Before nitpicking the hell out of Miami’s win at Wake Forest, let’s remember one thing – the Canes pulled it out. It was ugly, sloppy and frustrating, but it was a win. Better to be in Miami’s shoes this morning than Wake’s. It’s also better to sit at 6-2 and in the top twenty than 5-3 and unranked.
Starting with the “ugly”, how about 555 yards giving up to the Demon Deacons? Holy hell. The Canes defense made Riley Skinner look all-world out there with his 349 yards and two touchdowns. Miami shut down the run, but Wake barely relied on their ground game as everything through the air seemed to work.
Wake dominated the time of possession – 38:52 to 21:08 – and had 33 first downs to Miami’s 19. The Deacs dominated every aspect of the game, besides turnovers, which proved to be the difference-maker.
To eke out a one-point win, Miami needed the following: Skinner getting knocked out of the game late in the fourth quarter… receiver Marshall Williams knocked out early in the second half.. a muffed punt return which gave the Canes the ball at the two-yard line… a 4th and 16th completion on the final drive… and a shoestring game-winning touchdown grab by Travis Benjamin.
Toss in a missed 60-yard field goal attempt at the buzzer (with a second-string quarterback lacking the skills for a game-winning drive) and you have a 28-27 Canes win.
I blogged in-game and attempted to make sense of what was unfolding before my eyes. Bad call. When I re-read my knee-jerk comments post-game, I realized it was emotion besting logic. I scrapped the in-game blog, celebrated the win, rewatched the game Sunday morning and tried to make sense of Miami Hurricanes football 2009.
The obvious? This isn’t a championship-caliber team. Not even close. A few top ten rankings this year were nice, but that was by default. As an undefeated or one-loss team, Miami was deserving – based on where other teams were at that point of the season.
6-2 entering November. Not exactly as bad as many are making it out to be. Anyone thoroughly disappointed really doesn’t have a good grasp on where Miami truly is, year three into a heavy rebuilding project. Glimmers of greatness will continue to be met with rookie mistakes. Such is the case when you field a team reliant on many of the fifty-plus underclassmen on the squad.
Depth issues aside, it doesn’t excuse mental mistakes. Miami had no business being down 20-7 to Wake late in the second quarter or 27-14 in the fourth quarter. The Canes are the better team, but for the majority of the day they didn’t play like it. Outworked. Outhustled. Outschemed. Outcoached.
All that said, in the end, Miami never quit. Whether it was Wake Forest or a top flight team, the Canes were down late and never folded. That never would’ve been the case between 2006 and 2008. Backs to the wall many times over the last few years, Miami always seemed to buckle. Thus far this season, comebacks against Florida State, Oklahoma and most recently, Wake Forest.
It won’t get the 2009 Canes to Pasadena, but it’s growth – which is a big part of getting back on top; winning games of this nature. This is a confidence booster for Miami. This team will learn from a win like this as it’s the exact opposite of the feelings felt due to the overtime Clemson loss. Backs to the wall, the Canes came out swinging.
Randy Shannon and staff again must go back to the drawing board as a capable Virginia squad is on deck. Offensive line woes against Wake. Defensive breakdowns. Piss-poor tackling. An ineffective ground game. Questionable offensive playcalling (a lot of deep balls instead of picking up first downs). These are all things that must be fixed entering the final month of the season.
The Canes made their breaks down the stretch against the Deacs, but as this season rolls on you can’t rely on future opponents losing quarterbacks, wide receivers, muffing punts or defensive breakdowns that allow 4th and 16 completions. The football gods shone down on Miami against Wake, but that won’t always be the case. Better playcalling, a deeper focus and more consistency are needed if the Canes are going to win out.
November looks to be ‘the great unknown’ for Miami football; a month that hasn’t been kind to the Canes in recent memory. 2-2 in 2008, 0-4 in 2007 and 1-3 in 2006, which eventually led to Larry Coker’s firing.
Miami took down Virginia and Virginia Tech last November, before getting throttled at Georgia Tech and no-showing against N.C. State in the regular season finale. Without tremendous focus, 2-2 could easily be the Canes’ fate this year. Virginia is next up, followed by a road game at North Carolina, a home stand against Duke and a season-ending trek to Tampa to take on a feisty South Florida team.
This season started with a daunting four-game gauntlet where some called for 0-4. Miami instead went 3-1, though 2-2 would’ve been absolutely acceptable based on the opponents.
In looking at the remaining foes, 2-2 has to be the worst-case scenario. Ranking the opponents, North Carolina now looks the toughest, coming off an upset road win at Virginia Tech. South Florida next, followed by Virginia and Duke.
A one-at-a-time mentality must remain, but the trend of recent November collapses still hovers. Looking at the remaining games, every last one is winnable IF Miami shows up. The Canes are 1-1 in their last two sloppy outings. It’ll take a full-on second wind for Miami to roll. Kick it into another gear down the stretch. Four more games, each more critical than the next.
