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It has been ten long years since the University of Miami had won a bowl game.
The bowl win drought at Miami lasted longer than three U.S. Presidencies.
But that long drought is over and your Miami Hurricanes are winners once again.
Now it is time to crank the FUN dial to 10 and celebrate like the good old days.
Just breathe deep and relax Canes fans. Enjoy the victory for once in a while.
We are now grilling and chilling with the ACC title next up on the wish list.
Although the 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl will not take place on Christmas, the University of Miami football team would certainly have no problem waiting a few extra days for the team’s biggest Christmas wish of all – a bowl win.
On Christmas Eve, the Hurricanes returned to the practice field for the first time since Thursday as they began their final days of bowl game preparation for their matchup against West Virginia.
Miami is holding its bowl practices at Celebration High School, a location head coach Mark Richt is very familiar with in his previous bowl visits to Orlando.
“Great facility, great people at Celebration High School,” Richt said. “I was here one of those years with Georgia, we came here as well. They really made a lot of great improvements. Just to be able to practice on the field turf field makes a lot of sense since the game is going to be on one.”
Richt certainly knows what it takes to be successful in bowl games, as he owns a 9-5 career record in bowl games with his five losses coming by seven points-or-fewer.
Following practice on Saturday, the first-year Miami head coach was pleased with the team’s mindset following a travel day.
“I thought the guys came back with a good attitude,” Richt said. “I say ‘came back’, but we only had one day off. But when you travel, and you change the venue and you change the practice field and you change where you meet, all those things are a little bit different. I thought the focus was good.”
For junior defensive lineman Trent Harris, Miami’s trip to Orlando is a homecoming of sorts for the Winterpark, Fla., native.
“It’s awesome,” Harris said. “I’m about to meet with my family in a couple minutes. It’s awesome to be able to play football and be around my family at the same time.”
Harris, who played in all 12 games for the Hurricanes this season and posted 9.5 tackles for loss, will have plenty of family members in Orlando during bowl week. During his post practice media session, Harris thanked his teammates for giving up their game tickets, so he could give them to his family.
“A lot of teammates were generous and gave them to me. I have a lot of family, pretty much my whole family is here. My mom and dad both have four brothers each, so I have a lot of family down here. It’s been pretty crazy, but I think I have enough.”
Despite being near many of his family members, Harris has remained focused on preparing for West Virginia.
“We have practice in the morning, so I’m going to be focused on football all though the morning. But we have some free time after that so I think I’m going to be able to go home and open presents with my family for the first time in three years. That should be exciting.”
This week’s bowl festivities are the first for several Miami student-athletes, including freshman Shaquille Quarterman, who had no problem voicing his excitement in Orlando during his post-practice media session.
“Russell [Athletic Bowl] has done an extremely good job with us and they’re treating us like we’re somebody special,” Quarterman said. “It’s going really well. I am looking forward to all the events. The Best Buy thing was pretty cool and the hotel is as nice as any hotel I’ve ever been to.”
On behalf of all of the many great people and talented bloggers here at Canespace we want to wish U a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
As you know if you have been around here for any amount of time this blog is more than just a Miami Hurricane sports blog.
It is a family. A family that at times can be a little dysfunctional but still a family of fans like no other blog on the Internet.
We would also like to thank the many good folks at the UM Athletic Department for their on-going support of our blog as well.
As we make our Christmas wishes, we ask U to join us in the Holiday season in wishing peace on Earth and good will towards all. Well, everyone except Florida State and Florida Gator fans of course.
Here are our simple Canespace Holiday wishes for 2015:
1. That UM wins their bowl game against West Virginia.
2. That Mark Richt turns out to be the best coach any Miami fan could ask for.
3. That the Watsco Center and Mark Light Field are filled with 'Canes fans.
4. That UM baseball makes an early season statement on their way to Omaha.
5. That UM basketball comes on strong in ACC play later this season.
We would like to wish all of U a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Davon Reed scored 17 points to lead Miami to a 72-64 victory over George Washington on Thursday night.
The Hurricanes (9-2) secured the victory with eight free throws in the final 41 seconds. Reed's two free throws with 5.9 seconds left gave Miami its final margin.
JaQuan Newton finished with 14 points and Bruce Brown had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Hurricanes (9-2). Ebuka Izundu added 12 points.
