Who ever thought Miami and Duke would be a rivalry on the gridiron? On paper, this sounded like a good hardwood match up, but when these two ACC foes were slated to meet during football season, most expected a one-sided affair with the five time champion Hurricanes rolling heads and dominating the Blue Devils.
Not quite.
Close match ups in 2006, 2007 and the first half of 2008, when Jacory Harris entered the game in the third quarter and blew things wide open in a 49-31 Miami victory.
This season’s contest was eerily similar, with Duke again holding a three-point halftime lead. Rumors of the Blue Devils celebrating before the second half and Harris going ballistic might be blown out of proportion, but the result was enough to earn the Miami quarterback ACC Player Of The Week honors for the fourth time this season. Harris finished the day 25-of-43 for 348 yards with two touchdowns and one interception; the majority of his success coming in the second half.
Between Harris’ arm, the legs and tough running style of Damien Berry and a tremendous effort of Darryl Sharpton – who recorded a career-high 12 tackles and a 73-yard interception for touchdown – Miami outscored Duke 24-3 in the second half, en route to a convincing 34-16 victory.
348 passing yards. 14-for-21 on third down efficiency. 148 yards on the ground with three capable backs. Cutting down on turnovers and penalties. Fighting back after being behind most of the game. On paper it may have been Duke, but in the end it was another successful day for Miami football, regardless of what the critics say.
The message board vultures were out in full force on game day; an easy task when only 38,200 show up to Land Shark. Coaches were trashed, play calling was ripped and a three-point halftime deficit was being treated like a three touchdowns loss.
What ever happened to looking at the bigger picture? How did overemotional behavior and knee-jerk reactions take the place of logically-fueled debates and friendly banter?
Hell, whatever happened to waiting until the end of a game and judging the final result?
The same portion of the fan base ripping this team at halftime is the same bunch shredding Randy Shannon early in the third quarter of his rebuilding project.
8-3 isn’t where anyone wants to be right now. Not the coaches, not the players and not the superfans pecking away online. This is the University of Miami – the most accomplished program in the modern era. Expectations are high. Success is demanded.
That being said, the Canes don’t simply get a pass for being “The U”. There’s a price to be paid for poor recruiting and a lack of player development. You can’t go through the motions for half a decade and not feel the ramifications.
You also can’t make up for five foot-dragging years in three pedal-to-the-metal rebuilding years.
Everyone wants their beloved “U” back and nobody more than the lone man to roll up his sleeves to take on this project. A former player, a former assistant and the current head coach with more invested at UM than every uber fan combined.
Year three on the job, two full recruiting classes under his belt (and one he saved at the final hour.) A revolving door regarding assistants who haven’t held up their end of the bargain – be it through incompetence (Patrick Nix and Tim Walton) or leaving their post prematurely (Bill Young).
Mark Whipple was hired as offensive coordinator and fans jumped on that bandwagon immediately. Whipple’s devil-may-care attitude was praised as fans dug up old articles where the ‘whiplash’ offense was described, as well as the demeanor of a balls out signal caller unafraid to go for a 4th and long, deep in his own territory.
Whipple was also praised for his tutelage of NFL stars Ben Roethlesberger and Donovan McNabb; yet he’s not taking any heat for Miami’s 8-3 record of J12’s nation’s worst seventeen interceptions – ten in the last five games.
Whipple holds the title of assistant head coach and has been given free reign to run Miami’s offense, yet Shannon haters continue to pile on the head coach instead of their beloved offensive guru.
For the record, I’m not ‘pro’ or ‘con’ regarding Shannon, Whipple or anyone else on this staff. I’m all about the University of Miami and I want the Hurricanes to again be a top the college football world. I choose to support Randy and from day one have believed that this was a five-year rebuild. Should UM not be back on top by 2011, I’ll be the first in line calling for change. Not now, though.
Not three years in. Not at 8-3, with a chance to go 10-3. Not on the heels of 7-6 and before that, 5-7. Not when Larry Coker left such a mess that not even Greg Schiano wanted to leave New Jersey to rebuild from the ground up.
You don’t piss and moan when you’re down three points at halftime and you don’t call for a coaches head just past the halfway point of a rebuild. As we’ve seen often with these 2009 Canes, the second half is when things happen.
Miami trailed Oklahoma Wake Forest and Duke at the half, yet dug deep, found inspiration and pulled out big time wins. Close games against Florida State and Central Florida were also decided in the second half, proving there’s a reason games are sixty minutes and not thirty.
The Canes continue showing they have fight and heart; a big step forward year three in the Shannon Era. Next up, South Florida and another interstate rivalry. A chance at 9-3. A bigger bowl game berth on the line.
Even more than that, another new experience for Miami. The Canes haven’t won a season finale since an inspired win over Boston College in 2006. Time to reverse that curse in Tampa.
Canes v. Bulls preview coming later this week. Stay tuned.
I love that pic.
A win over the bulls and a bowl win will put the U at 10-3 which at the beginning of the season would have been really good in almost all canes fans eyes so lets support the guys the rest of the way and just be thankful that Charlie Weis isn't our coach Go Canes!!!!
