Game Eight : Miami 28, Wake Forest 27

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.

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