Yuta Watanabe scored 15 points to lead the Colonials (8-5).
The victory increased Miami's winning streak to five while the loss snapped a three-game winning streak for George Washington.
Both teams enjoyed huge first half runs. Davon Reed keyed a 23-4 spurt with three 3-pointers that gave Miami a 28-8 lead with 8:45 remaining.
The Colonials responded with a 22-6 run in the next 7:29. Yuta Watanabe scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers and his third conversion from behind the arc with 1:16 left got George Washington within 34-30.
Reed became the 37th player in Hurricanes history to reach 1,000 points after his dunk with 5:45 remaining in the second half.
POSTGAME NOTES
Miami’s starters: Ja’Quan Newton, Bruce Brown, Davon Reed, Dewan Huell and Kamari Murphy.
In his 109th game at The U, senior guard Davon Reed scored 17 points against George Washington, solidifying his name in the Hurricanes’ 1,000-point club. He is the 37th Hurricane to score 1,000 points.
Reed led Miami in scoring with 17 points and three steals, while Bruce Brown had a team-high 12 rebounds.
Brown recorded his second double-double of his career, two games removed from becoming only the second player in program history to record a triple-double against South Carolina State. The native of Boston finished the evening with 14 points and a career high 12 rebounds.
Four Miami players scored in double figures for the Canes, as Reed had 17, Newton 14, Brown 14 and Ebuka Izundu had 12. Every Hurricane to earn time on the court scored at least two points.
This article was written by long time Canespace blogger Hassan...
With the recent coaching changes I think another thing to keep and eye on are the seven major head coaches in the State of Florida.
I think the three second tier schools of USF, FIU and FAU are ones to watch.
On the plus side I think you have to focus on what Miami is doing themselves. The Hurricanes have an amazing stadium now and they really have a home field advantage they have not had since they left the Orange Bowl. As we start winning and get into bigger games this will continue to improve. The crowds this year disrupted other teams. That was a much needed and refreshing change from the past few years.
I also think with the Indoor Practice Facility and other improvements Richt has implemented and the new culture he has instilled in the team that we are going to compete much better with other in-State big schools like UF and FSU. Finally, adding more staff like the offensive coaches from local high schools will bring value as well in the recruiting process.
Of the next level schools I think USF has the biggest ability to improve. They have a big name coach with big ties in Florida and the school itself is big and plays in a good stadium. My prediction is they will battle with Miami in recruiting and win some battles for some 3-4 star kids, especially Central Florida kids.
For FIU I think Butch will struggle for a year or two like he did here and fans might think he is too old and the game passed him by. However, given time, I think he will upgrade that roster with local two and three star kids that will win him a couple conference titles. A few of those three star kids would really help roster depth for Miami but I do not see FIU winning any big battles with us for a kid we REALLY want.
Largely I believe the same with FAU. I think it is possible Kiffin fails there, but it is also possible he turns them into a powerful small school mid major type like Boise State. It is really hard to say but that school is way behind and it will take at least 2-3 years just to really take an early look on where he has it heading.
Now, tell me what you think?
This article was contributed by long-time Canespace blogger Hassan...
I want to ask about UM QB Brad Kaaya. Many of our fans tend to bash him.
I am not one of those.
He may not be Tom Brady back there but he is a good QB and he could lead us to a title if he had the right team around him. I do believe he has improved since he has been here although his stats are inconsistent. I believe one more year shaping his body and working on his footwork and other small things he will make more improvement.
Here is my general assessment of Kaaya's strengths:
Now for Kaaya's weaknesses:
Kaaya is no perfect QB but he is definitely one of the best in his class and in the Country in my opinion. I think if he does come back it will be great for him and the team. He needs to add 10-15 lbs of muscle and another year in the system he should become a master of the offense and show improvement next year.
I also think one more year with Kaaya would really give Allison, Perry and Cade a year needed to develop their bodies and get used to the speed of the college game. Tell me what you think?
Davon Reed scored 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting and tied his career high by making 5 of 9 3-pointers to lead Miami to a 76-56 victory over Florida Atlantic on Friday night.
Miami (8-2) took the lead for good after a 12-2 run during a 4:36 stretch midway through the first half. Anthony Lawrence keyed the surge with two 3-pointers. Lawrence's second 3 with 8:05 remaining capped the spurt and increased the Hurricanes' lead to 20-12.
