The Miami Hurricanes had a Week 3 bye, having knocked off Florida Atlantic and Florida to open the season. Sitting at 2-0, “The U” was able to regroup after an emotional win over the Gators.
Next up, Savannah State treks to Sun Life Stadium for a 7:00 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday and then Miami hits the road for a showdown with winless South Florida and the Hurricanes’ first away game of the season.
The best thing to come out of Miami’s bye was watching the college football universe have its way with some teams who didn’t expect to have the rug pulled out. The action started Thursday night when No. 24 TCU fell to Texas Tech and it continued into the weekend.
No. 21 Nebraska was routed by No. 16 UCLA at home, blowing an 18-point lead. Central Florida beat Penn State in Happy Valley. South Florida stumbled to 0-3, losing to Florida Atlantic weeks after a season-opening loss to McNeese State.
Texas was thumped by Ole Miss a week after losing at BYU. No. 20 Wisconsin choked away a game-winning field goal opp at Arizona State. Michigan needed a goal line stand to survive against Akron—at home.
This all came a few weeks after Oregon State fell to Eastern Washington in the opener and Washington waxed then-No. 19 Boise State in Seattle.
The moral of the story? Anything can happen those first few weeks of September and the name of the game this point of the season is “survival”.
Some fans of Miami were frustrated there weren’t enough style points against the likes of Florida Atlantic, or that the offense wasn’t as dominant against Florida as hoped. While both sentiments hold some validity, right now it’s about the bigger picture and the Hurricanes are 2-0.
Furthermore, a signature win was finally notched by Al Golden and Miami upset Florida, beating the Gators for the seventh time in eight tries, dating back to 1986.
A bye week, followed by Savannah State this week and then a road trip to South Florida on deck. Miami should be 4-0 when Georgia Tech visits on October 5th and based on how things have gone the past few years, that should be celebrated. Undefeated going into ACC play (most-likely) and a Week 2 upset of Florida. Doesn’t get much better.
Recently penned a piece for Bleacher Report, breaking down first-year Miami offensive coordinator James Coley. Coley has come under fire by some for the Hurricanes’ offense cooling off after a quick 14-6 lead in the first quarter.
Miami picked up a late touchdown after a sack and forced fumble, pushing the lead to 21-9, before Florida’s late score pulled it to, 21-16, where it ended.
A big misconception is that Coley and Miami got conservative in the second half, which wasn’t the case.
Yes, the Hurricanes reeled things in a bit as the defense was dictating the course of the game. It became a cat and mouse game and Miami certainly didn’t want to risk turning the ball over or airing it out against a veteran defense like Florida’s.
Quarterback Stephen Morris mentioned post-game that the Gators’ defensive line was the biggest he’d ever seen and the front seven was keyed in on shutting down the run, attempting to bait Morris into a mistake.
Coley did show that his offense will go through running back Duke Johnson, often going to the sophomore on first down, in order to get Miami in second- or third-and-short situations, but there were other wrinkles.
On the third drive of the third quarter, Morris dumped it to tight end Clive Walford, who picked up 11 yards. Johnson then lost six on the next play, putting Miami in an and-long situation.
A possession later, Morris went to Herb Waters on first down, picking up seven and then found Allen Hurns for 36-yards on a 2nd-and-3. The drive eventually stalled when Morris to Waters fell incomplete on 3rd-and-3 from the Florida 40-yard line.
Coley and the Miami offense haven’t lit things up after eight quarters, but based on the unique circumstances which opened the season, where they really supposed to?
A season opener against Florida Atlantic, could’ve / would’ve / should’ve been a 59-6 rout if, (1) Denzel Perryman returns the early pick-six, (2) freshman wide receiver Stacy Coley holds on to two gimmie touchdowns—Canes settled for a field goal on first miss— and (3) if freshman running back Gus Edwards punches in the late score after four straight runs, having started at the one-yard line.
Instead, a 34-6 win and then a grind-it-out showdown against No. 12 Florida and there’s already mass panic regarding offensive production.
Golden made it clear last week was a “process” week, not a “bye” and Miami has been working on offensive timing ever since. Now, a porous Savannah State defense heads south and South Florida is a week out.
Let see where this squad is three weeks after the upset of the Gators—not two weeks into the season.
When talking about the current Miami offense, it’s hard not to recall two-year coordinator Jedd Fisch, who left Coral Gables in January to take over the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive coordinator position.
It was always a given that Fisch was on the move. Prior to his two years at Miami he did one year as quarterbacks coach for the Seattle Seahawks, one year as the Minnesota Gophers offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach, one year as the Denver Broncos wide receivers coach, three years as Baltimore Ravens assistant and three years with the Houston Texans.
Hindsight is 20/20, but it didn’t take a genius to see that Fisch was walking into a garbage franchise. Jacksonville went 2-14 in 2012. Prior to that, runs of 5-11, 8-8, 7-9 and 5-11 since its last winning season (11-5 in 2007).
A miracle worker couldn’t turn the Jaguars’ offense around and it’s showing this season. Jacksonville is 0-2 on the season, having lost 19-9 to Oakland on Sunday.
The Jaguars went over 36 minutes without a first down.
Last week, an NFL-low two points was scored in a 28-2 loss to Kansas City and two weeks into the season, Jacksonville’s offense ranks 30th out of 32 teams.
Fisch is a good coordinator and will always find work, but a lesson in timing is warranted here. Leaving college football just because the NFL comes calling—it’s foolish.
Fisch left a loaded offense at Miami, could’ve made a nice run this fall, added to his resume and had a few different suitors come January. Instead he took a good job with a bad team and his overall stock is taking a huge hit.
