By The Numbers: Miami vs Louisville

Russell Athletic Bowl / December 28, 2013 / Citrus Bowl / Orlando, FL.

Miami Hurricanes vs Louisville Cardinals.

(Note: This article was written by Canespace blogger "LB". It does not include stats from games against FCS opponents E. Kentucky (UL) or Savannah St. (UM) in the overall statistical analysis):

Strength Of Schedule:

• While UM played opponents who averaged 6.09 wins, Louisville played opponents who averaged 4.9.  UM played 8 "bowl-eligible" opponents (6+ wins), while Louisville played 5.

Offenses:

• UM played defenses who allow 23.2 points per game and average 42nd.  Louisville?  27 points per game with an average of 62nd.

• UM played 4 top 30 defenses (FAU, Florida, FSU, Va. Tech).  Louisville?  3 (UCF, Houston, Cincy).

• UM played 3 defenses ranked 70th or lower (USF, Virginia, Pitt).  Louisville played 6 (Kentucky, FIU, Temple, Rutgers, USF, UConn).

• Louisville is more effective against the average against these defenses at +11.35, while UM stands at +8.95.

Defenses:

• UM played offenses who score 27.6 points per game and average 77th.  Louisville isn't much worse, playing opponents who score 24.1 points per game and average 85th. 

• UM played two top 30 offenses (GT, FSU) while Louisville played zero.

• Louisville is MUCH more effective than others against their offenses, scoring at +11.35. UM  -0.15?

• As pitiful as Louisville's schedule is, their defense at least can stop some folks.  They've even pitched a shutout (a novel concept) vs. Temple.  They allowed 20+ points twice (UCF, Cincy).  UM allowed 20 or more points 9 times in 2013.

Statistical Analysis Predictions:

The Bad:

• Louisville has a 99.9% chance of scoring more than 20, as they've done it every single game.  Even God himself will have a tough time helping D'Onofrio out on this one.
• Louisville has a 75% chance of scoring more than 30 against UM.
• Louisville has a 50% chance of scoring 40+ on UM.

The Good:

• UM is going to score a lot.  Evening out the stats, UM is the best offense Louisville will see.  UM has a 90% chance of scoring more than 20.
• UM has a 70% chance of scoring more than 30.
• UM has a 50% chance of scoring more than 40.

Summation: Given the adjustments, UM's offense is probably slightly better than Louisville's given the opposition and expected rankings vs. such.  There is no question about defense.  Louisville will score with reckless abandon and probably piss off UM fans to no end.  At least D'Onofrio still has 100 yards to offer between the end zones.

As for the final score, I'm not giving predictions as bowl games are enigmas.  UM hasn't won one since 2006, and it's about time.  It's a better draw than Texas A&M, so take that as an early Christmas present.

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Comments

[UMike]

Yup

[CaneRock]

HURNS! UNO! WHAT?!

[UMike]

I think mean Bush hahaha

[UMike]

UM coach Al Golden was on the recruiting trail Sunday night when the Hurricanes accepted an invitation to play Louisville in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

Monday, Golden and athletic director Blake James finally got to talk about facing the Cardinals and former Hurricanes recruit Teddy Bridgewater at Orlando’s Citrus Bowl on Dec. 28.

Golden said the Hurricanes are excited about facing “an excellent Louisville team.”

“I’m sure all the other storylines will emerge in terms of guys that know each other, played against each other. That’s going to make it fun,” Golden said. “From a viewership standpoint and of course, a packed house there in Orlando, that’s going to make it all fun.”

Although the Hurricanes were also considered for the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta New Year’s Eve, James said he’s happy UM is playing a few hours away.

“I told Steve Hogan, the executive director, all along that Orlando makes sense for us in so many ways,” James said. “It gives our fans a great chance to see the program and be a part of the state of Florida.”

• Former UM quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday in New York. … Offensive lineman Brandon Linder accepted an invite to play in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. on Jan. 25.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/12/10/3808954/miami-hurricanes-glad-to-play.html#storylink=cpy

[UMike]

Miami Booker T. Washington and Hialeah Champagnat Catholic completed undefeated seasons and gave South Florida two state champions so far at this year’s football finals.

Three more teams take aim this weekend.

Miami Central faces Seffner Armwood —the only team that has beaten it in this historic four-year run of advancing to Orlando.

Plantation American Heritage takes its most talented team ever to state in what will be its first appearance since 1998.

And South Dade has all of Homestead buzzing as it tries to dethrone defending state champion Apopka in its first trip to the dance.

