Golden Is Golden

Facing the biggest test of his young coaching career at Miami, head coach Al Golden and his young Hurricanes faced down the more experienced Frank Beamer and the Virginia Tech Hokies at Sun Life Stadium on Thursday night.

And oh, what a sparkling night it turned out to be for Golden and his Hurricanes. The University of Miami football team finally won a game it had to win in dominating fashion against an ACC rival. It was by far the biggest and sweetest win of Golden's two year tenure at UM.

And even though there were far too many people there to witness the event it was an absolute cure to what has ailed Miami fans for far to long. The Hokies died a slow, dark and steady death in Miami on Thursday night.

And that was exactly what was ordered by the the few and faithful Hurricane fans who attended the game. But ignore the stats, and facts and fantasies and just accept this win for what it is.

Stats: Miami was one for twelve on third down conversions.

Facts: Miami beat Virginia Tech for the first time in Al Golden's career.

Fantasies: Miami controls their path to the ACC Championship game.

This season could turn into one like we have not seen in many, many years.

And we like that. Yeah we like that a lot.

Even though all of the haters and Negative Nancy's out there had wished for his peril, Al Golden has a chance to win out and win big with this UM team and Hurricane fans. There is a good chance that they could finish at 8-4 in 2012 and be very ready to do some serious damage next year.

And that is all we can ask for in this season and as we look forward to 2013.

Comments

[j.w.]

1!!!

[86Cane]

JDUB...U done good.

[j.w.]

Thanks 86! nice article. Win and they will come. Wish I could say the smae for Coach L tonight! :(

[orange 'n green in the vein]

One of the very few things Phil Fulmer every got absolutely right, "They remember what you do in November." Miami's been on the cusp of an ACC title before but never with this easy of a track to it.it'll be interesting to see how the staff plays their players these next two games considering how the finale is all that really matters in the grand scheme.

[Terrance Sullivan]

Very good article 86.

[Terrance Sullivan]

Great point OGV

[Tonycane]

And to go back to an earlier post, va tech had slightly fewer 5 star and 4 star players than did Miami! Talent kills!

[Montreal-Cane]

"There is a good chance that they could finish at 8-4 and ready to do some serious damage next year."

After all this is what we both predicted way before the season started 86.

Let's go Canes!!!

[Montreal-Cane]

Alabama will win big vs LSU "no offense".

[Montreal-Cane]

To all Miami fans Sunlife stadium should be full vs USF...

We have the biggest attraction in town: DUKE JOHNSON. Just this outstanding player is worth much more than the price of admission.

[86Cane]

Q: Did the Heat get the order from MLB to throw the game to the Knicks to make NYC feel better about themsleves after the disaster?

The Heat lost by 20. Lets see what happens next time these two teams play.

[86Cane]

Monty...U should have been there in the stadium with the other 12K fans yelling:

DUKE!!!

Trust me, there were not many fans, but there were some LOUD fans there! We (OGV) started yelling and then I joined in and then the people around us did and it was INCREDIBLE.

The guys in front of us at the 50 yard line upper deck were getting into it and yelling as loud as we were. When they did things started turning Miami's way.

They were completely FREAKED out and saying: "We did that! We did that!!!"

[Montreal-Cane]

Good stuff 86!

[Montreal-Cane]

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA is putting a restriction on athletes who want to play immediately after changing schools to be closer to an ailing or injured family member.

The NCAA said Friday that the athlete must choose a new school within 100 miles of the family member if they want to play right away. Otherwise, they will need to sit out a year as usual.

The NCAA said it was making the changes amid concerns that waiver decisions were not consistent from case to case.

[Montreal-Cane]

2013 game Canes against Rutgers at Yankee Stadium

Is this adone deal? We have not heard about it since 2010...

[Montreal-Cane]

By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports WriterAssociated Press

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) - Miami has the inside track to the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division title and the program's first berth in the league's championship game, where a spot in the Orange Bowl would be at stake.

Thing is, it's unclear if the Hurricanes would even accept such a prize.

Being atop the Coastal Division this late in the season is both thrilling and thorny for Miami, which is expected to soon decide whether to self-impose a postseason ban for the second straight year, a move that would be related to the ongoing NCAA investigation into the Hurricanes' compliance practices.

