The Short List To South Beach: Week 5

The first month of the college football season draws to a close and only 48 teams remain in ontention on the Shortlist to South Beach for 2012.  By conference affiliation they read as follows:

LSU, Alabama, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Purdue, Nebraska, Michigan State, Northwestern, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, TCU, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Baylor, Iowa State, Florida State, Clemson, NC State, Maryland, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Miami, Duke, Southern Cal, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Stanford, Oregon State, Washington, Louisville, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, Ohio, Louisiana Tech and UTSA.

A pair of teams won games in two entirely different fashions last week that I called for them to lose and find themselves eliminated because of;

1) Miami plays with fire once again but finds a way to escape with their Shortlist lives intact, for another week at least, with a 42-36 overtime win in Atlanta against the Yellow Jackets.  Now let's see, where did I leave that crow recipe the webmaster of this place gave me last year?  In all seriousness it was great to see Steven Morris get better as the game got to crunch time and I personally hope he uses this effort as a springboard to play with that same level of focus for a full sixty minutes this week as well.

2) Louisiana Tech goes to Urbana-Champaign and douses the Illini of Illinois by a score of 52-24.  I consider this conclusive proof that you can take the Zooker out of the coach's office but you can't take the Zooker out of the program just by firing him.  Sonny Dykes' Bulldogs notch win number six in 36 tries against BCS automatic qualifier schools and go for number seven this week against Virginia.

A total of five teams lost games last week and find themselves eliminated from the Shortlist to South Beach thanks to the final scores:

1) Illinois gets absolutely hammered by Louisiana Tech in what is quickly turning into a season to forget for the Big 10 conference that can't count to 12.  Good luck getting that bowl streak extended now Illinois as a perfect home record will be needed barring any road upsets that likely only have the season finale at Northwestern as even a possibility the rest of the way.

2) Iowa finds a way to lose in Iowa City to Central Michigan 32-31.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your three time Big 10 coach of the year, Kirk Ferentz!  How he's managed to follow the legend that was Hayden Fry for this long going on average about 7-5 for these last 14 years, I have no idea.

3) Georgia Tech gets the worst possible start a triple option team can hope for, finds a way to storm back and then gives up a two touchdown lead in the final fifteen minutes to tank their season before September even gets to its last week.  For a team now playing with it's coach's recruits only, the trend for this program is as unsettling as their defensive passing completion percentage numbers are.

4) That thudding sound you heard last week was the falling over dead of the laughable concept of a Florida 'Big Four' of football programs as USF comes home from Muncie, Indiana as 31-27 losers to Ball State.  Next up for the Bulls, a fight with the Seminoles of Florida State, who just happen to be looking for their first win in the series against South Florida.  This time, there's no Jim Leavitt to save them either so enjoy the sub .500 record to start October, cattle.

5)  What would the last Shortlist in September be without the Connecticut Huskies doing their part to make me look bad as they fall in Kalamazoo to Western Michigan 30-24?  At least they held NC State to only 10 points at home during their other loss on the season two weeks ago but how do you get torched for three touchdowns and field goals each by a directional Michigan school ever?

I expect eight teams this week to fall from Shortlist contention as October arrives, one of which is not like the other:

Mississippi, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, Arizona, Washington and UTSA.

If you guessed, "They're coached by a national championship winning coach," you're right! 

"Non-BCS auto qualifier," would also be acceptable I guess too.  No, again, I didn't forget to count correctly, as once more, I saved the most important pick for last when the Wolfpack visit the Hurricanes in what amounts to another Shortlist elimination game on Saturday. While shutting down a one-dimensional offense last week was inspiring in UM's comeback win, their inability to prevent a shockingly high completion percentage with their suspect defensive scheme against diversified offenses leads me to believe they'll fall just short this week against pro prospect quarterback Mike Glennon in what should be an entertaining, but ultimately disappointing home loss and Miami is my final elimination prediction this week.  Hey, at least this year they're the last Miami, Hurricane, or UM to fall off the Shortlist, so that's a welcome change as far as I'm concerned.

Enjoy the games this week and join me back here next week as hopefully I'll be sitting down for another heaping serving of crow, not Gray again of course, at the hands of the Hurricanes and we pull closer to the magic number of 25 teams remaining here on the Shortlist to South Beach!