Here’s a look at the final weekend of high school football for the 2013 season:

Class 5A state championship — Plantation American Heritage (13-1) vs. Green Cove Springs Clay (10-4), 1 p.m. Friday: The Patriots are chasing their first state championship and trying to become the ninth school in Broward County history to accomplish the feat.

To do it, the Patriots will have to beat arguably the wildest story statewide in this year’s playoffs.

Clay, which last won a state title in 1967, has proven it can win with either potent offense or with solid defense.

The Blue Devils won a wild 74-73 game against Jacksonville Bishop Kenny in the regional semifinals. The Blue Devils followed that with a 9-7 victory in a defensive struggle against Pensacola Catholic. Last week, another shootout finished with Clay beating St. Pete Lakewood 40-38.

The Blue Devils run a spread offense but can run the football out of a power formation much like what American Heritage faced against Hardee in the regional finals.

Heritage adapted to that offense by halftime and eventually routed Hardee 41-7 powered by another big game by running back Sony Michel.

For the Patriots, their speed on both sides of the ball and experience playing a wide variety of opponents throughout the season will pay off once again in this type of game.

Don’t expect the big stage of the Citrus Bowl faze a team that has won all four of its playoff games by 15 points or more.

Andre’s pick: American Heritage 38, Clay 17.

Class 6A state championship — Miami Central (13-1) vs. Seffner Armwood (14-0), 1 p.m. Saturday: The Rockets are in Orlando for the fourth year in a row, setting a Dade County record for consecutive trips.

The trip in 2011 was the most unpleasant, however, ending with a loss to Armwood that capped a tumultuous season and later resulted in both teams forfeiting their victories that year.

Central recovered quickly, winning state last season, but didn’t get the chance to avenge that loss. The Rockets will get that opportunity this year.

Injured star tailback Joe Yearby was missed last week not just sentimentally, but also literally in a running game that only mustered 84 yards against Daytona Beach Mainland. Central continues to work in its passing game effectively with quarterback Keith Reed and receiver Da’Vante Phillips combining for 211 yards and three touchdowns.

The key could be Central’s offensive line if it can establish the running game and give time for Reed to throw, which often makes him a dangerous offensive weapon.

Andre’s pick: Central 30, Armwood 28.

Class 8A state championship — South Dade (13-1) vs. Apopka (13-1), 7 p.m. Saturday: After 60 years, the Bucs made school history and clinched their first trip to the state finals. But to win the school’s first state football title, South Dade will have to overcome the toughest obstacle for any South Florida team this weekend.

Apopka has scored 724 points this season (51.7 points per game average) behind its single-wing offense. And the Blue Darters had to adapt to the loss of star quarterback Zack Darlington after he was injured at the start of the season.

The Bucs hope to mirror the offensive success that Weston Cypress Bay had last year at state in a 53-50 defeat. As it has throughout the playoffs, South Dade will need its aggressive defense to contain Apopka’s running game and give itself a chance.

Quarterback play will be paramount. And if the Bucs get the same Kahlil Render they saw last week against Palm Beach Gardens, they might just pull off a huge upset.

Andre’s pick: South Dade 37, Apopka 35.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/12/10/3809103/andre-c-fernandez-miami-central.html#storylink=cpy

[UMike]

When its all said and done half of this years class could be State champs.

[UMike]

From Ariz...

Demetrius Jackson just texted me out of the blue saying he has not decommitted from Miami. He says "Pete please clear this up for me.. IM A HURRICANE ... the coaches are coming to my house Wednesday ..."

[UMike]

Tito workin...

2015 Monarch (Fla.) Athlete Shawn Burgess-Becker said his goal for the season was to put his team on the map and prove the doubters wrong. After finishing 8-3 and making it to the playoffs, the Knights are no longer considered a light threat.

“I had faith in our team since the first day of practice, I thought we were going to have a great season once we got some more people on our team.”

Burgess-Becker ,along with fellow star 2015 athlete Calvin Ridley, were leaders for the team on both sides of the ball and helped guide the way for the Knights. However, when you ask him, he diverts more credit to the rest of his team.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say we are the face’s of the team because we have a lot of other skill players; like we have another 2015 corner back Ronnie Huggins, who had seven interceptions and probably like 3 catches at the most caught on him. We have Michael Harris, our quarterback, he led in passing yards or something like that. We had a couple other good receivers and couple other outstanding defenders. At the end of the day it was teamwork, it’s not just two people making all the plays.”

