Canespace

No Laterals Needed

Your Miami Hurricanes beat the Duke Blue Devils in convincing fashion in Durham, NC on Friday night by the score of 31-6. We are also pleased to announce that no laterals were needed during this domination of an ACC team.

As all you know, I predicted this outcome and even put it in writing right here on Canespace the day before the game.   

You see I have good information that Mark Richt and his merry band of warriors have been playing it very close to the vest and hiding several key aspects of their team, game plan and play calling until they feel it is needed against better competition on the schedule.

Certainly this concept is not new or hard to believe or understand nor would it be the first time a team or coach employed this strategy going into a season.

However, in this particular case this is much richer and bit juicier from the information I have and all the indications we have seen so far.

There are 10 key factors that I believe Miami is prepared to unleash on their opponents this season. Against Duke, we saw only a two of these concepts employed but rest assured there are more coming. So watch closely Hurricane fans, the best is yet to come!

Prediction: Canes Will Beat Duke Convincingly

Duke? So Now we are talking about Duke?

We start talking about an ACC Title and now we are talking Duke?
Duke will get squashed like a love bug on a windshield in Gainesville by the Miami Hurricanes. They will go splat and be humiliated, no glory found here.

Book it, bet it, frame it, post it, tweet it and put your videos on all of the social media platforms. The game is over before it begins.

And do NOT acted shocked by these comments. This is easy, this is child's play. We will take this game, the Coastal Division and this conference by storm.

Why am I so confident? Because there are 10 things Canes fans do not know about this team. Ten important keys not yet revealed.

There are ten secrets to their success that they have been hiding, disguising and obfuscating until now. Only three will be revealed against Duke. The rest are saved for other ACC opponents. And they are going to be effective.

Like lobster and butter. Trust me!

The Tale Of Two Halves

It was the worst of times. It was the best of times. 

That was the tale of the Miami Hurricanes football game against Toledo on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium before the good guys won convincingly 52-30.

In the first half the Hurricanes looked, well, like some smoldering dog crap.

Then, in the second half they looked like, well, the steaming cream of the crop. As fans, most were so angry in the first half that they would have fired the coaching staff and team. Then suddenly, a different team arrived. 

At that time we saw a completely different team wake up, smell the coffee, and dominate the second half. So the question remains: "Who are these Miami Hurricanes?" We are convinced that the answer is sure to follow... 

Recovery, Relief and Withdrawal

Most Floridians are focused on recovering from devastating Hurricane Irma.

Many are seeking relief from no power and no hot showers for several days.

Some Floridians are experiencing withdrawal from a lack of football in Miami.

The Miami Hurricanes have not played a game since, well we can't remember when. We know it has been way too long yet still we wait for the next game that is scheduled for September 23 against Toledo. 

Until then we sweat, we wait and we worry about Hurricane Maria. It now appears that she could be next. Let's hope that Maria changes her mind and goes North so we can play some football. 

Riding The Storm Out

Most if not all Floridians spent most of Sunday "Riding The Storm Out" as Hurricane Irma slowly wound her way across the State from South to North.

Even for long-time Florida residents and veterans of previous huricanes, it was a long and scary ride for those in the Sunshine State that left some with serious structural damage and many without power, water, phone, cable and Internet.

Oh, and some football too.

The hurricane left college and professional football fans alike in "Dire Straights" as several games were either cancelled, postponed or rescheduled. But in light of the seriousness of the weather events it made the decisions to adjust the football schedules seem very reasonable and prudent. Except of course for one silly sports media pundit who found it "suspicious". Stupid is as stupid does.

The University of Miami's game against Arkansas State was cancelled and the highly anticipated match-up against FSU was moved to October 7. As a result, the previously scheduled Thursday night game against Georgia Tech slated for October 12th was moved to Saturday 10/14/17.  

If it all seems confusing don't worry, you are not alone.

Anyway, the good, fun-loving folks in the lower Keys between Big Pine Key and Key West had to listen to what must have equated to a continuous loop of "Hell's Bells" for a couple of ours straight as Irma raked the islands with her winds and storm surge. Details of the potential extreme damage and possible loss of life remain sparse, but we think that this is not a case of no news is good news. 

Irma, to paraphrase a popular Scorpions' song, "Rocked Us Like A Hurricane".

But in this case, there was no cheering or celebrating. Until we know the final outcome and damage, we will keep the residents of the Lower Keys in our thoughts and prayers as well as those across the State suffering from intense flooding from Naples in Southwest Florida to Jacksonville in Northeast Florida. 

I think you would agree that at times like these, football seems rather insignificant in the larger scheme of things. At least I certainly do.

Time To Hunker Down

Hurricane Irma is coming. And she is a very, very bad girl.

She wants to wreak her destruction over Florida. 

Where and when seems to change daily if not hourly.

No matter where and when she chooses to come ashore she will be brutal.

We can only hope that she is not deadly.

You can run or you can hide. Apparently, those are your two options it seems.

If you have not evacuated, then you better hunker down and shelter in place.

If you do, may God, and the storm, spare you from its consequences.

Rosier Solid In Canes Opening Win

For at least for one game new UM starting QB Malik Rosier quieted the many doubters who questioned his ability to lead the Miami Hurricanes to victory by giving his team a solid performance in Miami's season opening 41-13 win over Bethune Cookman College at Hard Rock Stadium.

Rosier went 17 for 28 and three TDs on the day. He was in control of the game and played smart and efficient football in breaking into his new starting role. He did not turn the ball over and and looked good running the ball when needed in addition to accurately passing the ball on fade routes to tall UM receivers Darrell Langham and Lawrence Cager. He later added a perfectly timed TD pass over the middle to Braxton Berrios for his third TD. 

Mark Walton was superb in his 2017 debut looking sharp, tough and fast in leaving BCC defenders in his wake. Walton led a strong rushing game for UM with 148 yards. Homer also looked good as he saw extensive playing time against the Wildcats. He finished with 103 yards on just 11 carries and showed that he is a solid backup to Walton should an injury arise this season.

The defense was less than spectacular and turned in a basically pedestrian performance against a clearly inferior opponent. Miami's defenders spent way too much time on the field and gave up too many third (8-17) and fourth down (2-2) conversions for our liking which allowed BCC to gain a nine minute TOP advantage. It did not appear to be the same attacking, swarming defense we saw last year, but it was only the first game, so we will reserve judgement. 

New transfer starting CB Dee Delany, who many projected to be a star at Miami and a likely NFL first round draft pick, looked less than stellar in his debut. The highly touted UM defensive line could not consistently set the edge and did not get good pressure on the BCC QB much of the day.

Surprisingly, what was thought to be the team's strength before the season began is now the one that looks like it has much work to be done before the Hurricanes face pass happy Arkansas State next weekend in Jonesboro. 

Special teams were also solid with new punter Feagles 2.0 and familiar kicker Michael Badgley also performing well as expected. Badgley hit both FG attempts from 50 and 27 yards and made all 5 PATs.

However, the Hurricanes' kickoff return coverage was shaky at best and will need some tweaking before facing more serious competition.