Copyright 2012 by Christopher Whelpton for Canespace.com

Comments

[Tsully76]

Hahaha UMike we will sell out FSU and a good crowd for Vs Tech. I say paid attendance will be around 45,000 actual butts in the seats 35,000. MySelf, 86, Canezilla, and other Canespacers will be there. UMike u bringing the pain bruh

[pbcfrcane13]

Well your wrong on that one umike in 2010 I want to say there was close 75K at sun life between Um and FSU just saying.

[UMike]

Tsully...a sell out will be far fetched for any opponent, FSU included. Sun Life sits a lot of people..

[UMike]

pbc...you will have to show me proof of than man lol

[pbcfrcane13]

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=302822390

and yes I was at that game and all the tarpes were taken off and yes the seats were filled.

This typing with one arm sucks!! lol

[canezilla]

YEAH THAT GAME WAS PACKED!!!! THEN THE RAIN CAME .NASTY NIGHT.I DIDNT SEE ANY SEATS OPEN

[canezilla]

NEXT YEAR WHEN FLORIDA COMES IN.U KNOW THAT WILL BE A SELL OUT 4 SURE

[UMike]

pbc..idk if the 75K was actual people lol

[Tsully76]

Last year when Ohio State came to Sun Life. There was 68 thousand about 25,000 were OSU fans. I was in the house for that game. Oh we will get 75,000 for FSU this year just 30,000 will be FSU fans. It is what it is. Canes 4 life.

[UMike]

Tsully..I was at the OSU game with a OSU friend..we had the taps AND empty seats..I remember cause I was in the upper deck and my friend was amazed that we couldnt sell out a game like that.

[Tsully76]

Exactly Canezilla. Sellouts for FSU, and UF

[Ohio_Cane]

Mike Farrell (Rivals): Last week I talked about the Miami-area quarterbacks that got away from the 'Canes as part of the problem this season, but Stephen Morris might have salvaged the season for Miami and really pushed recruiting forward. The heart that Miami showed in coming back from a 36-19 deficit to pull out a 42-36 overtime win over a Georgia Tech team that just slammed Virginia the week before was impressive. Some local recruits, including Matthew Thomas and Denver Kirkland, certainly took notice.

[CGNC]

We are second only to FSU in converting on 3ed down though.
Watching NC State a little this year they don't look that impressive to me.

Posted by: solarcane | September 27, 2012 at 09:09 PM

I haven't seen them play at all. Mike James will activate his beast mode second time in a row and Canes will win.

[j.w.]

Haven't seen NC State since week 1. Typically o'Brien's tems are well coached, boring, and better than most expect. Predicting a Canes win in this one, but it is going to be close. Miami 31 NC St. 28

[WWIN]

Are we expecting Curtis Porter to play Saturday? He is not listed in the IR.

Posted by: Nomad | September 28, 2012 at 10:45 AM

Never expect him to play unless we have two games left

[Ohio_Cane]

Miami Hurricanes vs. NC State Wolfpack - By The Numbers

0 – Interceptions thrown by Wolfpack quarterback Mike Glennon in his past three games, all won by NC State.

2 – Games (out of three) that the Hurricanes have lost to NC State since joining the ACC in 2004.

4 – Touchdowns scored by Canes senior running back Mike James last week against Georgia Tech. Freshman running back Duke Johnson scored four touchdowns the week before against Bethune-Cookman.

8 – Number of Miami’s scoring drives (out of 20) that have occurred in less than two minutes.

11 – Sacks recorded by the Wolfpack this season, which ranks fourth in the conference.

14 – Times Miami has faced off against NC State; the Hurricanes have a 7-5-1 series edge over the Wolfpack.

32:36 – Average minutes NC State spends on offense per game, good for the best time of possession mark in the ACC.

164.7 – Passing yards per game allowed by the Wolfpack defense in its last three games. NC State has given up only one passing touchdown since its season opener.

209.5 – All-purpose yards per game tallied by UM running back Duke Johnson, ranking him first in the nation in the category.

436 – Yards for Hurricane quarterback Stephen Morris last week against Georgia Tech, making him the first UM quarterback to throw for 400+ yards since 2002.

[WWIN]

Where is the link to vote for Sebastian??????

[Ohio_Cane]

http://www.capitalonebowl.com/vote

[Ohio_Cane]

WVUM Sports - Ive been told that Malcolm Lewis' surgery on his ankle was successful.

[86Cane]

Mike James will activate his beast mode second time in a row and Canes will win.

Posted by: CGNC | September 28, 2012 at 12:58 PM

Now U are talkin!

[Hassan]

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/nc-state-down-two-offensive-linemen-for-miami

Staring tackles are out for NC State. I thin Coach D is already dialing up that Blitz

[86Cane]

Both Duke and Messi are usually the smallest guys on the field but are competing as giants!