As far as expectations for the team next year, the 6’2 180 pound athlete wasn’t shy at all.

“Honestly, I’m going to tell you the truth: I just don’t see us losing a game next year, if everybody does and plays the way they did this past season, I don’t see us losing a game next season. I know it gets tough next season during the playoffs, but if everybody just executes, we can win a lot more games and actually all our games.”

In terms of recruiting, the Monarch product holds a top 5 of Alabama, Miami, LSU, Florida and Florida State in no order. He talked about that list and where it stands.

“I’m very comfortable with those top 5 schools. No one is leading, but I’d probably say the schools that are talking to me the most are Alabama, Miami and Florida State.”

Miami made the most recent news with Burgess-Becker, when they recently offered his teammate Calvin Ridley.

“I was very happy that Calvin got that offer because you know me and him are trying to play for the same team and we both have more of the same offers. I know he was very happy about the offer and I was very happy about it, now we’re just trying to see if Ronnie Huggins can get those offers and we can go from there.”

It’s been noted that both of the star athletes have planned on playing with each other, but Burgess-Becker elaborated a little more on that.

“Me and Calvin grew up playing football together, so if it could be possible I would love to play football with Ronnie Huggins and Calvin Ridley.”

Both Ridley and Burgess-Becker were down in Coral Gables this past weekend to watch Miami practice and seemed to enjoy themselves.

“The practice was good. It seems like they have a lot of fun out there on the field, Al Golden does a great job of coaching them up and all their players are flying around. It looks like they’re having a great time at the University of Miami.”

While Miami did make a big step by offering Ridley, schools like Alabama and Florida State are still recruiting Burgess-Becker very hard.

Alabama:“I went up to Alabama, me and Mario Cristobal have a great connection. Once I got up there, it was nice. It was different, but it was nice. All the players, I feel like they’re very comfortable there, the coaches treat the players with respect. Nick Saban is a very cool person, me and him had a talk before the game.”

Florida State: “I got up there, the campus was beautiful and the stadium is very nice. All the players were very focused waiting on the game to start. After, I got a chance to walk around and talk with coach Sal (Sunseri) and he just wants me up there again.”

http://www.canesinsight.com/content/2182-Burgess-Becker-Recaps-Season

^^^^ Miami will want those guys bad!! Already 4 & 5 stars in the 2015 class.

[UMike]

Miami commit Nigel Bethel, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound cornerback from Miami Booker T. Washington, said he is solidly committed to the Hurricanes, but an offer from Georgia might change that.

Bethel was talking about his future Saturday night after BTW defeated Jacksonville Bolles 40-21 to win the Florida Class 4A state title, also clinching the mythical national title for the Tornadoes, who were ranked No. 1 in the country by at least seven different media outlets.

Bethel, who changed his name from Nigel Patten when he turned 18 this past spring, is intrigued by Georgia and the Bulldogs just might come calling.

"I'm pretty much solid to Miami, but Georgia's been talking to me lately and so if they pull the trigger I'll give them some interest," Bethel said. "Georgia and Miami have been my dream schools coming up, so to get an offer from them would be a very big deal."

Pictures: UCF Knights vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Bethel, however, said just because the Bulldogs offer, doesn't mean he'll be flipping the switch. He's firm with his hometown Hurricanes, but intrigued by what Georgia my have to offer. He said his only official visit will be to Coral Gables for the weekend of Jan. 16, but if UGa does offer, he'll also trip to Athens.

"It would be very difficult, because I already have my mind set on Miami," Bethel said of the odds that Georgia could flip his commitment. "If they are going to get me then they got to do a lot of recruiting. It would have to be a better position for me than what I already got at Miami."

Bethel wasn't as ecstatic as the rest of his teammates following the Tornadoes third straight trip to the state title game, and second straight state championship victory. He wasn't very pleased with the way he played in his final high school game.

"I feel very blessed, but I feel like today my performance wasn't as great as it should have been," Bethel said. "It's very bittersweet ... but I'm happy for my teammates and everybody else."

He'll be heading separate ways from many of his BTW senior teammates now, with the exception of defensive ends Chad Thomas and Demetrius Jackson, who are both also committed to Miami.

Quarterback Treon Harris is headed to Florida State, receiver Lamar Parker to West Virginia, receiver Deltron Hopkins to Appalachian State, offensive lineman Jordan Ingraham to FIU, athlete Krondis Larry to Samford and still others who have yet to pick a college.