Just over seven years ago, Randy Shannon took over the Miami program and was primed to bring former Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter to Coral Gables. Jacksonville then swooped in, poached Koetter and five years later he was let go after a two-win season, replaced by Fisch.
Koetter has since landed in Atlanta, but wasted five seasons in Jacksonville. For Fisch’s sake, let’s hope he doesn’t do the same.
Miami’s 2013 schedule is lining up well on so many levels. An easy opener in Florida Atlantic, on a Friday night, which bought an extra day of rest before Florida trekked south.
A bye Week 3, a visit from Savannah State and a road trip to South Florida, who is playing its worst football in years. From there, Georgia Tech visits on October 5 to kickoff ACC season and then Miami gets a 12-day rest before a Thursday night road game at North Carolina on October 17.
Nine days off from there, a home game against Wake Forest and then Miami takes on Florida State in Tallahassee on November 2, hopefully healthy, in a groove and well-rested.
Another bonus with the early bye and late September jaunt to Tampa; time to focus on recruiting.
Miami coaches hit the road last Thursday after practice, with visits running through Friday. Days after the upset of Florida, Miami coaches were afforded the opportunity to talk about “The U” and to capitalize on the win.
“If this was decision time [for recruits],” he said, “then timing is important. If a kid was going to make a decision and he and his family said, ‘OK, sometime after the Florida game we’re going to make a decision,’ obviously then that would be favorable to us,” Golden told the Miami Herald.
Miami coaches also plan to recruit Tampa, Orlando and possible Fort Meyer and the west coast of Florida when heading mid-state to take on South Florida. Once back home, the focus will shift towards local recruits.
The schedule is favorable to Miami in several ways this season. Time to capitalize both on and off the field in 2013.
Miami’s road game at South Florida will mark the second noon game of the season. The Hurricanes will take on the Bulls at Raymond James Stadium at 12:00 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on either ABC, ESPN or ESPN U, according to the ACC.
The Hurricanes and Bulls last met on November 17th, 2012 with Miami getting the 40-9 home win. The last showdown in Tampa took place on November 19th, 2011 with the Hurricanes kicking a last-second field goal for the 6-3 victory.
On the injury front, Golden told the Miami Herald’s Susan Miller Degnan that he expected wide receiver Rashawn Scott (shoulder/collarbone) back “sometime before or after North Carolina”, which is Thursday October 17. The same timetable is set for injured offensive lineman Danny Isidora (broken foot).
Safety Deon Bush has been moved to second string safety, but Golden hasn’t announced if the sophomore will play Saturday against Savannah State. Bush is recovering from offseason hernia surgery.
Degnan is also reporting that back-up quarterback Preston Dewey is no longer with the football program. Dewey is still enrolled at Miami as a student and working as a sports marketing intern, but his football days appear behind him due to a back injury suffered in spring.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Dewey signed with Miami in June 2011 and was a three-star prospect out of St. Andrews Episcopal High in Austin, TX. Dewey was coached by former Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, out of BYU and was expected to compete for a starting job in 2014.
Dewey was fourth on the depth chart before the season got underway and looked to slide even further next season.
Miami added four-star Greg Olsen to the 2013 class and currently has commits from four-star prospect Brad Kayaa and three-star Malik Rosier. Quarterback competition will be fierce at UM for years to come, starting next season when Morris departs.
Would assume this means Dewey is no longer on scholarship, which says something about the University of Miami academically, if so. Transferring back to Texas would seem a viable option.
Should Dewey choose to remain in Coral Gables, with family footing the bill for a private school education, it certainly speaks volumes for the off-the-field experience and university itself. We wish Preston nothing but the best.
Lastly, a hearty thanks to all the fans and loyal customers who have patronized allCanes and allCanes.com these past few weeks. Our fan base takes some heat at times, but this September has been a great reminder of the way things were, as well as what is in store.
This program is noticeably on the mend and our fan base proved it’s ready for some Hurricanes football. Sun Life was rocking for the Florida game and everywhere you look, Miami gear is proudly being sported.
Credit to the MiamI Heat for their back-to-back championships and recent dominance, but when it comes to old school, it’s Hurricanes football that has brought the most success the past three decades. The fans remember that and are ready for more.
As Miami reclimbs the ladder, make a point to enjoy the ride, this time.
Those of us who lived through the Decade Of Dominance will recall that it seemingly came out of nowhere and in a flash, Miami won four titles over a nine-year span, while leaving a few on the field.
Probation hit in the mid-1990’s and it seemed all was lost, but it was rebuilt proper and after a few down years, it was four straight BCS games, back-to-back title games, one ring won, another stolen and a 34-game win-streak.
Another down cycle ensued but the worst is behind—even with NCAA sanctions looming. Golden has changed the culture and has been shoring up the roster, preparing for some scholarship reductions.
As fans, let’s make a point to enjoy the process and ascension back towards the top of the mountain. The journey can be as enjoyable as the destination itself.
Some great games remain, both at home and on the road, so support “The U” this fall and show some love to these great kids.
Most on this roster have never been to a bowl game and played most of their collegiate careers with the dark cloud of the NCAA hovering, while fan support dwindled—yet they showed up daily, busted ass, did their jobs and made us proud.
Savannah State is a snoozer of an opponent, but there are only four home games remaining. If you’re a fan of this program, what better is there to do at 7:00 p.m. ET on a balmy South Florida Saturday night?
Have some fun, rep your Canes, enjoy a win with your friends and make some noise.
#IStandWithTheU