Bruce Brown's layup with 1:03 to go gave Miami its largest advantage of the first half at 39-22.
Brown scored 14 points and finished with eight rebounds. Lawrence finished with 13 points and made all three of his 3-pointers.
Marcus Neely scored 13 points to lead the Owls (3-6) in their first game since a 79-77 victory over Ohio State on Dec. 6.
BIG PICTURE
Miami: Kamari Murphy finished with 10 rebounds despite missing 11 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. Murphy has double-figure rebounds in four of his last six games.
Florida Atlantic: The Owls scored a season-low 24 points in the first half. Florida Atlantic's previous low was 27 in its 64-63 loss against Hawaii on Nov. 14.
UP NEXT
Miami: The Hurricanes will host George Washington on Dec. 22.
Head coach Jim Morris released the University of Miami’s 2017 baseball schedule Wednesday.
The Hurricanes, coming off their second straight College World Series trip and 25th in program history, feature 17 returners from a 2016 team that finished 50-14 overall and 21-7 in the ACC.
“It’s a very competitive schedule, just like last year’s,” Morris said. “It’s very tough, starting with the Atlantic Coast Conference and playing Florida out of the SEC, along with all the teams from South Florida. We’re playing just about everybody three or four times from down here. It’s another tough schedule.”
Three-time defending ACC Coastal Division champion Miami hosts 34 games inside the friendly confines of Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field, where the Hurricanes finished 34-6 in 2015.
Rutgers (Feb. 17-19) arrives for the first regular season series of the spring before the Hurricanes travel to Gainesville, Fla., for their annual rivalry series with the Gators (Feb. 24-26).
Miami will also play crosstown foe FIU four times in 2017, splitting the games home and away. A classic home-and-home will take place March 7-8, when the Hurricanes host the Panthers in the first game and make the short drive to FIU Baseball Stadium for the second.
“All the teams down here are very good,” Morris said. “I expect FIU to be better now under their current coach. They’re tough games.Sometimes a team down here will hold their top guy back or No. 2 starter for us….it challenges our team to play good every day against everybody, not just ACC games. I spend a lot of time talking to our team about the importance of playing on Wednesdays, not just Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.”
Miami also battles FAU and FGCU three times, as well as single showdowns with St. Thomas and UCF.
ACC series include home matchups with Georgia Tech (March 10-12), Wake Forest (March 31-April 2), Duke (April 7-8), Florida State (April 21-23) and Virginia Tech (May 18-20). Road series include trips to NC State (March 17-19), North Carolina (March 24-26), Pittsburgh (April 14-16), Boston College (April 28-30) and Virginia (May 12-14).
In 2016, Miami won the ACC Regular Season Championship for the second time in the past three seasons, was ranked the No. 1 team nationwide during the regular season and earned the No. 3 national seed for the NCAA postseason.
“Coming to Miami from Day 1 was a tremendous challenge, following Coach Ron Fraser and what had been done in the past,” Morris said. “Every year is a new year, for me, for our players and for our fans. The expectations are very, very high. We have to go out and prove that we’re good this year. Next year we’ll have to go out and prove that we’re good next year. Every year is a new year, and we want to compete, we want to go to Omaha, and we want to have a chance to win.”
Season ticket holders and Hurricane Club members can order Russell Athletic Bowl tickets online or by calling 1-800-GO-CANES.
Hurricane Club members are encouraged to pre-order as many tickets as they would like. Pre-ordered accounts will be allocated by giving level in priority point order. Tickets requested beyond priority limits will only be assigned after all remaining pre-order tickets have been seated using the priority structure. Hurricane Club members and season ticket holders will receive seating preference for all bowl orders placed by the priority ticket deadline.
The deadline for pre-orders to be included in priority seating is Monday, December 5. General public can order Russell Athletic Bowl tickets beginning Monday, December 5 at 5 p.m. online or by calling 1-800-GO-CANES.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Tuesday
4 p.m. - Miami Pep Rally (i-Drive 360)
Wednesday
11 a.m. - Parade of Bands (Park Avenue)
Noon - Kickoff Luncheon (Rosen Shingle Creek)
1:30 p.m. - Fanfest (Tinker Field)
2:30 p.m. - Buffalo Wild Wings Tablegate(Tinker Field)
5:30 p.m. - Kickoff
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