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.

Related articles

Game Night: Hurricanes vs Tar Heels

Nervous Is As Nervous Does

Struggling Stephen Morris leads Miami Hurricanes in winning drive

UM vs UNC: The Game

Comments

[AfriCane]

1st

[AfriCane]

Don't believe I got this. 1st 1st ever.

[AfriCane]

How do I get the t-shirt soup?

[noahcane5]

wow I might have been first but I hit the snooze button too many times.

[KYcane]

As hard the game was to watch while this team was giving themselves every opportunity to face plant in primetime, it was good to see them finally dig deep and drive that final score down UNC's throat. So many games in recent history would have ended differently.

[VfB_Cane]

#5 Edgerrin James!

Good to see the CEO being his old optimistic self, after suffering a case of nervousness -- some might even say: negativity -- on game day.

The next thing this team has to learn is that as a top 10 team they will be getting a "game of the year" effort from every opponent, and still have to find ways to win these battles under pressure.

So even though it wasn't pretty, Thursday's win might have taught them the most important lesson so far. Go Canes!

[texican cane]

I'm not sure why some don't understand that the last 16 seconds doesnt erase the garbage of the first 59+ minutes. Senior Qb making stupid decisions and o coordinator not doing his job, Imo. The d still lets qb's sit in pocket and be comfortable and throw for 300+ yards. Oh and a TE just kill you the whole game. Against a 1-5 team.
I can be a fan and look at this team with a critical eye and not be OBV.
If we play like that vs fsu it will be a long Saturday. As a canes fan, beating a 1-5 unc team isn't something that makes my toes tingle (rip mad dog). It should about beating top 10 teams, that's when we will be all the way back.

[canezilla]

TEXICAN NOT THAT IT REALLY MATTERS BUT UNC WAS 1-4 WHEN WE PLAYED THEM. NOW THEY ARE1-5

[texican cane]

Canez---yep we put them at 1-5.

[TJL]

L-Ville losses & Storm Johnson is a beast too bad he was a knucklehead here

[CGNC]

Posted by: CoCane | October 18, 2013 at 09:01 PM

True, but shouldn't a senior QB be able to change the play at the LOS if he doesn't like what he sees?

[CGNC]

And BTW Zilla when you posd "Come on Jacory" during the game I was ROFLMAO

good post by herbieibis too.

[CGNC]

^^posted

[raizecane]

TJL - can you imagine if Storm was still at Miami.....I can see the commercial now,

"the following touchdown has been brought to you by Johnson and Johnson"

[Hassan]

Jeff "Coffin Corner" Feagles

Win and advance, it is not always pretty but we are making it happen, this season we are in the national spotlight, This years recruiting class is the foundation for our future. We should be perenial contenders from here on out.

[CGNC]

Indeed this was a gritty win.

GO CANES

[CGNC]

Philip Dorsett has a torn MCL and is out 4-6 weeks. Ouch. Get better soon

[canezilla]

CGNC IT REALLY FELT LIKE A JACORY PERFORMANCE .FORCING PASSES, THROWING DEEP WHEN WE NEED 3 YARDS FOR A 1ST. I REALLY THINK WE TAKE OUT WAKE AND VT AT HOME BUT FSU WILL TAKE A MIRACLE

[CGNC]

Zilla - LOL I KNOW. Recurring PTSD for us. I would like to see Ryan Williams against Wake and let Morris get that ankle healed. That way if he has to come into the game he will have had some experience. Rashawn Scott is supposed to be back and ready for Wake so that's good news.

That little one of yours is just too cute!

[raizecane]

I am so happy for UCF this morning.....HUGE Win!!!. Good thing I bought my tickets for the Houston game already,,,,,i just heard the sound of prices going up.

[noahcane5]

This year reminds me of the 1997/1998 teams. Those teams were not all the way back to being the top five teams we had been but they were getting there. I think we are on the right track.
Also I remember back in 1993 or 1994 coming into the FSU game when nobody was giving us a chance then we went and won the game. Hopefully we can do the same this year.

[CGNC]

Good morning Raize! Feels good to be 6-0 doesn't it?

[SOUP]

If we play like that vs fsu it will be a long Saturday. As a canes fan, beating a 1-5 unc team isn't something that makes my toes tingle (rip mad dog). It should about beating top 10 teams, that's when we will be all the way back.

Posted by: texican cane | October 19, 2013 at 07:33 AM

There IT is right there.

[SOUP]

Who was that guy that kept telling us to watch out for UCF?

[BigWindyCane1]

The positive outweighs the negative. The Canes won, they learned valuable lessons and I believe Golden will get it all corrected. Morris admitted his mistakes and I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't throw another pick in the second half of the season. The Canes have had injuries, suspension and other lineup issues but Golden has properly identified the problems and the needed remedies. The Canes will be ready for the second half of the season and they will get a lot better

[SOUP]

Now let's see, who wrote this on 10/3/13:

It was about a decade ago that USF had hoped to become part of the big four.

That dream has died an ugly death as it has become clear that if any other college football team in Florida is going to put on their Big Boy Pants and work its way into the Big Boys Club it is going to be UCF, not USF, that gets an invitation.

