Canespace: October 2013

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Slip Sliding Away

"You know the nearer your destination, the more your slip sliding away."

Could it really be possible to believe that Paul Simon was talking about the elusive BCS championship when he wrote those prophetic lyrics so many years ago? Just when you thought it was safe to be one of the front-runners in the chase for the 2013 college football National Championship, this happens.

On what should have been a perfectly calm, cool Fall Saturday in mid-October the stuff hit the fan.

On a weekend after your Miami Hurricanes managed to maintain their perfect record (6-0, 2-0) by squeaking out another victory against UNC in Chapel Hill on Thursday night and prevent their chances from slip sliding away for at least another week, the college football world decided that implementing the "Chaos Theory" was the only way to go.

And as fans of the Miami Hurricanes, we would all just like to say: "Thank U very much! The Hurricanes are now ranked at #6 in the coaches poll and #7 in the AP poll just released. Wrap it up, we'll take it!

So many top 25 teams lost, several to un-ranked teams, that it was simply mind-boggling. Here is a quick rundown of the chaos that ensued on Saturday:

#6 LSU lost to un-ranked Mississippi.
#7 ranked Texas A&M lost to #24 Auburn.
#8 Louisville lost on Friday night to, get this, UCF.
#9 UCLA lost to #13 Standford.
#11 ranked South Carolina lost to un-ranked Tennessee.
#15 Georgia lost to un-ranked Vanderbilt.
#22 ranked Florida lost to #14 Missouri.

Now if that doesn't make your head spin I don't know what will! And, if it doesn't make you thankful for Miami's win over UNC then nothing will.

Furthermore, if it doesn't make UM take their opponents like Wake Forest seriously, well, then I don't know what will. That #6 ranking can disappear just as quickly as it showed up earlier today.

The past two Saturday's have clearly proven that every game counts equally and every team must focus on the task at hand each and every week or they too may find their chances at a 2013 BCS title just slip sliding away.

"You know the nearer your destination, the more your slip sliding away."

Posted at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (179)

True Grit

Composure. Confidence. Commitment. Clarity of purpose.

Add in a big scoop of resiliency, then throw in some true grit and determination. When combined together, what does that recipe make?

A Miami Hurricane victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels of course!

On Thursday night your Miami Hurricanes refused to quit.

They simply refused to lose.

They said out loud and in a clear and forceful tone of voice to everyone at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill North Carolina that "Failure is NOT an option."

In spite of what UM QB Stephen Morris called "the worst game of my career" the Hurricanes dug deep, stepped up late and found the will to win. Even four interceptions, several significant injuries, a defiant UNC team and a rambunctious Tar Heel crowd could not derail this team of destiny.

That's right, I said it.

This team that Miami head coach Al Golden has assembled and coached has something special. They have a can't lose attitude that leads them to the simple conclusion that they will not be denied.

And against the Tar Heels, they finally proved it.

In recent years, the Hurricanes would have quit, or folded and probably lost.

This year, this team, in this game, showed some true grit.

We like that. Yeah, we like that a lot.

Posted at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (304)

Nervous Is As Nervous Does

When will you people ever learn?

When will all of you ever learn not to tell me: "Don't be nervous."

I told you all day before the Miami Hurricanes faced off against the North Carolina Tar Heels that I was "nervous". And as usual, nobody would listen.

Instead, everybody was too busy prancing around in their high-heeled shoes and worried about being "right" rather than practicing their active listening skills, which is a skill that most people have never learned and do not practice in the first place.

