Miami Does Manhattan

After dispatching of Boston College in the season opener last week in Chestnut Hill, MA your Miami Hurricanes will travel well outside the footprint of the Atlantic Coast Conference and take their road game to Manhattan, Kansas to face the #21 ranked Kansas State Wildcats in the second game of the 2012 season.

Not to be confused with its big brother in New York State, the "Little Apple" is not known for its big business, bright lights and broadway stars but for its small, college town appeal and its consistent, steady and successful brand of football under long time head coach Bill Snyder (160-83-1).

Snyder has been doing Manhattan way before Manhattan was cool.  And, after 20 years at the helm of the Wildcats program there is no doubt that the old, sly, silver fox knows a thing or two about coaching college football. Miami will face a disciplined, well-coached team that executes a solid game plan.

That means that second year Hurricane head coach Al Golden (along with coordinators Jedd Fisch and Mark D'Onofrio) really has his work cut out for him today.  Golden lost last year's head-to-head match-up with Snyder 28-24 in the Orange Bowl in a game the hinged on two big plays.

Late in the fourth quarter Wildcat RB John Hubert busted loose for a 47-yard run on third-and-1, catching UM in a goal-line defense with just about everyone on the line of scrimmage. After that momentum building burst Kansas State went the full 80 yards on eight plays capped by Hubert's score from 2 yards out and putting Miami in need of late game heroics.

Miami did manage to drive the distance of the field with little time left in the game but Kansas State's defense rose up and stopped UM QB Jacory Harris at the goal line on fourth down with :49 seconds left in the game to seal the victory for the Wildcats.

This year Golden and company are hoping for a much different outcome in Kansas.  This year's Hurricane football team, although much younger and less experienced than last year's team, are bigger, stronger and faster thanks to another year of the "UTough" conditioning program instituted by Golden and managed by long-time UM strength and conditioning coach Andreu Swasey.

This UM team is much more dangerous and has more weapons, some of them even top secret, to work with (seen below).  We have reason to believe that the term "Wildcat" does not just refer to a team from Kansas, but of course that is just be wild speculation on our part.

The question still remains: Will that be enough to get the 'Canes across the goal line late in the fourth quarter when needed?  Only time will tell, but we have reason to believe that it will.

This year we expect to see OL Seantrel Henderson lined up at fullback (yeah I said it!) in front of hard-charging RB Mike James carrying the ball and not lanky QB Jacory Harris trying to desperately nose the ball across the goal line.

In a line from a song titled "I Know A Little" performed by legendary Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd there is a line that goes a little something like this:

"The bigger the city well the brighter the lights,

The bigger the dog well the harder it bites."

As everyone knows Miami, FL is by far much bigger and much brighter than Manhattan, KA. So we say: LET THE BIG DOG EAT!

Canespace Prediction: Big Dog Canes 34, Little Kitty Cats 31

Comments

[j.w.]

Our Lb play couldn't possibly be worse. Damn do I miss some of the great ones

[360Cane]

They look like they're still using HS technique. Good thing our O can drive the ball.

[raizecane]

K-stae QB out thinking D-No

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Obviously this defense doesn't miss Armstrong.

[/sarcasm]

(Or Robinson)

[CGNC]

Posted by: Felipe | September 08, 2012 at 12:52 PM

House could have figured it out LOL

[nemo2002]

We're losing again!
I guess we gotta get Used 2 the nU normal.

Don't believe the hype!
Simply stated, the U ain't TOUGH enough.

[usagainsttheworld]

coach parnell, former miami killian d-backs coach used to say this all the time--

keep your poise!

[CoCane]

What happened to taking away what a offense does best & daring them to do what they don't do good. If they get killed like that, I could accept it...

[Laquinton]

the qb is taking what D'No gives him. The Field

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Yeah, because his side of the ball has performed so well since he hitched a ride with his college roommate Ohio.

[Laquinton]

corey king sighting

[canesteeler]

I did not expect the Canes to win today however it is difficult to watch our defense. I don't give a damn about what anyone says about blown assignments but our scheme sucks. To continually see no penatration and wr's wide open up continually on pass playsis frustrating as hell. Our db's are tackeling everyone high, I have not seen any of them put a shoulder on anyone!

[dj moonbat]

D'No needs to go, quite simple

Posted by: Jiggafras | September 08, 2012 at 12:38 PM

I see a lot of people saying this.

Let's remember, though: Golden doesn't just have "complete faith" in D'Onofrio's defense because D'Onofrio is his BFF. He has complete faith in it because IT'S HIS DEFENSE. He won't bring himself to fire D'No until he is forced to admit that he, Al Golden, designed a badly flawed defensive scheme -- that just saying "multiple" a lot doesn't make it good.

[Panamacitycane]

McGee is strong

[Felipe]

Is where we only fall behind by 3 more points, where I'm supposed to be excited? I genuinely dunno if D'No is trolling my emotions at this point or not.

