration in life.

The old Miami Hurricanes bucked the American master mentality/morality culture--thus the dubious distinction as "thugs", convicts and rebels. Thus the hate that exists till today and will always exist for Us. There is nothing we can do to alleviate that distinction--so why would we try.

We are the despicables and undesirables for life. Once you buck the system of ventriloquy (lol!) its over for you (blackballed).

We are victims of our past. Our administration never wants that to happen again--but the downside is that its the only way the demographic of our players + their environment can win.

The administration is embarrassed of the athlete that the surrounding area (State of Miami) Dade, Broward, and Palm produces. That athlete is usually poor, a minority, and extremely thirsty to change his future. There is ONLY ONE way up for them...there is no side ways! The have to coach these kids to go straight ahead and over folks. They are sick of waiting and complacency doesn't work where they are from.

JJ knew this

#1 F' money...it'll come regardless (whether via your free education or 2nd--the NFL
#2 Go out there to win a certain way

The essence is being combatted internally. The U is not on the same page. We must embrace each other and not demonize a label that WAS GIVEN TO Us by jealous outsiders who wanted us to get in line. Stop believing that we deserved those labels because we didn't. We watch every other team play with the same flair, self-fratification, and grandiose as we did then. Its cool from them but not for Us???

Our kids don't believe Golden and they don't trust the process because all they have witnessed is selfishness and an administration that doesn't love them the way they are--not to say that they are perfect or finished product as men when they hit campus--they certainly are not. The point is that they aren't bad either.

That fight in them just needs to be channeled correctly/positively. You CANNOT kill a persons energy..you must harness, praise/appreciate, acknowledge, and then redirect it if its negative.

The adults are all about the $ at the U, so the children have learned the culture that = KSU 52 UM 13.

Mercenary culture (capitalism) is the essence of Miami (their environment).

Next years motto should be: Honor, Integrity, and Sincerity....F%@k Money!

[bad bart]

Guys, guys, guys....let's not forget that we played a very solid team....but we got beat because that K State team played disciplined football. They stayed on their blocks until the whistle. It hurt to watch but it was beautiful at the same time. We have talented players and if we would stay on our blocks like that? WOW! That would be something!

[Jiggafras]

Posted by: CGNC | September 10, 2012 at 11:57 AM

When i say we, i mean the administration and the people who matters...its all Miami. No one cares what i think, of course not. Wisconsin Administration didn't tolerate underperformance, ours does. And we will continue on this road filled with excuses and wait till next season

[raizecane]

"I think there's numerous things we can do better on and that we can fix certainly.

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/umiami/#storylink=cpy

When coach...when?????

[Ohio_Cane]

Joe Rose - When in the week did U decide Luther Robinson wasn't going to play?

Golden - Uh, again, Luther decided he wasn't going to play. I did not. But it was Tuesday.

[raizecane]

What really bothers me about the loss is that what we saw on Saturday from K-State was nothing new.

Coaches / players have tape from last year yet I didn't see any adjustments from last years game plan to this years game plan. And there were no adjustments at half time. Maybe i missed something but......just frustrating.

[Jiggafras]

Posted by: Zakkee | September 10, 2012 at 12:30 PM

I don't agree with this at all. You guys are under selling how good our coaches were. The 2001 team wasnt like the old 80s teams. Put Saban to coach this team and immediately 85% of the excuses are gone, and we would be like choir boys on the field. The coaches on the defensive side of the ball are not earning their paychecks. Im tired of hearing the no talent excuse. Its simply not true, because i find it difficult to see why the NFL is taking so many of our guys that have no talent.

[Panamacitycane]

Reading what coach D'no is saying today. He says that he doesn't care about what the fans think he only cares about his family and kids think. I get it but you better start caring what others think. Ask randy Shannon what happened when the fans finally turned on him. And you have no resume to find another coordinator spot somewhere; what your gonna tell them how your Miami defenses set records for yards allowed and points allowed? Get a clue and stop trying to play it cool asshole..so either get this fixed. Or more the $&*# on.

[Panamacitycane]

***move the !@#$ on I mean haha

[Sarasota 'cane]

Posted by: Zakkee | September 10, 2012 at 12:30 PM

That's simply your opinion dressed up as facts. Most of us knew last year that this was going to get worse before it got better. Hell we haven't even been handed our beatdown from the NCAA yet!

Grrrrrrrrrr 'canes!

[Zakkee]

What? My post wasn't about the lack of talent at UM. If you read any of my gazillion posts this weekend you'd know that I'm a staunch critic of the coaching and firm believer that we have enough talent at this school to at least compete in very game...every season.

You don't want to agree with me, but we are saying the same thing lol!