"It's going to be very hard," Bethel said. "Guys like me, Lamar Parker, Treon Harris, Terrawn McPhee ... I grew up with those guys. Now it's time for us to part ways and it will be very tough knowing all of us are going different ways in life."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sport...0,7063164.post

[UMike]

JC Jackson will be on an official visit this weekend also... would be a huge flip

[UMike]

Valentine got another in-home visit last night from assistant coaches.

[SOUP]

Off to New Port Richey.

[Surfercane]

UMike - we must keep all our D linemen, no flipping allowed lol. Go get em and keep em Al!!

Let's go CANES!!!!!!

[Sinistercane]

Good morning spacers

[raizecane]

UMike - I have been to a couple of Apopka games and they are very good. One of my friends for many years has a son that play defense for Apopka.

[Account Deleted]

Just woke up, did Louisville score already?

Heard we might try a new scheme on D. We'll let Bridgewater run and pass himself wild and hope he tires out by the 4th quarter so we can make a come back.....

[LB]

"Just woke up, did Louisville score already?"

That's funny.

Again, our draw could have been much worse.

[SinisterCane]

NOFENSE's scheme made every ACC QB look like Tom Brady and know we're about to face the college equivalent in Bridgewater, I hope our defensive recruits don't watch the bowl game

[Terrance Sullivan]

Good stuff LB, but I aint buying that Louisville is a better draw. Their is no way in h*ll anyone will convince me that the Russell Athletic Bowl is better than the Chick Fil A Peach Bowl but it is what it is, when did Miami fans get scared and run from competition lol. But looking forward to partying with U all in O-Town. Go Canes! Beat the Cardinals! and lets end the bowl game and 10 win drought and thats the best reason to be excited about this game. I could give two craps about the Teddy Bridgewater or Clint Hurtt or Eli Rodgers or any other lame story peeps trying to put out here to hype this 3rd tier bowl game. U can put lipstick on a pig but at the end of the day its still a pig.

[dj moonbat]

I knew L-vile's schedule was weak, but I didn't know it was that bad. For instance, they played 3 top 30 defenses, but all those defenses in turn were playing some very soft competition.

Louisville's only test (ranked team) was UCF. They failed.

Miami might lose. After Duke, I'm all out of 'never.' But it sure won't be because our opponent was tougher by virtue of tough competition.

[Go Canes]

Thanks for the info U mike.

[UMike]

NP Go Canes...I try to pass along as much as I can.

[Terrance Sullivan]

I see on International drive they have Twin Peaks, Tilted Kilt, and Hooters, Oh My! LOL I know where I will be LOL! Go Canes! Beat the Cards!

[Old Skool]

Terrance are you saying we might have to have a pre-meal scout to determine who's fielding the best talent(4 and 5 star waitresses)?

[Terrance Sullivan]

Old Skool Yes Sir!

[LB]

"Good stuff LB, but I aint buying that Louisville is a better draw."

An easier opponent than Texas A&M.

[TJL]

Didn't know the Auburn RB Tre Mason is from Park Vista HS in Palm beach. NONE of the Florida schools recruited him

[dj moonbat]

An easier opponent than Texas A&M.

Posted by: LB | December 10, 2013 at 11:24 AM

See, there's the problem. Miami right now can only prey on the sickest in the herd. We fans cannot have any justifiable optimism going up against a legitimately potent team.

Yeah, yeah; I know all the reasons why this is true. It's still depressing.

[CGNC]

LB nicely done. I really like the way you do the stats

[CGNC]

TJL - LOL you and I can fix the Palm Beach recruiting when I get down there

[Go Canes]

Dj if Auburn wins the title 45-41 do you think they'll be happy?

[Sinistercane]

Go Canes

What is your expectation for Al Golden and how long should he get to reach those expectations

[Sinistercane]

Go canes is either NOFENSE's wife or his agent

[UMike]

Go Canes... giving up 41 and WINNING a big game is one thing..giving up 48 to Duke or 42 to a bad VT team and LOSING, that is another.

[Go Canes]

I understand that, I just curious.

[LB]

Thanks all.

[Terrance Sullivan]

LOL Duke is 10-3 and VT is 8-4. So our 3 combined loses were to teams with a combined record of 31-7 and we played them in 3 consecutive weeks with 2 on the road. Not making any excuses just giving facts, we should have won either the Duke or VT game and we didnt thats what it was Sigh! At least now we arent getting our pants pulled down by teams with losing records cause that ish was embarrassing. Go Canes! Beat the Cardinals!