[Montreal-Cane]

Clements unacceptable fumble
Morris is doing his job
Denzel playing well
Ramon and Eddie cannot tackle
Luther Robinson = selfish...It hurts.
Coach D swiss cheese defense...
May be put Seantrel at DT on some plays...lol...
Injured players Hurns Telemaque
Not the best start

17-3 Kansas State

Let's go Canes!!!

[4-Real]

We gonna march down & score easily, vault me!!! They can't handle our passing game. Keep flippin it 2 the te's.

[Jiggafras]

I finally figured it out. D'No went and got Bill Young's playbook from 08. Who remembers Chritian Ponder running wild in Miami?

[j.w.]

It's not D'ono, it's lack of talent and experience. Some of these kids wouldn't see the field except in garbage time for any ranked team

[j.w.]

Can I revise my prediction :[

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Well that's two stops by KSU in one half, you can find another game to watch Hurricane fans unless you want to ruin the rest of your weekend watching this garbage.

Bethune will put up more or less than 400 yards next week?

[4-Real]

No excuse 4 our o-line 2 be gettin pushed around like this

[Jiggafras]

Lack of experience my ass. More excuses, what happened to no excuses?

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Jiggafras, but LOOK WHAT THEY DID AT TEMPLE!

That's what comes as the next gambit in this defense, right?

[UpNorthCane27]

Morris needs to grow some balls say in the pocket and deliver the ball running out of the pocket and losing 5 and 6 yards is killing us

[Felipe]

Twit Reax:

Twittereaction:

‏@CeeLOmAX
“@AnyaRN: Where is Miami's defense?”<

@allCanesBlog
9:53am PT and already into the Bulleit Bourbon. Thanks, Miami defense.

@MarcFeinTV
Miami offense impressive, Miami defense offensive #theU #notbackyet #gettingthere

‏@curtiskitchen
#Miami defense in disarray. Guys running on and off the field just before #kstate snapped ball on 3rd and 3.

[Laquinton]

just like Golden said. they are killing Miami on time of possession

[j.w.]

jigga, get out of the sun, you're missing something obvious. 3 had all the ability on the world, just getting abused right now. He'll figure it out in 5 or 6 weeks. Johnson looks good one play, can't get off on a block the next. That's how young kids are.

[USAFCane]

hold em to fg.

44 showing promise

[Panamacitycane]

Eddie Johnson looking good

[4-Real]

4 all of u that says stars don't matter u r exactly right, cuz Ksu has little or no stars other than Arthur Brown & a no name qb. Therefore it has 2 be COACHING!!!

[solarcane]

so clever football cliches "lay your brick and the wall will go up" ( stolen right from bud fosters lunch bucket over ten years ago btw) is just more feel good Goldens got this crappola?

[USAFCane]

omg, horrific!

[dacanes]

If we are not going to get pressure on the QB then we might as well just get on the damn plane.

[Laquinton]

Please take Highsmith out..
McGee is much like DVD all speed and no coverage..

[TonyCane]

Final score, K-State 63, Miami 3.

This really sucks.

If we cannot stop this offense, what are the freshmen and sophmores going to do against G-Tech? Allow 1,000 yds rushing.

[USAFCane]

I'm not trying to get caught up in thr hype, but this D is as bad as I've ever seen from the Canes. They might put up 60.

[TonyCane]

Al Golden is The Sphinx from the film Mystery Men...

"To learn my teachings, I must first teach you to learn."

[Felipe]

Please take Highsmith out..
McGee is much like DVD all speed and no coverage..

Posted by: Laquinton | September 08, 2012 at 01:11 PM

These ahole speedster (read: hipster) types are so proud of their 40 times that it's all they care about. It has Sam Shields out of a starting job at CB opposite Tramon Williams in GB. And DVD cut and signed by another team. Feh.

[raizecane]

This is realy hard to watch....UCF is hanging with ohio State....lol

[Panamacitycane]

We all knew if the offense can't score we lose..why are we acting surprised..did you really think they would be better then last week?

[USAFCane]

that DJ drop hurt as well.

[USAFCane]

a beat down all over!

[tjl3909]

so what -their 5th year jr college transfer 24 year old seniors are spanking our 17-18 year old frosh-sophmore roster. we will come back and make it a game!

[TonyCane]

Make that K-State 84, Miami 3. Haven't seen such play from my beloved Hurricanes since the 4th quarter of the OU game in 2007.

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Steven Morris, no Jacory Harris.

Of course the LT didn't get anything on that block either but he's been pretty awful today between bad audibles and poor decision making.

[solarcane]

We gonna march down & score easily, vault me!!! They can't handle our passing game. Keep flippin it 2 the te's.

Posted by: 4-Real | September 08, 2012 at 01:00 PM

ummm maybe not

[BEERicane]

This is a 4-8 team. What garbage.

[j.w.]

Don't think we're making a game out of this, but hopefully they do something on offense to keep the d off the field

[solarcane]

whats the most tds one qb has rushed for in one game against us?