Good analysis as usual…
Thanks for calling out all the people who sat at home complaining, rather than showing up on senior day to cheer on the likes of Daryl Sharpton who have given so much to this program.
I don't get it… How can anyone be calling for a coaching change??? Shannon has the pieces in place. all that is left is to build depth. Seems like half of our starting Defensive players have missed time with injury yet we have already improved (as we have every year under Shannon) over last years win totals. We are also doing it by starting more Sophomores and Freshmen than any other program in the nation over the last 2 years. Next year I have no doubt we are in the ACC title game and are likely to win it. We are at the door and we are about to break it down.
Cane in Tally.
I can't stand Heather Dinich. She's a BIG TIME 'Cane Hater. She knows nothing about Miami and yet acts like she's Manny Navarro or AllCanes.
A friend and I were watching the UM vs Duke game and we both noticed/wondered the same thing; is the Visor that J Harris wearing affecting his vision when throwing the ball downfield? At the beginning of the year he did not don the clear visor and seemed to make less mistakes. I am not exactly sure when he started to wear it, but I am just wondering whether or not that plays a factor.
Oh yeah, DAMIEN BERRY FOR STARTER!!
Come on people, Heather Dinich isn't the best writer by any means, but we don't have to call her or any woman a b*tch. We're better than that.
To the game….we all saw the game and know it wasn't pretty. That being said, we woke up at the end of the third thanks to Berry and Sharpton sealed the deal. I'm sure it was hard to get up for Duke as it was, let alone the stadium embarrassingly empty. It is what it is. Those are the factors that make Miami players Miami players – they overcome many obstacles other programs take for granted.
What we saw on Saturday was another experienced QB playing us and picking us apart for a while. They guy is a Senior yet we still got the win. At this point in the season, it's survive and move on. We're 8-3 – it could be better and it could be worse.
Really the whole tone of of the season will hinge on getting a win against USF. I've watched them play a few games, and they are dangerous at home. Their DE's are studs. The QB, Daniels, is like VTech's Taylor only with a better arm. They key will be to make them drive the field. He gets impatient and will chuck and duck, but also he is deadly with his legs. Our line needs to play their best game of the season and stay in their lanes.That guy scares me to death. HE IS THE KEY. I hope we put a spy on him all game or we could be in trouble. 9-3 reg season and a great bowl game is a must to set up next season!
-Columbus Cane
Columbus,
I didn't call her a B**ch. I'm just saying I don't like how she's a 'Cane hater.
But hey, I'm not here to argue. Just a 'Canes fan like yourself.
Come on people, Heather Dinich isn't the best writer by any means, but we don't have to call her or any woman a b*tch. We're better than that.
… yeah I just saw the bitch comment and pulled it. Definitely not necessary.
Miami fans may not agree with Dinich at times, but that's no reason to name call.
I'm just over a week from having my first child – a girl – enter this world. Godforbid she's covering college football for ESPN.com three decades from now, I'd hate to be on a message board seeing some guys (who don't even know her), calling her a bitch because they disagree with her.
I've disagreed with Heather a bunch, but let's be honest… there's no way she is going to cover the Canes like we do here… like Manny does… like Chris Stock and his guys… like Ferman and his guys.
She's an ACC beat writer and has to cover several schools… while we're all diehards who have followed UM the majority of our lives. Definitely need to cut HD some slack at times.
Furthmore, what is everyone so up in arms about? I checked her blog today and simply saw that she didn't pick Miami and thinks USF's defense trumps UM's offense. (1) That's her right and (2) the game is yet to be played, so save that venom IF and WHEN Miami wins. Not before.
Well Dinich predicted us in the Music city bowl. But anyways I was not happy at halftime. I don't know about any of you but I consider Duke the ACC doormat, if we lost then I would be seriously mad. Thankfully we pulled it out and I was happy.
If you look up Canes history over the past 25 years, you will find that there are so many comeback wins by the Canes. Mind you, this was during the glory days of the mid and late 80's.That being said, I can really feel confident in this team and say they are good. The scary thing is, they will be ten times better next year. The fact that they never quit nor back out when they are down, North Carolina, for example, they still keep fighting and try their best. That was and is a quality the Hurricanes have had since they won their first championship. Their resilience this year is def. a sign that Shannon is returning things to the way they were at the U.
If HD put us in the Music City Bowl, so be it. That's a definitely possibility at 8-4 and should Miami lose on Saturday, that'll be their record. She's not too far off.
As for Duke… they're not the ACC doormat this year. 5-6 doesn't make them a powerhouse, but wins over NC State, Maryland (the real ACC doormat this year) and Virginia are impressive… for Duke.
They also hung tough with North Carolina, holding the Heels to 19 points. Curious to see how they play against Wake this weekend.
Had Miami lost… agreed, that'd have been tragic. That said, it was an 18-point win. The real issue are some of our less-than-brilliant fans who consider a 13-10 halftime deficit a "loss".
Miami stepped it up and outscored Duke 24-3 in the second half and dominated… like they were supposed to. That should be the focus – not a halftime deficit.