So now I need you to practice. Put down your cell phone, turn off the TV, close the door, set aside your thoughts and replies and just listen very carefully to what I am about to tell you:

The Miami Hurricane football team is very, very lucky to still be undefeated after last night's debacle in Chapel Hill. UM looked unprepared and dazed and confused all night long on the road against a seriously overmatched opponent. Nervous is as nervous does and this Miami team looked not only nervous but scared and unprepared on the field at Kenan Stadium.
QB Stephen Morris may have had his worst game as a Hurricane and may have played his way out of a first round draft pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Simply put Morris was malo (bad) all night long and nearly cost the Hurricanes the game. During the game several fans (not me) were even calling for back-up QB Ryan Williams to replace him late in the game. MoMo definitely has certain skills (arm strength) but is seriously lacking in other areas (decision making, game management) and is nowhere near being NFL ready. First round? Well, maybe not so much.
Before the season even began I selected Dallas Crawford as my Legend of the Fall (LOF) but again nobody would listen (common theme here). Now as the season has progressed everyone can clearly see that not only was I absolutely right but that Crawford is clearly on track to be Miami's Most Valuable Player this season. Crawford single handedly saved Miami's bacon last night and is a player of talent, character and strength. I was right: Dallas Crawford is without a doubt a true Legend of the Fall.
The UM offensive line, the supposed strength of the team, looked like garbage in prime time. Kehoe and crew have to do better.
Offensive coordinator James Coley's play calling is just slightly better than awful and looks better suited for high school teams than a major college powerhouse. Get it right Coley!
Al Golden almost blew his big raise and five year extension to a team that had no business being on the same field as Miami. Golden did not follow the 5 P's (Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance) and simply did not have his team ready to play on the national stage in prime time. While we were all rooting for Golden to win the game you could just imagine the haters like OGV sitting in a dark corner somewhere mumbling something about Temple and how Golden was not qualified to win and win big at UM. The sad part is they were almost right too.
Miami must get significantly better, and better quickly, if they are going to have any chance of knocking off real ACC powerhouses like Clemson and FSU. The Hurricanes were exposed last night and have several areas that need fixing before the real season starts on November 2 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. We will be in Tally at The Doak, but the question is: "Will U be there too?"

We would like to thank you for your time and thank you for listening.

Now you can turn on your phone, open the door and resume normal activities.

That is all.

Posted at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (220)

Game Night: Hurricanes vs Tar Heels

Tonight your Miami Hurricanes will try to take the high road as they travel all the way up to Chapel Hill to face the North Carolina Tar Heels in a huge ACC match-up at Kenan Memorial Stadium.

UM has faced a lot of adversity in games on the road against UNC having dropped three of the last four contests even though the Canes did pull off a victory on their last trip to the Tar Heel State in 2011.

Miami enters the game as the odds on favorite (10 point spread) as they lead North Carolina in just about every statistical category. On paper, it appears that UM should beat UNC rather handily in tonight's game.

However, as we have learned time and time again, football games are not played on paper or with numbers, they are played in stadium with players.

Still, we thought it might be useful to break down some of the stats for both teams in a segment we like to call "By The Numbers":

Total Offense: UM is ranked #21 in the NCAA, UNC is #76.
Total Defense: UM is ranked #12, UNC comes in at #94.
Scoring Offense: Miami is at #9 while UNC is at #93.
Scoring Defense: Again UM is ranked at #9 while UNC is at #95.
Turnover Margin: UM is at #14 and UNC is found at #102.
Penalties/Game: UM is #101, UNC is at #107.

Here are the Canespace "Keys to the Game":

Miami must avoid the costly turnovers that have plagued them in recent games. Miami has turned the ball over four times in each of their last two contests.
Miami must get star RB Duke Johnson and the running game un-tracked after a few below average efforts by the offensive line.
Miami must find a way to stop big and talented Tar Heel Tight End Eric Ebron who averages 4.5 catches and over 66 yards/game.
Miami must score early to silence the crazed Carolina fan base who will show up all dressed in black instead of the traditional Carolina Blue for the special "Zero Dark Thursday" promotion going on at Kenan Stadium for tonight's nationally televised tilt on ESPN.
Miami must find a way to win the special teams battle and get speedy WR Phillip Dorsett some much needed room on punt returns so he can take one to the house.