[Zakkee]

Sarasota, I didn't say it was fact, its definitely my opinion and you didn't refute any of it lol!

There's no difference between you and I...stop defending the people who created the supposed difference, so we can do just this--fight--while they make money off of us both.

[Sarasota 'cane]

My opinion is that you're wrong Zakkee. You take way to much liberty describing what is going on behind the scenes when the reality is you haven't a clue. You're guessing.

"Our kid's don't believe Golden and they don't trust the process...", says you! It's simply not a fact. Let's stick to facts.

Our players are smaller and can be man-handled at the line on both sides of the ball against most of the teams we will face. That's a fact!

Grrrrrrr 'canes!

[86Cane]

Sarasota...got your calls and messages over the weekend just didn't have the will or time to respond. LOL

I have some things I need to send U for the UMAA Atlanta club.

Email me at: canespace86@aol.com.

[Old Skool]

Yeah. D'No's got a plan
Everybody's got a plan to fix things: D'No, Romney, Obama.

Of course, we'll never know the specifics lest the competition, fans or citizens find out. So we just have to believe in the process, believe in the plan and trust that like the mysterious Function 920 all will be revealed ... one day.

[86Cane]

Zakkee...like your comments and opinions but please stop with the whole money and mercenary thing. We get your point but it's getting old. Let's move on...

[Ohio_Cane]

Golden said Jimmy Gaines being listed as a starter us a "misprint." Tyrone Cornelius worked with the No. 1 defense today.”

[Zakkee]

Of course 86

So Sarasota, we only are allowed to post facts on this blog? And no ever posts their opinions? Is this not a forum for opinions?

People have accepted their conditioning (your prerogative), and will vehemently combat someone who doesn't accept theirs (totally unacceptable). sad.

[3G Cane]

Nobody's mentioned what ranking KSU earned for its last 4-5 recruiting classes,
Posted by: Pre83 | September 10, 2012 at 01:38 AM

That's because their classes are JUCO'd up.

Posted by: CaneRock
----------
30+ JUCO/Transfer players on their team. When I saw this I had the feeling we were in for a long day. Great Coach, senior QB and experienced team at home vs. young, green, overmatched team = BIG TROUBLE in LITTLE CHINA.

I'm not into the whole pitchforks and torches thing anyway but this loss falls on all shoulders equally. We did plenty of footshooting on offense as well. On the checklist of do's and dont's to win a college football game, we double checked the entire dont's column. Anything that could go wrong, did. This was a throw away game. Learn from it but dont dwell on it, we got a long ways to go.

[]_[] GO CANES []_[]

[Zakkee]

Sarasota, I'm not your enemy and I didn't take away your liberty--I don't have that kinda power.

If Questioning the powers that be is taking away your liberty to blindly follow then I apologize. I just want Us to think. My posts have always been designed to evoke thought--thats the essence of blogging correct?

[BigTimeCane]

I wonder if golden understands the impatience of an elite program. He played at PSU so he must. You cant think that this is a teaching/learning year and well we can get blown out and its ok cause we are building for the future. Hes not changing thr game plan cause he wants the players to execute going into next season. But at big time programs you just dont have that luxury from the fan base. Wrong or right there are expectations and 10 years of mediocrity has made most of the fan base impatient.

Raizecane - i believe when golden says there are lots of things we can do better he's talking about the players. He's not gonna change the game plan. So all he can do is try and force this team to play in a way they have never played before. It could take all season it could take two games who really knows. But a change in tactics would really go a long way. And even if we beat. BCC this weekend yet they manage to rack up yards and points the discontent will grow louder and uglier. Young players or not when you play a Bethune cookman it should not even be close. We will see.

[Sarasota 'cane]

No harm, no foul from me Zakkee! I could care less what you write. I was just giving you my opinion about your opinion!

Not my enemy??? Don't take this so seriously! :-)

Grrrrrrr 'canes!

[Ohio_Cane]

BIG TROUBLE in LITTLE CHINA.

Posted by: 3G Cane | September 10, 2012 at 01:19 PM
-----------------------------------------

GREAT movie! Kurt Russell is a stud.

[Old Skool]

This ought to be interesting

A biopic of the late Penn State football coach is in the works, with Al Pacino attached to star as JoePa.

Of course, whoever plays Jerry Sandusky will probably get the "Say hello to my little friend" line.

[WWIN]

D'Onofrio said best players on D will play and get most reps going forward. No longer Pop Warner "everybody plays

Posted by: 86Cane | September 10, 2012 at 12:25 PM 

---------------------------------------

Uhhh, it's about time?