If you look up Canes history over the past 25 years, you will find that there are so many comeback wins by the Canes. Mind you, this was during the glory days of the mid and late 80's.
Exactly. That was the case back in the day, but safe to say "late game heroics" really haven't been the case between 2005 and 2008. The last great comeback before this season was the Louisville game in 2004.
This team absolutely threw in the towel on many occasions the past couple of years. Year three in the Shannon Era, the Canes are showing they have some heart and aren't quitters.
As much as the Clemson and North Carolina losses hurt, Miami never quit. Hell, they didn't even roll over in the Virginia Tech game. They simply couldn't get it done down the stretch… but they never quit.
ALLCANES what is your take on special teams kickoff coverage. It seems to be one of weaker points of our overall team. I don't really understand this because we have great athletes.
ALLCANES what is your take on special teams kickoff coverage. It seems to be one of weaker points of our overall team. I don't really understand this because we have great athletes.
My take is that I find it as mindboggling as the rest of this fan base.
I'm not going to knock Pannunzio as I don't know what he's doing or not doing to right the ship… but something has to give.
How is it that special teams thrives under a Frank Beamer but not at Miami? How come when Butch Davis was here, special teams were on top… and he's taken that same science with him to North Carolina — a school with 'lesser' athletes than Miami.
More focus needs to be put on special teams. I don't know what's currently being done, but whatever it is (1) it's not working and (2) it isn't enough.
Where is our modern day Tremain Mack (regarding blocking kicks)? Where is the next Devin Hester? There is enough talent with Collier, Benjamin, Cooper, etc. – but the blocks and schemes have to be there.
If there's one area Miami needs to beef things up, it's special teams.
The ONLY thing I'll give coaches right now is that injuries have taken their toll. Losing a kid like Jordan Futch didn't help… as well as a few others who got banged up over the course of the season.
how many plays in the play book do you think whip has in which the outcome of the play is "interception"? we can blame whip for things.. but you can't blame whip for jacory's bad decisions.. this isn't MNW.. you can't just lob it up to your 6'4" receiver that runs a 4.5 because you know he's being covered by a 5'11 guy that runs a 4.7..
Check this recruiting link out. Can people PLEASE stop bashing Randy!? He's clearly doing something right!!
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/football/news/story?id=4685865
how many plays in the play book do you think whip has in which the outcome of the play is "interception"? we can blame whip for things.. but you can't blame whip for jacory's bad decisions.. this isn't MNW.. you can't just lob it up to your 6'4" receiver that runs a 4.5 because you know he's being covered by a 5'11 guy that runs a 4.7..
I agree that J12 still has to make the throw, but Whipple is proving he's pass-happy and stubborn.
Look back at the Wake game and that final drive where it took a 4th and 16 to keep the drive alive.
It wasn't even that Whipple kept pushing the pass – but he had Harris throwing deep. Nothing underneath. Nothing to put Miami in a 3rd and short. It was all deep balls.
Harris had a banged up hand against North Carolina the deep ball was still forced early in the game. In the third quarter, more shorter passes helped put Miami back in the game… but more deep balls forced another pick six.
Against Duke, more of the same. Throwing deep had Miami in a first half hole but in the second half the Canes finally had underneath passes, short routes and even more important, Whipple finally started running the ball with Damien Berry and opened up the offense.
Look at the last deep ball Harris threw — the long touchdown to Leonard Hankerson. Hank was finally in man coverage and it was one on one BECAUSE Whipple finally started running the ball and the ground game was a threat.
Earlier in the game Harris was going deep into double coverage because the running game was non-existent.
Whipple isn't solely to blame for some of Jacory's bad decisions or execution… but as the offensive coordinator he needs more balance. Many of those deep passes have been into double coverage this year because the running game wasn't being used to set up the deep ball.
At times it seems Whip is more concerned with implementing his game plan and making it work instead of adjusting and doing what's needed to put the offense in the best position to win the game.
And I am happy to see that they have started using the tight ends again as I requested they do in an earlier rant…it's just a no-brainer. They will be well served to include them heavily in this game against Strip Mall Univ.
Hated by many, loved by few, WE are the U
All I have to say is "Believe in Berry". Enough of this BS by RS! The he likes to put Berry in when defenses are worn down. Give me a break. I think it's fair to say the Spring MVP title was no fluke. I'm not referring to TDs or anything. It's as simple as every time the man runs the ball he runs as if it is his last chance, with so much force and effort. And he's always knocking defenders backward or breaking tackles.
Without Pat Hill and now Mike James to play fullback, Shannon has no choice but to see Berry is the only back that can create yards on his on.
Play Berry more!!! Go Canes!!!
ALLCANES – I just read that UF won't schedule us again after the 2013 game. One of the reasons they gave was that they wanted at least 7 home games. This year they had 8 home games. Canes had 6 home & 6 away the past 2 years. This year only 3 othe teams in the ACC had 6 & 6, 4 teams had 5 road games and NC state only had 4. Any idea why we aren't getting more home games per season?