If Miami accomplishes these five goals then they should be able to (pun intended) blow their own horn as they emerge from this game with a perfect 6-0 record and an unblemished 2-0 ACC mark. We think they will.

GAME PREDICTION: UM 34 - UNC 20.

Posted at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (366)

UM vs UNC: The Game

10 MIAMI HURRICANES (5-0, 1-0) at NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (1-4, 0-2)

Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013 • 7:45 p.m. ET • ESPN • Kenan Memorial Stadium

SERIES HISTORY:

UNC leads 8-7 ... Miami is 1-4 all-time at UNC ... Hurricanes won 30-24 at UNC in 2011 … Miami is 1-1 vs. UNC when Hurricanes ranked in Top 10.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

ESPN • Rece Davis, Play-by-Play • Jesse Palmer, Analyst • David Pollack, Analyst • Samantha Steele

WQAM 560 AM • Joe Zagacki, PXP • Don Bailey Jr., Analyst • Josh Darrow, Sideline Reporter

SOME THINGS U NEED TO KNOW:

Miami is 16-2 all-time in ESPN Thursday Night games.

Thursday will be Miami’s 75th appearance on ESPN (most in history).

Miami has 18 sacks through 5 games.

Miami is ranked in the AP Top 10 for the 292nd time in program history.

Miami has allowed two passing TDs this season, tied with Florida for the fewest in the nation.

Duke Johnson is the only player in UM history with 3 kickoff returns of 95+ yards in his career.

Duke Johnson has 3,014 career all-purpose yards and is on pace to break Santana Moss’ career record.

Johnson has 8 200-yard games, including a pair of 300-yard outbursts.

Miami is 7-1 when Duke accumulates 200+ all-purpose yards, including a 4-1 mark in ACC play.

Duke has 200+ all-purpose yards in four consecutive ACC games.

Through five games, the Miami Hurricanes have tallied 18 sacks by 13 different players. Miami ranks third in the ACC and sixth in the nation with 3.60 sacks per game.

Last year the 'Canes recorded 13 sacks by seven different players in 12 games.

13 of Miami’s 31 scoring drives have needed five plays or less to score.

Four of those scoring drives have resulted in a scoring play of 50+ yards.

Sophomore LB Tyriq McCord is the only Miami Hurricane with an interception (2), fumble recovery (1) and a forced fumble (2) in 2013.

21 Miami Hurricanes have tallied a tackle for loss in 2013, including seven with 2+ TFLs. Senior DL Shayon Green leads the Canes with 5.0 TFLs.

10 Miami Hurricanes have recorded a takeaway on defense. Sophomore LB Tyriq McCord leads the Hurricanes D with 3 turnovers.

16 Miami Hurricanes have either forced a turnover or tallied a takeaway on defense. McCord has contributed to 5 takeaways through 5 games.

Posted at 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (95)

Alex Collins: Miss U Much?

College football recruiting is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you're going to get. There are so many can't miss five star flame outs every year that we can't even count them. There are just as many diamonds in the rough that go unappreciated and become quality players.

In the end college football fans stress out about and struggle with the whole recruiting process every year that many just get sick of it and want to ignore the whole hat game nonsense.

Last year there were five big time players that University of Miami fans so desperately wanted to choose the Hurricanes that they got their knickers all in a wad on National Signing Day.

But while UM fans were gnashing their teeth about the high school players they wanted on "their" team the players themselves were making some serious career choices of their own.

Now we are not here to bash any player for choosing any school of their choice because there are many different reasons why players select the universities that they want to attend for their college careers.

But we thought it would be interesting to take a look back at a few of the players who could have come to Miami but wound up in various other places across the Country. Here is #1 on our top 5 list of Miami misses from 2013:

RB Alex Collins: The most bizarre and ridiculous recruiting story of the 2013 class had to be RB Alex Collins. You see apparently his dog ate the LOI that his mother wouldn't let him sign and ran away with before the Arkansas Razorbacks believed every word of that story and welcomed him and his high school coach with open arms on NSD.