So if you like to worry we recommend that you just forget about USF in Tampa and turn your attention to UCF in Orlando as the next major player in college football in Florida.

[TonyCane]

It will be. Is this team a clone of the 2002 squad? No. We're two years away from having a maximum quality depth. This version of the Canes is kind of a hybrid between the 1999-2000 squad. We have enough talent now to be an extremely dangerous team, but not the overall experience or depth to guarantee a championship run. That said, we are undefeated with the season half way over. Anything can happen over the next 6 weeks. Not a bad place to be after a decade in the wilderness.

[Terrance Sullivan]

Zilla I agree we take out Wake, but that VT game will be a heckuva game and if we all think its gonna be a cake walk we are sadly mistaken last I checked VT only loss was to Alabama and the game against VT will decide the Coastal division and who goes to Charlotte and last I checked VT has been a thorn in our side for 20 years. But I know VT will be a cake walk lol. We are 6-0 happy about it. Let's enjoy the madness today. Go Canes Beat Wake!

[VA Cane]

Good morning all. My step sister works for a big accounting firm in NC and she got me a luxury seat offer at the last minute...I took it.

The Stones have a song called winning ugly....we did.
Soup has covered the scenario, so I will be brief. Our QB looked bad, played bad made bad decisions. Our OL was good at times, bad at times...slow and sluggish. We did minimal on O...but Duke while in did well. DC was awesome Clements helped at the end. D was awful. some pressure but not enough. Coverage was awful...TE ran wild...remember OB UVA Heath Miller? looked the same. Tackles missed....sloppy stuff. Turnovers were rampant, penalties were committed that were dumb. STs blocked kick, punter saved high snap....not too bad. This looked like one of Clappys or Onions teams they sucked....for the most part.

Yet the D made a stop when they had to...looked like they would make play on back when the play clock ran out ...Carolina got another penalty...stopped them. Then a maligned, sloppy QB, lazy slow line, couple nice receivers and DC got on the same page....Morris got the O together and drove it 90 yards to win. Damn that was impressive. They did play with character, determination and rammed it down NCs throat. A Clappy or Onion team (not the one Clappy was gifted later ones) never would do that....no character no guts no desire no heart....losers who did not care.

The game was ugly, awful, sloppy....but in the end the kids did not quit...I was proud.

We have a long way to go, lots to correct. I think we are good....but not ready to play the Bamas, Oregons, Stanfords, LSUs...we got to play FSU....we may not be quite there yet...but we are getting closer. That was a character win....did not quit.

[VA Cane]

I remember saying....as a coach not fan.... that all the games count, all are important, each one is a rock that is part of the mountain we are climbing....not just VT or FSU. Many folks said NC was gonna be a route....I never look at it that way....35 years tells me not to. UNC played well at times, lot of heart, took nothing for granted. I think we thought it will change next series here we go....until we got down to the last chance...then we HAD to do it.

Every game counts, has equal meaning as part of the whole. This is why you focus week to week not ranked team to ranked team, etc. I think that is important to always remember that whether you are a coach, player or fan. There was a lesson in the UNC game: Every game matters. JMO

[Terrance Sullivan]

VA Cane great points man.

[VA Cane]

This version of the Canes is kind of a hybrid between the 1999-2000 squad. We have enough talent now to be an extremely dangerous team, but not the overall experience or depth to guarantee a championship run. That said, we are undefeated with the season half way over. Anything can happen over the next 6 weeks. Not a bad place to be after a decade in the wilderness.

Well said TC you are point on. We are not ready to play Bama, Oregon, LSU, Stanford....not yet. We are good, we have been wandering for 10 years....glad not 40 like Moses. We need more depth....little more beef up front, little more athleticism....and some more anger rage and hunger. Oh but its coming fast....so look out world.

[MassivCane]

My take is your not going to win every game by 3 touchdowns. Yes the team play very poor but we still won. Do you think any of Cokers teams or Shannons teams would have won that game on Thursday. Yes Morris had the worst game ever, but that's what happens when we play UNC at home. Most of those Junior and Senior players were recruited by who? The same coach that knows how to build championship teams. Fact is we won. Remember the greatest college football team in HISTORY playing an unranked Boston College team on the road in the cold and it took a turnover on the goal line for us to win. We were scoring at will on teams in 2001 and 2002 but what was the final score of that BC game. This game reminded me of the Brock Berlin to Winslow on the 4th and forever one-handed grab. We were getting run on all night by their RB but we kept fighting and won. Golden knows. Trust the coach and the process. I really think the result would have been different if we rolled into that game without a bye week. Some posted that maybe Morris didn't practice the whole time to rest his ankle, well they were probably right. After Wake next week we have to close strong, as long as we can beat everyone except for FSU then I will be happy. 10-2 is a real chance, 11-1 is achievable. Think about that, 11-1 last time we were 11-1 was 2000.

[SOUP]

Good to see the CEO being his old optimistic self, after suffering a case of nervousness -- some might even say: negativity -- on game day.