Posted by: Ohio_Cane | September 10, 2012 at 12:28 PM

Exactly what was he doing at first?? Is it me or does it seem like d'no is more concerned about how many players he can get into the game instead of just playing the starters?? I always hear him bragging about how many snaps he got for a lot of players. That's part of his problems, other teams don't sub their starters out as much as we do

[Zakkee]

ok sarasota

of course you don't/didn't and of course I am/did ;-)

textbook

[Ohio_Cane]

Miami @ GaTech on 8/22 set for a 3pm kickoff.

[86Cane]

My posts have always been designed to evoke thought--thats the essence of blogging correct?

Posted by: Zakkee | September 10, 2012 at 01:23 PM

CORRECT

[Jiggafras]

Here is why i say stop blaming the players ok. We had the whole drama last season, therefore the coaching staff kinda got a pass for how poor we were on D. I don't care how you guys tell me we are young, we were not that young last season and we basically had no improvement. Through 14 games and 2 offseasons, we have given up better than 68% completion to very very very average QBs. That is not anything to do with youth...that is terrible coaching, that is Savannah St.

Who remembers Logan Thomas completing 90%+ on us. We manage to do that against every single QB we have faced bar GT and OSU when their program was in turmoil.

Stop telling us we are young. I see the young guys out there playing hard and tough and not getting any answers from the staff. if that is the case just let them go out there and call their own plays. Why are we paying No'D? He says he doesn't care about the yards given up, only the points. Well guess what...when the other team drives the entire length of the field whether for 7 or 3 or even zero, thats less time for your offense to score and then they start pressing and get nervous knowing they wont have much time on the ball.

Shannon was not a very good coach but after GT demolished us in 2008, they never beat us again. That is making adjustments, that is coaching. K State killed us last season and we watched them do the same thing again. If you can't stop them from running, how about you put 8 in the box on every play, how about you put 9 in the box on every play. How about you tell them, you can beat us but you will not beat us running the ball with the QB. I saw us playing 6 on 6 football knowing that kansas st is going to run with the QB in any situation where they have equal or better numbers.

I am very passionate about this because some of us seem to think just giving No'D time is gonna solve our problems...it wont. He has no idea what he is doing, keeps on referring to temple. Temple was playing MAC teams, not teams with top class coaches on their staff. You have to match wits with the best.

Now check this out in 2011. LSU front 4 was 4 Sophomores, 1 Freshman, 2 Juniors and 1 Senior in the 8 deep. We have similar numbers. Therefore the difference is we have No'D, they have Chavis. Quite simple for me.

Now check out Clemson, they were the ACC champions and got murdered in the OB....they relieve their DC and brought in Venables. Do you guys think it was lack of talent why WVU murdered Clemson in the OB? I don't know if you guys are seeing what am saying but until we get proven Co-ordinators we will keep going in this cycle and the excuses either going to be we are young or the system is new.

[herbieibis]

How most people thought we would be better on defense this year is beyond me. You could say that if we had depth of talent, which we don't. It guess it's like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, type thing. We do have sum talent. We have speed at WR & we have the Duke. Problem with having The Duke, is there is only one of him and no back-up, plus he just a FR. Our O-Line has sum talent but we are only Average at the QB spot and minus Duke we are average at best at RB, which with that combo only makes the O-Line look average.
I've already hammered the defense 100 times, so aside from what I've seen, it looks like a levee after Hurricane Katrina. Think about the players we have on defense:
Gaines, Caine, Robinson, Telemaque, Rodgers, Cornelius, Smith, Davenport, Porter, Buchanan, Green and McGee all these players were Randy's boys, are all upper classmen, and not an All-conference player among them. All would be desent back-ups at most big time univ's. or starters at places like the Buffalo's or Akrons of the world. I can't speak for Johnson, Paul, Finnie Bush, Grimble, Pierre or Howard yet because of there youth. Perryman & Chick are going to be good because they have shown flashes but 2 guys don't make a defense. Not alot to work with, is there? The sad thing is DeNo was satisfied last year with the bend but don't break approach, well it didn't work this week because we got snapped. We got smoked like a fine cigar and lest we forget Betty Cookman had over 400 yds against us last year. If we are going to go down in flames lets open the offense up and on defense, hell I don't know, if there is anything he can do but try bump & run but since we can't get to the QB, that probably wouldn't be a good idea but it's about the only thing we haven't tried yet. What have we got to lose but another game!

[Montreal-Cane]

The Badgers fire their o-line coach after 2 weeks of a pour rushing performace -
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8361472/wisconsin-badgers-fire-offensive-line-coach-mike-markuson-reports-say

We need to really think about our d-coordinator.

Posted by: raizecane | September 10, 2012 at 11:21 AM

We will know more after the Georgia Tech game on sept. 22nd 2012

[CGNC]

Posted by: 3G Cane | September 10, 2012 at 01:19 PM

Good post