Collins has played a lot and done very well as a true freshman for the Hogs but his team on the other hand is not doing so well. You see the mud mingling hogs who respond to calls of "Suey-Suey" are now sitting at 3-4 and 0-3 in the SEC after losses to some of their closest rivals and will likely be spending bowl season at home in the slop.

Meanwhile the University of Miami football team is sitting pretty with an unblemished record at 5-0 and 1-0 in the ACC. If the Canes can take care of business against UNC and Wake Forest they will face FSU for a shot at a top 5 National ranking and a legitimate shot at the BCS championship.

Yet Collins is sitting in Arkansas at 3-4 and nowhere to take Mom except the old, muddy hog farm. Now, is that anyway to treat your mother when she could be watching her son play every Saturday at Sun Life Stadium and sunning herself on South Beach?

Yeah, we don't think so either.

Posted at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (40)

Hurricanes Hope To Get Into The Swing Of Things

Just one week away from officially opening fall practice, University of Miami head baseball coach Jim Morris released the team’s 2014 schedule Monday.

Miami’s 55-game schedule includes 33 contests inside Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The Hurricanes finished with a 28-12 record (.700) at home this past season, qualifying for the NCAA postseason for the 41st consecutive year - the longest active streak in collegiate athletics.

“I think it’s one of the tougher schedules that we’ve played since I’ve been in Miami,” Morris said. “With the new ACC teams, plus the ones we already had in the conference, it’s going to be tough. Our nonconference schedule features some of the other great programs in South Florida.”

The Hurricanes will kick off 2014 with their annual preseason festivities: the First Pitch Banquet (Feb. 6), as well as FanFest and the Miami Baseball Alumni Game (Feb. 8).

Miami opens their 2014 slate with a weekend series against Maine (Feb. 14-16). The Hurricanes will host Florida (Feb. 21-23), head north for an exhibition with the Miami Marlins in Jupiter, Fla. (Feb. 26), and travel to Dick Howser Stadium for a series with Florida State (Feb. 28 – March 2) before opening conference play at home against Boston College (March 7-9).

Miami’s final two weekends in February feature three-game sets against rivals Florida and Florida State. The Hurricanes’ series against the Seminoles will not count towards ACC standings. The two programs will resume matchups with conference implications in 2015.

“We have a great rivalry with both programs,” Morris said. “There are a lot of Florida and Florida State fans across this state, and it’s important to play both of those schools every year.”

Miami will wrap up its regular season with a home series against North Carolina (May 15-17) before a potential trip to Greensboro, N.C., and the 2014 ACC Baseball Championship (May 20-25).

“I’m very excited,” Morris said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the younger guys compete against our veterans. We have a good nucleus returning, our recruiting class has been rated highly, and I’m excited to see them compete to see just how good we are.”

To view the team’s full 2014 schedule, click HERE.

Posted at 08:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (63)

Things Appear To Be Falling Into Place

While your Miami Hurricanes were at home resting, healing and watching some high impact games on their high definition TVs on their week off from college football, things were just beginning to get interesting at the midway point of the 2013 season.

Seven ranked teams dropped big games and a shocking number of them (4) lost to un-ranked teams. As a result, Miami jumped three spots in the polls and move up into the top 10 for the first time since the 2009 season.