Posted by: MiamiFan | September 27, 2012 at 10:22 PM

Interesting analogy.

BTW...welcome to The Space. Post here, post often!

[86Cane]

UMike...nice work on the blog this AM. Appreciate U! Do you have a new email addy? If so U know where to send it.

[86Cane]

ACC Football action resumes at high noon on Saturday, when NC State gets its first taste of league play on the road against Coastal Division leader Miami … Other conference matchups find Wake Forest playing host to in-state rival Duke, while 16th-ranked Clemson travels to Boston College for an Atlantic Division contest … The nonconference schedule includes fourth-ranked Florida State’s meeting with Sunshine State opponent South Florida … No. 25 Virginia Tech is slated to meet Cincinnati at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. … Georgia Tech, Virginia and North Carolina face non-league tests at home.

[Ohio_Cane]

Hurns - "here with my lil Bru Malcom. glad his surgery went well"

Love seeing this!

[Ohio_Cane]

Derrick Henry from Yulee picks Bama.

[Tsully76]

86, see ya in the morning at Sun Life brother

[LaQuinton]

Is Curtis porter playing ? Man. With ncst starting tackles out Miami should be able to put constant pressure on glennon allll day.

[CaneRock]

Treatment of a High Ankle Sprain

Syndesmotic injuries tend not to heal as well as more common ankle sprains, that is why trainers and coaches of athletes are often concerned about "high ankle sprains." Your orthopedic doctor will first determine if the injury is stable or unstable. If the injury is stable, then the high ankle sprain can be treated in a cast, usually for a period of 6 weeks.

If the injury is unstable, then a surgery may be needed to stabilize the ankle. Your surgeon will place a screw between the tibia and fibula to hold the bones in proper position while the syndesmotic ligament heals. The are several methods of fixation of syndesmotic injuries, all with potential risks and benefits. It is a relatively safe and well-tolerated surgical procedure.

[4-Real]

Ohio, gotta recruiting question 4 u . It's been said 4 awhile now that UM only has 16-17 schollys 2 give 4 the 2013 class. But didn't the coaching staff come up with that number b4 we lost Vernon Davis, Josh Witt, Keon Payne & Junior Alexis?

[solarcane]

for my man tsully,
seems the nation believes what you say

an Iowa fan's observation on Miami sports fans

"Miami is the worse sports town I've ever lived in. They are the biggest bunch of bandwagon fan base you'll ever come by and the worse fan base you could have for a city.

Reason 1.) As a kid I'd visit miami often. And one of the things we'd do is go to Marlin games. After the 1st inning was over. You could buy a 5 dollar ticket to get into the game for upper deck seats. After you bought this ticket you could literally sit where ever you wanted. Only time you could not do this process is if the Yankees were in town. Ive been to a couple dolphins games, as well as heat games (pre Shaq or Leborn) and not once was it a sell out crowd.

Reason 2.) When visiting down there throughout the years. I remember when I was 4 everyone was a Gator fan. Than later everyone was FSU fan. In 2002 everyone was Miami fan again. Fast forward to 2009 everyone was a Gator fan. I'm predicting when I visit for xmass, everyone will be a FSU fan again.

Reason 3.) Kinnick stadium holds 70,500 fans. In a city whose pop is 67,000. I'd venture to guess on game day Iowa City's pop is 180,000. Miami teams dont sell out unless they are winning. So for this instance we'll use the hurricanes. They had 300 people show up in a city whose pop is 2.5 million people (not counting the illegals)"

[86Cane]

86, see ya in the morning at Sun Life brother

Posted by: Tsully76 | September 28, 2012 at 04:01 PM

U got it.

New blog will be up at 5 AM.

I am Southbound and down!

[86Cane]

OGV...call or email me when U get a chance.

[CaneRock]

"Miami is the worse sports town I've ever lived in. They are the biggest bunch of bandwagon fan base you'll ever come by and the worse fan base you could have for a city."

Posted by: solarcane | September 28, 2012 at 05:48 PM

AAAAAND!
Miami has 5 NCs!
Iowa and Iowa State...NONE!

"Fan base" THAT!

[raizecane]

Hope u guys have a great time at SLS......I shall be there soon myself....

[Tsully76]

Great stuff solar. Canes rock the fact that the U has 5 titles in the modern era of college football and gets such horsecrap support is legitimate and real. Sometimes the truth hurts. We on here are die hards and try to go to as many games as possible. We have fans that drive for hours to see the Canes and you got people claiming they are down with the U but when its really time to show it they are no where to be found.