Such a decision would be an attempt to lessen the impact of whatever sanctions ultimately get imposed against Miami. Those sanctions are likely to be handed down early next year, based on the expectation that the Hurricanes will receive their notice of allegations - in essence, the end of the investigation phase and start of the penalty phase - from the NCAA in the next few weeks.

"You have to be very careful and think through all the ramifications," acting Miami athletic director Blake James told The Associated Press on Friday.

The NCAA has long taken into account when schools self-impose penalties prior to any hearings before the committee on infractions.

"The committee then will determine if it will adopt those as appropriate and whether any additional consequences are warranted," NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said...

[panamacitycane]

If this staff..and by staff I mean shalala, cares any about this team they can not deny these kids a chance at the acc championship. I guarantee you any other school would play and take their chances with the NCAA. They do this because of the potential of a championship and revenue and recruiting over the next couple years. I wish we would become a football school and I kmow that wont happen but atleast get an AD that wants the team to be a national power again

[WWIN]

Panamacity,

So you would rather risk our future by playing this year???

Hard sanctions could set us back another 10yrs. We'll have plenty of opportunities to win the acc in the future. Don't worry about recruits, if we make it to the acccg and decline it recruits will know that we made it. Just like people will always know that Reggie bush won the heisman even tho they stripped him of it later. This is what Golden gets to tell recruits, "we had a chance to win the acccg had we not declined it". Which sounds good.

Playing this year would be a slap in the face to the NCAA

[nemo2002]

I could be wrong but I think, financially, all the ACC schools share more or less equally in postseason bowl revenue whether or not they even play in a bowl game. (Same deal with postseason basketball games, I believe). This is a big reason why Sha-La-La wanted the U to join the ACC: a predictable revenue stream without the need to maintain a top 10 football ranking, each and every year - meaning that the U could downgrade the football program without any significant loss of postseason bowl game revenue over the long run. (Besides, even a weakened football program, top administrators may have thought, should be able to compete successfully for a top bowl bearth, given the general level of competition in tha ACC). In sum, from the administration's perspective, joining the ACC meant that the U could afford to de-emphasize football. Moreover, any downgrade in the football program would be offset by the upgrade in the basketball program from the new ACC affiliation.

Although ACC schools that travel to their bowl games get some travel expense money too, in recent years when UM went to one of those crappy, out-of-state, minor bowl games the travel expense for the team exceeded the ACC travel supplement, so the athletics department actually lost money by playing the game. From the admintration's perspective, who needs that?

Here's my point. UNLESS The Donna believes that the football team will beat FSU in the ACC championship game AND as such it will play in the Orange Bowl (which would be a treat for players, fans, and an attractive game for local recruits too - with minimal travel expense for the team), I wouldn't be surprised if the U self-imposes another postseason bowl ban. Financially, it kinda makes sense - especially at a time when football related revenue is probably down (from lackluster home game attendance) and football related expenses (from the ongoing Shapirogate investigation) continue to mount.

Moreover, with prospects looking better for NEXT year's team, we might as well forego participation in a lesser bowl game this year for the opportunity to maybe play in the Orange Bowl next year.

One more point. Not to be a naysayer, but this team is not going to be ranked anywhere close to the top 25, even if we win the ACC Coastal. (Let's face facts. Competition in this division sucks! And in truth we're not a very good team - not yet anyway.) Do we really want to end the season losing (again) to FSU in the ACC championship game, and then losing (again) in a nonBCS bowl game? Better that we END the 2012 season on a HIGH note . . . with our first ever ACC Coastal title . . . with even higher expectations (and hopefully lower NCAA sanctions) next year.

[Jack]

Montreal -

Sorry bro Lebron James and Dewayne Wade are the biggest attraction in town! That said I will make the 3 hour drive down to the last game IF we beat Virginia. It is what it is...

[Jack]

Guys -

All the NCAA talk com on! Nobody got a house, car ect. $7,800 dollars is what the improper benefits amounted to. Players were suspended and missed their bowl. UNC, UCF and Ohio state got one bowl ban. it's time for UM to give some schlarships and that's it, don't listen to the hype!!. Enough said....

UM did not cover up the RAPE of children from the president down!. Shit that only got a 4 year bowl ban!!