And all for doing absolutely nothing, well, maybe nothing except for planning and preparing for their next game on Thursday in Chapel Hill against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

1. The 5th Ranked Stanford Cardinal lost to Kyle Whittingham and the unranked Utah Utes 27-21.

2. The7th ranked Georgia Bulldogs got pummeled by the 25th ranked Missouri Tigers 41-26.

3. The 12th ranked Oklahoma Sooners lost to un-ranked Texas 36-20 saving Mack Brown's job.

4. The 16th ranked Washington Huskies were routed by the 2nd ranked Oregon Beavers 45-24.

5. The 17th ranked Florida Gators got hammered by Les Miles and #12 LSU by the score of 17-6.

6. The 18th ranked Michigan Wolverines lost in quadruple OT to un-ranked Penn State 43-40.

7. Lastly, 19th ranked Northwestern got smacked down badly by un-ranked Wisconsin 35-6.

As the games played out on Saturday and we all sat on our sofas to watch the upsets piling up, things really started falling into place for Miami and the ACC. After week 8 of the 2013 college football season the ACC is tied with the SEC at three teams apiece in the Top 10.

The ACC boast #3 Clemson, #5 FSU and #10 Miami in the top 10 while the SEC counters with #1 Alabama, #6 LSU and #7 Texas A&M. The Atlantic Coast Conference is finally getting some serious national respect that it greatly deserves and desperately needed.

While yesterday proved that no players or coaches on any team should ever get caught over-looking any opponent or looking ahead to a rivalry game, we as fans are afforded that luxury.

Assuming that Miami takes care of business on Thursday night in Chapel Hill against unranked UNC and then beats Wake Forest at home on October 26 the game on November 2nd against FSU in Tallahassee looms large on the horizon as a matchup of top 10 ranked teams.

A huge game late in the season between Miami and FSU with National Championship implications on the line once again? Why yes, it does appear that things are indeed falling right into place for the Miami Hurricanes during the 2013 college football season.

Click here for a link to the AP Top 25 Poll for week 8:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/rankings/_/poll/1

Posted at 01:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (170)

Upset Saturday Is Underway

Isn't this what University of Miami football fans have been waiting for?

Every year there is at least one Saturday that turns the college football season upside down. And now it appears that it could be this weekend.

Now, I just have to ask you one question: Isn't college football fun?

As of today the mighty Georgia Bulldogs of the SEC now have two losses, their last defeat coming at home today courtesy of the Missouri Tigers. Georgia lost by 15 points in a game that was never close.

Next up was the upset loss for Oklahoma to the once downtrodden and two loss team from the great State of Texas at the Cotton Bowl. The Sooners also were decisively humiliated as they trailed by a large margin for most of the game against the Longhorns.

At the half in ACC play, mighty #3 ranked Clemson trails unranked Boston College by the score of 7-3. Could it be that the Tigers could be caught looking ahead to FSU maybe? Well, maybe that is the case.

We will update this blog as the games continue this afternoon and even later tonight. Until then, feel good about the fact the your Miami Hurricanes are going to move on up the polls no matter what happens from here on in.

And that is without even playing a game on this second Saturday in October.

Posted at 05:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (86)

What Shows Up On The Depth Finder?

After his team's second open date of the season, Miami Hurricanes head coach Al Golden released the latest depth chart heading into Thursday's ACC road test at North Carolina.

No. 13 Miami (5-0, 1-0) is 5-0 for the first time since 2004 and enters the Thursday night clash riding a seven-game winning streak. It will be Miami's 19th ESPN Thursday Night game in program history with the Hurricanes sporting a 16-2 mark. Thursday night's game will kick at 7:45 p.m. (ESPN).

On offense, junior WR Rashawn Scott returned the depth chart for the first time since suffering an injury in the Hurricanes' season-opening win Aug. 30 vs. Florida Atlantic. Clive Walford and Asante Cleveland are listed as co-starters at tight end, while sophomore Herb Waters and freshman Stacy Coley remain co-starters at slot receiver.

Defensively, senior Justin Renfrow, senior Curtis Porter and sophomore Earl Moore are listed as possible starters at one defensive tackle spot. Junior Thurston Armbrister and freshman Alex Figueroa are co-starters at outside linebacker.

In the secondary, sophomore Tracy Howard and freshman Artie Burns are co-starters at the left cornerback spot, while senior Kacy Rodgers II and sophomore Deon Bush are co-starters at safety.