[Go Canes]

Duke was a defensive collapse, Virginia Tech was a total team collapse.

And grow up Sinister, please. I'm just a fan of the Canes, like you are, well I think.

As far as my expectations for the Canes, I want and expect them to be a national power again.

But I am aware enough to know that has been an impossibility based on the NCAA mess and the bad hire that preceded it.

I want a team that can compete for and win it's division every year, play in the ACC Championship game and make a BCS bowl more often than not.

I don't expect a title every year, or to go undefeated every year or to shut every team out every year. I also know we are going to have a three loss season now and again, even going forward.

But I expect those seasons to be the exception, not the rule.

Those who expect more that have no concept of what college football has become and continues to evolve into.

[UMike]

TSully...you know your my boy... but that 31-7 record doesnt tell the real story lol...first, FSU is 12-0, second even though Duke had a good year, their toughest game was against Miami, the worst D in the ACC. They lost to Pitt and GT and didnt have to play FSU or Clemson. So while they are 10-3, they didnt really play anyone. VT game them the game with a ton of turnovers. And the loss to VT...VT came in struggling on offense and of course, we give up 42 to them lol... No way we should of lost those 2 games. We let Duke's RB run for a career high!!!!! God I cant wait for us to be good so we can say "remember when we were so bad Duke scored over 40 on us and he RB had a career day?" lol.... At the end of the day I am happy with a 9-3 season and a bowl game, it is better than last year and we got a lot of exposure etc, BUT...our schedule was tailor made for a 11-1 or 10-2 regular season. I am an Al Golden fan, but I honestly believe D'No will get him fired. Next year we dont have this cupcake schedule and our DLine and LB spots will be worse off imo

[orange 'n green in the vein]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20131210/college-football-bowl-rankings/?eref=sihp

"8. Russell Athletic (Dec. 28): Louisville (11-1) vs. Miami (9-3). Teddy Bridgewater will give his final NFL audition. If it goes anything like last year's Sugar Bowl, hello, Houston Texans. Miami won't have injured star tailback Duke Johnson, but keep an eye on standout linebacker Denzel Perryman."

The excuse machine didn't answer Sinister Cane's question you'll notice, but told him to grow up? Now that's funny.

Here, I'll try for you Sinister, since this answer will be so enlightening as to the type of mentality UM's ticket manager AD is hoping to prevail amongst fans of the football team instead of upholding the legacy of championship expectations for the team like the coach pays nothing but lip service to these days;

Go Canes, how long do you think Alverage Slogan should be afforded to actually win at a high level instead of getting blown out by 27 to FSU, 18 on homecoming and 18 to Duke for the division title?

What I love about the no responsibility brigade is they act like Alverage wasn't hired to win games the last three years as he failed to so many times over and that he was only hired to win after everything was set up perfectly for him. NO coach in the country is expected to have no evaluation of his performance until the stars perfectly align for him, especially at a school with the national success as Miami has had, so if Alverage can't win next year, he's not cut out for being the coach at UM and it's time to cut the umbilical cord and send him back to the bottom feeders of the sport in the group of five. There's plenty of proven coaches that can win at a high level ready to move up, in fact Curtis Johnson is looking pretty good right now and will be a great choice next year if he keeps up the job at Tulane he's done, even Clawson being stolen from Wake if he ends up there would be awesome, but that would require some 'underhanded' hiring and stealing from schools in conference, in other words, an AD who is more adept at making good hires than managing slagging ticket sales.

[Go Canes]

I agree with a lot of what you say U Mike but I don't think our d-line and backers will be worse next year.

Chad Thomas, even as a freshman will be an upgrade over anyone we had this season. Muhammad and McCord will be full time starters, also an upgrade. And U and Ohio can tell us if that Juco DT from out west is everything we are hearing he will be, so that should be another upgrade. I also hope when Perryman sees where he's going in the draft he decides to stay, instead of making the huge mistake the guys made two seasons ago.

We also have some very good DTs coming in who can hopefully start making real contributions by mid season.

Jermaine Grace should make sure Armbrister never sees the field again and Artie Burns will be a huge upgrade at corner.

In my opinion slowly, spots currently filled with marginal players are being replaced with guys who can really play.

[Old Skool]

Regarding end of season collapses, I believe we have had more of those over the past five years than ending the season in a positive direction.

[canezilla]

TJL - LOL you and I can fix the Palm Beach recruiting when I get down there

Posted by: CGNC | December 10, 2013 at 12:02 PM
I LIKES THE SOUND OF THIS!!!!