[CGNC]

My $0.02 on the bowl ban - I say play in the ACC Champ game if we make it (we should) - and take the bowl ban because I do not think our chances of beating FSU this year are that good. They are further developed than we are so we would be giving up a lesser bowl.

[Terrance Sullivan]

Play in the ACCCG and Bowl Game and let the NCAA do whatever they gonna do. Anyway lets go Canes beat UVA.

[MassivCane]

Here is my take on the bowl ban. When we become bowl eligible (6 wins) and if we make it to the ACCCG, would that give us 2 bowls this year. Does the NCAA consider the ACCCG an actual bowl game in terms of classification. My point is could we ban ourselves from the ACCCG and still play in a bigger bowl game? I would think monetarily that we would forgo the ACCCG and go the larger bowl based on money alone. Another option would be to go to the ACCCG and pass up on the larger bowl in terms of NCAA punishment. Regardless if you were to tell me that we could possibly end the season at 8-4 with all this youth is a very large accomplishment for Al and his staff. This offseason is going to unreal in regards to the conditioning and 5th quarter. I can hear that Michael Irvin speech now!

[CaneRock]

Guys -

All the NCAA talk com on! Nobody got a house, car ect. $7,800 dollars is what the improper benefits amounted to. Players were suspended and missed their bowl. UNC, UCF and Ohio state got one bowl ban. it's time for UM to give some schlarships and that's it, don't listen to the hype!!. Enough said....

UM did not cover up the RAPE of children from the president down!. Shit that only got a 4 year bowl ban!!

Posted by: Jack | November 03, 2012 at 08:17 AM

Good post.

[Ohio_Cane]

Canes should take the bowl ban, IMO. Even if its the Orange Bowl.

[Tonycane]

Ok, I will ask the same question this year that I asked last year, a question that no one really responded to. If the NCAA has not rendered its verdict, do we self impose a bowl ban in 2013?

Basically, how many years do we punish ourselves? And even if we were to self impose 5 years of bowl bans, what guarantee is there that the NCAA does not disregard it and tack on another 4 years atop it?

[86Cane]

I am undecided on the whole boewl ban and ACCCG. My first reaction is to play in BOTH and let the NCAA do what they want. But then the more I think about it the more I question if that is the right decision?

[86Cane]

From what I read IF Miami chooses the bowl ban then they are also banned from the ACCCG by the ACC because it is a post-season game. Can't do one without the other.

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Win the division and it's time to roll the dice IMO. Self impose the same number of scholly restrictions UNC ended up with from their case and go stand in front off the committee on infractions. They'll add an extra bowl ban at the most and Jack is right, unless there's massive substantiation of the breadth of the repentant fruity midget's allegations dating back a decade, time to stop the self crucifixion for others satisfaction. Pell Grant scandal was way worse, that got a single bowl ban back then.

[orange 'n green in the vein]

86, you know the fan base is in shell shock when they find people cheering for the defense more bizarre than sitting on their ass during defensive series during a game with the stakes that Thursday's had riding on it. Whatever, I pay my money, I spend my time to attend, I get to cheer for the home-team and cuss out officials who throw BS flags to help out the bad guys. I'd behave better at a ballet, but this isn't that now is it?

[Terrance Sullivan]

Exactly OGV if we win the division go for it. The NCAA gonna do whatever they gonna do. We gotta cut this Plaxicoing ourselves with the self impose bowl ban garbage. For those don't comprehend Plaxicoing reference. It means shooting yourself in the leg.

[j.w.]

From what I read IF Miami chooses the bowl ban then they are also banned from the ACCCG by the ACC because it is a post-season game. Can't do one without the other.

Posted by: 86Cane | November 03, 2012 at 11:44 AM

Correct, 86. But taking the ban DOES NOT mean the same thing as taking a 3-game post season ban. The NCAA has no jurisdiction over Conference ttile games, they can rule that your season ends with "the last regularly scheduled game," but the Conference title game is regularly scheduled. My point is we aren't going to get credit for an extra year's bowl ban just by skipping that game.
In all the cases I can remember where a school self imposes penalties, the NCAA always seems to tack on more. So, by taking an extra ban this year, there is no guarantee they wouldn't add a third next year. Also, there is no evidence that taking more bowl bans reduces the scholarship losses that a team gets- it just isn't like a Chinese Restaurant menu where you pick the penalties you want.
What does all this mean? I don't think anyone knows for sure, just that if we self-impose more penalties, there's no guarantee that we won't get more. And if we self-impose, the ACC may only have 5 or 6 bowl-eligible teams to fill the bowl tie-ins, which will probably mean we don't share any bowl revenue this season.