Posted by: VfB_Cane | October 19, 2013 at 07:25 AM

Takes a day or two to get the bad taste out of my mouth and to get it out of my system but then I am back to "normal". LOL

[VA Cane]

TSully good AM to you.

Great point about VT....I grew up there, seen every VT home game against our Canes.....walked Cane sidelines....they have been a thorn to us. We focus on WF, get back on track with them....get back to our strong points, get Duke healthy, Morris confident again...I do give him and the line props....great 90 yard drive....and I think it is time to get DC even more involved....that kid runs the hell out of the ball. He is very impressive....and what I like most about him....as well as Duke and Clements...they get north south quickly. We got to deal with WF much better than we did UNC......we need to focus on their rock....cause we do have 2 big rocks looming.

[trianglecane]

I believe the tuff games like unc, uf and first half of gt will help us more than the blowouts going forward.

I remember a boxer (champ) by the name of prince naseem. He fought a ton of scrubbes and demolished them. The first fight where he had to dig deep-he folded. He didn't have the heart.

This may or may not be a NC caliber team, but I love their heart. GO CANES!

[VA Cane]

All of you people are point on this am....great great prespectives. Texican, it is important to win each one thay all add up....but you are so right. When you are a great dominant team.....you win the ones you should and still beat the big boys that want some of it....the NC. You stomp their ass as well. When we consistently and handily win the ones we should....and then pound the other big boys....we will then be back. Great point my friend.

[SOUP]

That said, we are undefeated with the season half way over. Anything can happen over the next 6 weeks. Not a bad place to be after a decade in the wilderness.

Posted by: TonyCane | October 19, 2013 at 09:35 AM

There IT is right there.

[VA Cane]

I got back early Friday worked all day and went to bed early....raining here in VA...I have a big game tonight...but I am going to read all the comments from Thurs-Friday to keep up with the family thoughts, You guys are great.

[SOUP]

VA...be careful when reading game day comments! I'm jus sayin. Good luck tonight.

[TonyCane]

Miami Hurricanes After 6 Games:
Record, Points For, Points Allowed

1994: 5-1 (219-77)
1995: 3-3 (154-125)
1996: 4-2 (182-78)
1997: 2-4 (136-177)
1998: 4-2 (225-130)
1999: 3-3 (178-128)
2000: 5-1 (273-105)
2001: 6-0 (269-65)
2002: 6-0 (262-101)
2003: 6-0 (201-93)
2004: 6-0 (215-99)
2005: 5-1 (179-63)
2006: 4-2 (144-72)
2007: 4-2 (152-127)
2008: 3-3 (179-139)
2009: 5-1 (174-125)
2010: 4-2 (176-117)
2011: 3-3 (182-143)
2012: 4-2 (181-208)
2013: 6-0 (253-103)

[Clwtrdan]

Most teams have a bad game in them sometime during the year. In seasons past we would have lost this one close. The victory shows our heart under this staff. It goes down as a W in my book and I'm loving the way our kids responded in the 4th.
Deserve Victory!

[BEERicane]

I remember a team that should have lost 4 or 5 games one year and lost their 5th or 6th in a bowl game but the team ended up winning the national title.

Who was it?
2002 OSU Buckeyes. You just have to win. No matter how ugly or lucky. We won. We are undefeated. The performance of the UNC game means zilch moving forward to the next. It's in the past. We can only control what is ahead. Winning is all that matters.

[BEERicane]

The noles are going to be in for a rude awakening tonight in Death Valley. Talk about a team that hasn't played anyone. Look no further than the Noles. Jameis is putting up some numbers, but the Clemson D is poised to put an end to that. Clemson will move the ball on the Noles D running it which will be a death sentence for them. Clemson wins by 13 tonight and threatens the #2 spot in the country. (Oregon should be 1. Bama should be about 4)

[VA Cane]

Soup am I in danger; did it get wild on the blog? Guess I will find out.

By the way big guy, I read the articles....I always read the articles.....great stuff as always!!!!

[BEERicane]

Oh, and welcome back vintage SOUP!

[TonyCane]

True BEERicane. Ohio State won many close games that year...six that were by a touchdown or less.

But I cannot say that they won that NC.

[BEERicane]

They sure didn't win on the field, but it is written so in the record books.
-Sigh....

[VA Cane]

Well they won it....we gave them 17 points on turnovers and sloppy play. I hated that game. If you get a chance watch it on u tube....as much as I hate it, there is a good case for holding, and after the play when the ball goes by we could have been called for a 5 yard face mask.....yea I know we all want to say ripoff....but go back and watch it. There is a great one that breaks it all down....I as a player and coach disagree with the late timing of the flag....but there justification for the call. You don't turn the ball over,do block for Dorsey and backs, don't lose WM....and stop Krenzel in the OT when he succeeds on 3rd and 13....you win. Before we keep saying foul, look at Utube objectively. I think it was both guys infighting in a title game.....but look at it open mindedly.jmo

[VA Cane]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFpTkYMLzdc

here is a good breakdown check it out. Know most of you have but visit it.