[Tsully76]

There are 4,250,000 people within an hour drive aka the Miami/Fort Lauderdale market. I didn't include West Palm, the Treasure Coast, South West Florida who are within a 2 hour drive that pushes the regional population around 7,500,000. So for a program to have won as much as the U has won and to not be able to get 1% of the regions population aka 75,000 to fill Sun Life and in the past the OB is freaking disgrace.

[CaneRock]

So for a program to have won as much as the U has won and to not be able to get 1% of the regions population aka 75,000 to fill Sun Life and in the past the OB is freaking disgrace.

Posted by: Tsully76 | September 28, 2012 at 07:43 PM

A "disgrace"? I disagree TS76, I think it just makes what we've accomplished that much more remarkable.

[Ohio_Cane]

Willing to bet $ that because of their OL problems, NC State will try to slow down Canes DL with screens to RB's and WR's.

[Old Skool]

Iowa and Iowa State...NONE!

What? Iowa hasn't won any national championships and the football team still sells out every home game. Do you mean that failure is expected and accepted?

Of course, there could be nobility in losing. So if you're satisfied with mediocrity, so be it. Miami fans have much higher standards.

Otherwise, living in a state that has as many cows as people in it and then coming together regularly in one spot such as Iowa City could simply be a matter of s shared herd instinct.

[Old Skool]

Make that "a shared herd instinct and a docile acceptance of being slaughtered."

[Tsully76]

Old Skool so explain our Canes winning the 2001 National title and averaging 47,000 fans for that year cut the bs.

[Tsully76]

Canesrock I say its a freaking disgrace for the program to have accomplished so much yet the regional population claims they care but when it matters proves they don't care. The fact that the program has done awesome over the modern era with a small die hard fan base is remarkable. And there is so much to do argument is the lamest bs ever. Also lol with the noon games but the Dolphins had 60 thousand paid and they haven't played for the Championship since Madonna,Prince, and Michael Jackson were on top of the Music Industry the 1984-85 season.

[CaneRock]

Old Skool so explain our Canes winning the 2001 National title and averaging 47,000 fans for that year cut the bs.

Posted by: Tsully76 | September 28, 2012 at 08:15 PM

Tsully, there are fans that go to the games, and there are fans that don't...that's the way I look at it. Frankly, I was just as excited as the Miami fans in Atlanta when Miami came back last week. And similarly, I'll be just as excited tomorrow should Miami beat NCST.

[pbcfrcane13]

Why are people even still talking about the attendance? I mean really its been like this since i dont know forever! Every sports team in SFLA has the same problem look at the dolphins the past two games have not been able to sell out the heat before lebron got here the staduim was not sold out the panthers its the samething. If you dont win in Miami or if its not a big even people dont show up. WHy is this still a big deal? We are still having "big" time recruiting classes ranked in the top 25 with the same attendance.

Peopl dont go to the games one yes because its hot....two most people dont care about UM because they went away to another college...three people would rather stay home sit in 70 degree AC with cheaper food and beer and watch 5 games at one time than spend 400 bucks to sit in the hot sun. GET OVER IT!!!! This isnt UF, FSU were there is nothing else to do! This is Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/ WPB!!! HOly cow people stop your complaining!!!!

I pay my hard earn money to go to every home game and at least one away game because I love this team. I get why people like friends and family dont want to pay the money to go watch this team.

[Tsully76]

Great point Canesrock. Last week was fun at Bobby Dodd. I will see you Canespacers in the am at Sun Life. Go Canes. Beat NC State.

[pbcfrcane13]

If you want go look at the HX of UM even when they were great they didnt draw big crowds only for the big games! UM you want to get 50+ for all your games get ranked in the top 10 and start winning 10+ games a year......sorry but thats the truth and if you dont like it than sorry dont know what else to tell you.

[WWIN]

Tsully,

I agree its a disgrace. And they always make excuses about it like, we got other things to do, those other teams don't have nothing to do in their city but go to games, etc ,etc. Its ridiculous to have more support on the road than at home

[mi@mic@ne]

Miami is a very fickle town but when your riding the wave theres no better place to be. Just look at the last home playoff game when the Heat closed it out. That place was rocking. There was a connection between the team and the fans that you dont see in other venues. When the Canes start to become a serious top ten team then youall see the people become loyal.

[mi@mic@ne]

Its not like these small towns where people like to go see losers. lol