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Hadn't even taken that thought into consideration j.w. Yes you get your flat payout from the ACC bowl till, but if you don't fill all your bowl slots, that till gets smaller and smaller. Plus the cost of the title game rights will go up if the ACC can finally start delivering those fantasized about FSU/UM return bouts in them instead of the gate poison that is Chokies/anybody.

[jiggafras]

Im sorry, if we win the coastal we should absolutely play the game, there is no way they give us more than one more bowl ban, we could always point to the ACC championship if we win as progress and would be a significant psychological barrier overcame. FSU could still end up losing the Atlantic and our chances would increase dramatically.

[MassivCane]

That ACC decision aggravates me, it is almost like they are saying they don't want Miami to play in their bowl game, why because there is a chance (even if it is ever so slight) that we could beat their poster child in FSU. Screw them, go to the 'ship, beat the Noles and them play Louisville in the Orange Bowl.

[laquinton]

Phillip Sims is the QB for UVA. Transferred from Bama

[CGNC]

Well the longer it is taking the NCAA the less I like it...:\

[Jack]

Great win for the Canes! Now lets finish strong Canes!

My last comment on the damn NCAA bullSh#%t "I hope"

USC got two a year bowl ban,because Bush got a $400k house ect. Plus the school was defiant with the investigation. UM has been very open and is working with the NCAA. The NCAA WANTS SCHOLARSHIPS! That's how you gut a program, bowl ban is window dressing.....Time to offer scholarships.

[86Cane]

OK, U guys convinced me: PLAY IT!

OGV...was I right about those dudes in front of us or what? First they were turning around looking at us funny because we were yelling during a football game. Then we got them going too and BAM we get the ball, we score and we win the game!

[Jack]

Phillip Simms from tennessee?

[Jack]

Nevermind Laquinton think I know who you mean.

[Jack]

We must beat the Cavilers! Another huge game for this coach and youthful team!! I am excited!

[86Cane]

Gatas are losing at home to Mizzu 7-0.

Tee hee, tee hee.

[Brevardcane]

For me it's about how to get this NCAA mess over as quickly as possible. If skipping the post season will do that then i would say do it. I suppose though no one knows what it would take. Hopefully those consultants the school hired will be able to give a good recommendation.

[Tonycane]

Love to see Donna Shalala come in to the NCAA hearing and instead of offering scholarship reductions, demand a scholarship increase for everything the university of Miami has done for college football!

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Yeah 86, the Al-alike day late Halloween costume guy was feeling it but his buddy's where just waiting to lose that game in the 2nd half. First half I heard that tired, "You make a better door than a window," whine from behind me during a series, I didn't turn around to see if it was a Chokie fan so I could invite him to take the starring role in my production of that stage classic I told you about in the parking lot, but if it was a Hurricane fan I would have told his sorry behind to either stand up or find another empty seat out of the line of sight instead of crying like a 'Turd fan forced to watch Georgia then Auburn on the schedule before conference expansion bailed him out.

[WWIN]

SHOULD OF WORE GREEN HELMETS WITH THE ALL ORANGE.YOUR THOUGHTS WILLIE WILL?

Posted by: canezilla | November 02, 2012 at 09:40 AM

I agree Zilla. But personally that wuz too much orange for me, but I'm glad that we at least tried to do something different. I'd rather see em rockin all green uniforms wit the green helmets wit black socks and black shoes

[WWIN]

Why is everybody so excited about playing in a conference championship and bowl game that we ain't ready to play in yet????

Why are we accepting lower expectations just because we've never played in the acccg before??? We are Da, its "1st or last baby". NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP or NOTHING!!!! And I don't think we have a shot at the nc this year.

Give up the acccg and the bowls this year so that we'll be on a faster track to the ncg.

The NCAA wants our best lamb, they don't want our lamb that's half dead, blind, and wit a lame leg.

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Wow, Virginia just ruined NC State's homecoming. They're still alive in the Coastal division thanks to that so UM will get their best game next week.