Recruits are watching, as is the entire nation. Many felt Miami was “back” weeks back, while others wrote UM off after the Virginia Tech loss. 10-2 or 9-3 are truly the only acceptable options regarding this season, sitting at 6-2 entering this final month.
Win out, pray for a Georgia Tech conference loss, hope for a crack at a conference title and if not, a Gator or Peach Bowl. On the heels of an Emerald Bowl, no bowl and a Blue Turf Bowl, again, this would be a giant step forward year three of The Shannon Era.
Chris,
As you said, I could b*tch and moan about how we played for 56 out of the 60 minutes but we got the win. We didn't deserve it but we got it. I'll take it. One player who I do want to give props to is Sam Shileds. The guy is playing out of position in his last year and just never gives up. Is he the best corner? Not by any means, but he gives effort. His special teams play speaks for itself, recovering the muff inside the 5 to begin "The Comeback".
I'm not sure if Whipple actually called for all those bombs, as much as I think Harris chose to go for that option. Who knows. The catch by Johnson on 4th down reminded me of Winslow's catch against WVU.
The D can not get off the field on 3rd down, no matter what the distance is. That has to be fixed. We are missing tons of players off the D, but other guys have to step up. We lost contain on the line, the LB's constantly had passes go over their heads and the secondary was abused again. I did like bringing some heat, even though we got burned by it for the TD. With no line pressure, Lovett had to bring presure. I'll give him that. Obvioulsy the scheme needs to be tweaked.
With all that being said, we won. Time to move on and focus on Virginia which will once again look to exploit their TE's on our LB's. I hope we're ready. No way we should lose to UVA, but we have to come to play.
-Columbus Cane
I feel anything less than 10-2 will be a disappointment. This 'Canes team is more talented than all remaining opponents and there is no excuse for dropping any of the remaining games. We have played, by far, the toughest portion of our schedule in which, imo, we came out one game better than i had figured. I feel there was just a hangover from the Clemson debacle and Wake came out thinking they were gonna down THE university of Miami, which every team that plays us does. The talent on this 'Canes team needs to step up and finish out strong. Get it done!
47 – I definitely respect where you're coming from… but I don't necessarily by the argument.
IF healthy, yes, Miami is more 'talented' than the remaining opponents. That said, this team is far from healthy.
Look how much of a drop off we saw the last few weeks without Sean Spence. Look how much a Ray Ray Armstrong was missed last week. Look at the lack of pressure not brought by a beat up offensive line.
Eric Moncur… Javarris James… Ryan Hill… Jordan Futch… JoJo Nicolas… all are missed at this point of the season.
Miami broke down late last year due to injuries. The rushing defense wasn't the same after Colin McCarthy went down… and the Canes could be in trouble down the stretch if some players don't return.
A lack of depth killed Miami at Georgia Tech last year… while a lack of heart was the difference maker at NC State. Miami needs to again do the most with the least.
More than wins/losses, the Canes need to display heart down the stretch. Miami is light years better than Wake… but still gave up and unprecedented 500+ yards to an average offense. That's pathetic. Most passing yards since Cade McNown in '98 and most total offensive yards since FSU '00.
Canes need to regroup. At this point of the year it has nothing to do with the 'better' team winning. It's the most focused team… the better prepared team… the coaching staff with the best game plan.
Virginia. North Carolina. Duke. South Florida.
If I had to guess right now, I'd say 3-1… with a loss at UNC. Hope I'm wrong and that we see 10-2, though. For obvious reasons.
Word! I agree….
9-3 is a good year!
10-2 is a great year!
WIN THE BOWL GAME TOO!
10-2 or 9-3 are a must.
A Gator Bowl berth against Notre Dame would be stellar. Peach Bowl against a solid SEC team would be good, too.
Orange Bowl would obviously be the goal, but it'll be a bear to win the ACC right now with GT facing nobody down the stretch.
The key this year is growth. After 5-7 and 7-6, Miami simply needs to take a big step forward this year. 10-2 or 9-3 and a solid bowl game would prove that the Canes are on the right track… setting up for another great recruiting class as well as a solid ranking entering 2010.
One thing I have noticed is that J12 does not pump fake at all. Whipple taught this to Rothlesberger. Is this something for year two or what? Seems if he did this, the receivers would have greater separation. JMO
I hope you are wrong about the NC loss too as I will be attending that game. Is it just me or does it seem we are using the TE less and less ? Also, whatever happened to the sweeps we used to run back in the day ? Guess we don't have the personnel for it…
Hated by many, loved by few, WE are the U
Ronald – The UNC game scares me a bit as it's one of those teacher vs. pupil games. Butch had Randy's number the past two years and the Heels are getting better as the year rolls on. Being in Chapel Hill (and possibly a night game)… it sketches me out.