[UMike]

Chad Thomas is unproven and currently undersized... but he does have the potential. We wont have any quality depth at DT and out best players, outside of maybe Pierre will be freshman. I like the idea of McCord and AQM playing more, but the DT is still a big problem. IMO, Perryman is gone. Grace and Figs are the only names that sound good, but there is zero depth, and definitely not quality depth lol... but who knows, those freshman and sophomores may surprise us.

[Go Canes]

Ogv I guess we just agree to disagree, which is fine.

I see Coach Golden starting to do exactly what Jimbo did at FSU, rebuilding a traditional power up again from scratch after years of mismanagement, dysfunction and in our case the biggest NCAA scandal of our life time.

He is just further along in the process than we are in my opinion.

As far as how long it should take? I feel over the next two recruiting cycles we will get to where we all want us to be.

Remember Jimbo has been there 5 full years and as head coach went 9-4 and 9-4, then 10-2 last year with a team far superior to where we are now.

Like I said, I guess we see the program being in two different places which is cool.

[Terrance Sullivan]

UMike U my guy to the end. I guess I was saying i am glad we have gotten over the hurdle of the completely embarrassing losses to losing teams that are not going to bowl games or arent bowl eligible cough cough Virginia, and Wake Forest like we have done in seasons past but I agree with your sentiment bruh!

[VfB_Cane]

As long as things are getting better every year, we shouldn't complain to much, Yes, perfection is great, but it rarely happens.

So where do we stand:
2013: 9-3 was a realistic expectation going into the season. Personally, I expected the Canes to lose to UF, FSU and VT, which would have been good enough to get us into the ACCCG.

2014:
At least 9 wins, win the coastal, avoid blowout(s) against FSU. Improve on defense.
Atrocious defense and not winning the Coastal should prompt changes to the coachings staff.

2015: 10+ wins, have a shot at winning the ACC (FSU's wunderkind will be incarcerated or in the NFL by then). Win big games against good opponents. Dominate weaker teams.

2016: I want it all, and I want it now (Freddie Mercury).

[UMike]

Go Canes..I can agree with everything you just said, BUT...I think the difference between FSU/Jimbo and Miami/Golden is the defensive coordinator. Not only has FSU got top recruits, they have been coached up and improved over the years. As long as D'No is here Golden will not be able to get to Jimbos level. Even with a couple more classes like this years class, it wont matter if D'No is here. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Shayon Green on the bottom of the screen covering a WR or TE!! I will admit, Green has improved a lot, but what in the world is he doing covering someone?? lol... I simply think D'No doesnt know what he is doing, especially against decent coaches who make good adjustments.

[herbieibis]

The Herb understands everyone has opinion of the whys and why nots of this program but The Herb is way beyond the pity party that most of you keep wanting to fall back on, which is the Shapiro Gate. Okay I get the point that we got bent over the table for a while and got rear ended, with a stiff job. You make your bed and you lie in it. Even our beloved prez laid with the devil for some quick loot. Who's to blame? Nobody but ourselves. We got away with it for 8 years or so. We stunk recruiting for most of that time. We didn't have enough QB's at one point, we didn't have enough DB's at some point and next it was WR's and last it was our DT situation. This has been ongoing. I'm surprised we were able to get some of the guys we got here lately like Duke, Chick (although he's another Sean T)and a few others. The bottom line when it comes to this defense, as a team, they have gotten worse. The stats, this year say we are better and so do the wins but are we really playing anybody. Okay we had FSU, Flo. & Va. Tech, who generally have good defenses but the rest of these teams on our schedule stink. OGV is right, the Coastal was handed to us this year on a silver platter and we choked. Yes we had some injuries, who doesn't, We suk on third down conversions both offensively & defensively but if we had a dam defensive coordinator who could make adjustments and inspire kids to play for him, we could already be relevant and 11-1 to boot.
Whether Golden wants to or not and not is probably the right word but the right thing to do is dump his old chum and with all these good recruits we have coming in allow somebody else to coach them before he makes the next batch all mediocre.
By the way, it wouldn't matter who we play in a bowl game, good draw or not, as long as DENO keeps playing prevent, what he's preventing I don't know, we better score at least 35 to 45 to have a chance to win. As I said before, if he couldn't round these guys into a defensive force in 4 months, what's 15 extra practices!

[Ohio_Cane]

JUCO LB and DT's will fill important roles next year.