Breaking it down for SportsProjections.com…

I was contacted last week to chime in with my two cents regarding how Miami will fare in the ACC and nationally this year. I’m not really familiar with the site I wrote for, nor do I care. I just want to spread the word and didn’t want some other hack giving the ‘standard’ answer for how the Canes will fare in 2007.

Seems those not close to the program are calling for Randy Shannon to have his ups and downs this year and are safely calling for Miami to fare a little better than last year’s 7-6. They’ve also picked the Canes third in the ACC Coastal division behind Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.

I’m not chest thumping and screaming “New Orleans or bust” just yet, but I do have greater expectations for Miami than the likes of Athlon, USA Today, Lindy’s, Sporting News and the other rags who fail to scratch more than the surface regarding this rejuvenated bunch.

Check out my season preview below at SportsProjections.com:

Miami Hurricanes Football Preview

Contributor: Chris Bello (Canes305)
Website: www.allCanesBlog.com
Last Year Record: 7-6

Last Year Summary: Faux swagger. Coaching staff in over their head. Misuse of talent. Inability to motivate. Do I need to go on? The Larry Coker Era had been on life support for three years, but finally came to a thud on the heels of the first six loss season since 1979. (5-6 in 1997 was the probation era.)

Returning Starters:

Offense: Kyle Wright – QB, Javarris James – RB, Lance Leggett – WR, Sam Shields – WR, Reggie Youngblood – OT, Andrew Bain OG, Derrick Morse – OG, Jason Fox – OT.

Defense: Teraz McCray – DT, Calais Campbell – DE, Darryl Sharpton – MLB, Glenn Cook – WLB, Glenn Sharpe – CB, Randy Phillps – CB, Kenny Phillips – FS.

Offensive Strengths: The departure of former offensive coordinator Rich Olson. Having Olson on the heels of two years of Dan Werner as OC, Miami will finally have a signal caller in Patrick Nix. I’m not calling Nix the next Norm Chow, but he’ll get Miami’s putrid offense back to good; somewhere it hasn’t been since 2003.

There’s enough offensive talent to find success in the ACC. Guys just have to step up and respond to their new coaches. The Canes are coming out of a three year stretch with the worst offensive play calling since the 70s.

Offensive Weaknesses: No consistency at QB or WR. Inexperienced OL, though they could surprise this year. Breaking in a new TE after sending fourth straight player at the position to the NFL in the first round.

Defensive Strengths: Calais Campbell. He can have an Ed Reed-like impact on this team. Freak of nature size-wise (6’8″) and skills-wise; a team leader ready to take over. One of the best secondaries in the nation. A linebacking corp as deep as we’ve seen since 2003.

Defensive Weaknesses: Depth at cornerback. Replacing a defensive line which lost three starters. Inexperience at linebacker, though I believe the unit gels as the season progresses.

Players to Watch This Season: Calais Campbell, Kenny Phillips, Darryl Sharpton, Colin McCarthy, Kyle Wright, Graig Cooper, Darnell Jenkins, Lance Leggett, Jason Fox

Big Games of the Year: @Oklahoma – 9/8: Biggest statement game for Miami since 2000 showdown with #1 FSU.

@Florida State – 10/20: Two straight losses after six straight wins. Both teams can have no more than two losses if they want the rivalry to regain its national luster.

@Virginia Tech – 11/17: The ACC Coastal representative will be decided this game. A must win.

2007 Season Projection: Can I answer that mid-September?

Miami opens with Marshall at the OB, heads to Oklahoma a week later, hosts brawlmates FIU in week three and then a Thursday night home match up against Texas A&M. The college football world will know pretty quickly what’s up with Randy Shannon’s Canes. Some early challenges will dictate where this season will go. There’s no margin for error.

The Patrick Nix Experiment needs to be a success. Miami will go as far as their new OC takes them. He’ll need to get through to his two QBs immediately. Wright will most like be the starter and Freeman will have plays designed for his mobility. Many have been hard on Wright, but this is his third offensive signal caller in as many years and his first two failed him. Third needs to be the charm.

Highly touted freshman RB Graig Cooper will have to be as good as advertised and needs to immediately impact a sluggish special teams unit. Nix talked about lining him up in the slot a la Reggie Bush. Should that work, a whole new dimension to a recently-bland Miami offense.

Miami needs to steal one at OU to get the momentum flowing early; something this team hasn’t seen since winning their last season opener in 2004.

Should the offense gel, Miami could see the ACC title game and a 2-3 loss season. Sputter out the gate and road games at Florida State, Virginia Tech and Boston College just got that much scarier.

I think this season will be similar to Miami in 1999. Won a few big games, gave a few away, but the team played hard and the young talent was evident. The nation could see that the Canes were close. That’d be a great result for 2007.

People need to see that 7-6 was a fluke, not a trend.

2007 Projected Record: Most likely 10-3. A better record wouldn’t surprise me as much as it would the nation.

2007 Projected Bowl: Gator Bowl. but the Orange Bowl is reachable.

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