Yeah, looks like Miami is using the TE less… but I think that's a lack of depth type thing. Also, Whipple doesn't look too tight end-happy like Chud or Coker was. The Canes haven't really utilized the TE all that well since Chud and K2 left town.
DO NOT sleep on Duke.
Chard
Chard – I'm not sleeping on Duke, but the fact the game is at Land Shark, I like Miami's chances.
Duke is having a nice little run this year… but they're 3-1 in the division and haven't gotten to the meat of their ACC schedule. Beat a bad Maryland team and average NC State squad. Virginia Tech worked them over and they still have North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Miami and Wake Forest on the docket. That's no joke.
All four of Miami's remaining foes are capable of pulling an upset… but of the four remaining teams, Duke – on paper – looks the 'easiest'.
The Blue Devils have given the Canes all they could handle the past few years. No one can overlook this game.
are we really blaming the play calling for jacory choosing to throw it deep all the damn time? come on. we all know the play call has several options, jacory just rather throw it deep, that's who he is.
I wish the Cane nation would quit trying to make this team the '87 ,89' or whatever championship team. Everyone needs to realize that if this team wins 10 or 11 games (with a bowl) that will be a huge deal for this 2009 team.Also the landscape of college football has changed so much regarding recruiting, scholarships, good coachs at alot of places and other things that make winning a conference championship and especially a national championship very difficult so lets stop bitching they won saturday! and they have a strong shot at a new years bowl lets Go Canes.
I wonder when Coach Shannon's contract will be addressed. Hopefully right after the regular season ends. That will be used against him more and more as Signing Day approaches.
-Columbus Cane
UM is well capable of achieving a national championship with the right circumnstance:
1. Leadership – Every time the 'Canes won a national championship, or won a big bowl game, there was at least one clear leader within the team. Dan Morgan, Ken Dorsey, Santana Moss, I can go on, all were leaders that sparked success in their team. Someone has to step up and motivate their teammates.
2. Recruiting – This has never been a problem for the 'Canes. We live in the cradle of talent for College Football. Dade county will always be a stable source of talent for the 'Canes.
Aside from that, U of M will always have what it takes to make it all the way, almost every year.
From Miami,
JM
I hope they don't make it a night game. If it has no importance to the ACC Championship game I can't see why the networks would consider it a prime time game. Plus I don't feel like sitting in the cold ! HA !!! They were throwing to Epps earlier this year quite often. Wish they would get back to some of that. And I agree with you about Butch and Randy. However, as you know, this team is much improved from anything Butch has had thrown at him. If we can get some defensive players back by that game we should be able to give them a go !
Hated by many, loved by few, WE are the U
i knew from the beginning that the line would be this achilles heel. We have a pretty strong starting lineup and they were getting the job done in the beginning of the season but it is just unfair for us to ask them to take 100% of the snaps and stay strong throughout the season. The defensive line on the other hand was something I did not see coming, and I guess it is mostly because of the injuries, but I think our weakness at d-line is exposing a lot of our weaknesses on defense. That said I think whipple needs to start calling the game around the fact that we have an inept line. i.e. ditch the long routes that jacory was making his bread and butter on and trade them in for some quick passes and screens to neutralize the rush – I saw jacory making some terrible decisions that were brock berlin-esque and I could only help but think that this kid is anticipating the rush and getting the ball out even if it's into double coverage. so c'mon whip, time to earn your keep and adjust the gameplan!
I hope they don't make it a night game. If it has no importance to the ACC Championship game I can't see why the networks would consider it a prime time game.
I didn't mean ABC prime time, but it could absolutely wind up the ESPN or ESPN2 night game. The 2004 game was the ESPN night game.
The Shannon/Butch subplot adds to it, too.
Hopefully it's a day game… but maybe these Canes shine better at night — Florida State, Georgia Tech and Oklahoma.
Allcanes, I think we are better off as a night game. The canes always shine during nationally televised night games. I feel like we get up for these games knowing the spotlight is on us. Im praying its a night game as the day games this year didnt go all to well.. VT blowout, Clemson loss in OT, WF one point win. We shine at night go canes
Hey, if we can "shine" because it's a night game, then I withdraw my wish for a nice warm sideline. Guess I can buy some warmer socks…..
Hated by many, loved by few, WE are the U
All Canes, I read your blog everyday because it keeps me well entertained and because I love my Canes. I am patiently waiting for these Canes to blow everyone out of the water the next few years but for now, I have faith in our Canes and hope they can continue to succeed, but what I wanted to addres was… What do you think of this whole drama with Brandon Spikes and a half game suspension from Urban Meyer? This is ridiculous if you ask me and it shows how much better our program is now(excluding results on field) will be when we are contending for National Championships again. The combination of disciplined players and talent should hopefully makes us an unstoppable juggernaut the next few years, wouldn't you agree?