This time around it was quarterback Jacory Harris and offensive coordinator Mark Whipple who were supposed to finally stick it to Butch Davis and his stout defense… and had it not been for a turnover marred afternoon, that might’ve been the case.
When discussing a win versus a loss, perception becomes reality. In the season opener at Florida State, had Christian Ponder connected with Jarmon Fortson on the game’s final play, Miami loses. Had that happened, it’d have been an off week debating squib kicks and defensive breakdowns as the Noles racked up 404 total yards and what could’ve been 41 points.
With the 38-34 win in the books, the focus instead remained on Harris’ breakout day and 386 passing yards. At 1-0 and with Georgia Tech on deck, nothing else mattered.
Had Miami not stepped up in the second half against Oklahoma, Harris’ two early interceptions on poorly placed deep passes would’ve been the culprit. Instead, the game is remembered for a huge special teams hit, a forced turnover on a cornerback blitz and a well-executed pass on 3rd and 6 which allowed the Canes to run out the clock.
When you win, the scoreboard seems to negate the majority of the critique. When you lose, it’s open season.
Par for the course, many are again calling for the head of Randy Shannon after this most recent loss. Miami was “outcoached” yet again. This sucks, that sucks and “fire everyone” remains the go-to solution.
For the critics out there, riddle me this – had it been known beforehand that Miami would put up 435 total yards and 24 points against a top five North Carolina defense, wouldn’t that sound like more than enough to get the job done? Harris threw for 319 yards and the Canes amassed 116 on the ground between two backs (including 26 from Matt Bosher on a fake punt.)
Of course those stats leave out the x-factor; four interceptions – two of which were returned for touchdowns. The Canes gave up 17 points off turnovers, while failing to force a turnover of their own against T.J. Yates, statistically one of the ACC’s worst quarterbacks B.M. (Before Miami).
In the end, how does poor execution lie at the feet of the head coach? Shannon may not have called the perfect game (clock management still an issue), but he called a game good enough to beat North Carolina, minus some on the field gaffes which are out of coaches’ hands.
Whipple and Harris have pulled Miami out of some sticky situations this season. Against the Heels, they created the stick.
It doesn’t take an Xs and Os guru to acknowledge that Harris’ deep ball was off or that Whipple went back to that well too many times. On a few occasions this year, Whipple has gone deep inexplicably – most recently, the game-winning drive at Wake Forest where a 4th and 16 pick up was needed after some deep incompletions.
Facing a 23-7 mid-third quarter deficit, Miami finally turned it on. A short pass out of the backfield to Mike James for 13 yards. A Graig Cooper 9-yard rush. Damien Berry a play later for 20 yards. 14 yards to Travis Benjamin, two more with Coop and a 9 play, 58-yard drive resulted in a 39-yard field goal. The Canes had some life.
A quick three and out got Miami the ball back in under a minute. Four of Harris’ next five completions were for 17, 10, 15 and 14 yards. Move the ball. Gain momentum. Put Carolina’s defense on its heels.
10 plays and 59 yards in under three minutes and had it a 23-17 game just before the final quarter. Good coaching. Solid ball control. Great execution. The Canes were on the move.
A few changes of possession with neither offense showing life, Miami found a spark with 11:41 remaining.
Taking over at its own thirty-five, Berry rushed for a quick 11 and a play later reeled in 21 on a reception. A one-yard Cooper rush had Miami at the Heels’ thirty-two before the game’s second pick six; a ninety yard return, including a freakish ‘fumble-lateral’ pushed UNC’s lead to 30-17. Momentum lost. Another scoring opportunity squandered, in a game where every possession mattered.
True to form, Miami battled back. Just as it did against Florida State. Just as it did against Oklahoma. Just as it did against Clemson, in a losing cause. Same to be said for overcoming a late 27-14 deficit at Wake Forest. Year three Randy’s teams have proven that they don’t quit; an ugly trait that started with that 40-3 LSU-style beat down four years back.
The Canes literally needed two minutes to go seventy yards. Cooper and Berry on the ground a few times. Harris to Aldarius Johnson for 23, the drive culminating in a 14-yard strike to Jimmy Graham – a six-point game with 7:21 to play.
The ensuing drive, Miami fell apart. North Carolina put together a 60-yard drive and shaved 5:24 off the clock. Casey Barth drilled a 33-yard field goal on 4th and 1, pushing it to 33-24 and ending all legit hope of a comeback.
On paper, it’s “fail” cubed regarding North Carolina and to Butch. That stings. If there’s one game Miami needs to win once Florida State and Virginia Tech are in the books, it’s against the Heels. Winless in Chapel Hill. 2-4 against North Carolina since joining the ACC. A program that simply has Miami’s number, as inexplicable as that may seem.
Three year in a row, three heartbreak finishes. It doesn’t add up. Miami won this thing just about everywhere but the scoreboard. 435 total yards to 329. 319 passing yards to 213. Better efficiency on both third and fourth downs. The difference maker; Miami’s four turnovers to Carolina’s nil.
Kendric Burney was a one-man wrecking crew, hauling in three poorly thrown Harris passes. He finished with a single-game ACC record 170 interception return yards and proved to be the first Heel with three picks in a game since Dre’ Bly did it thirteen years back.
Again, the Canes make the wrong kind of history.
A few weeks back it was the multi-dimensional C.J. Spiller putting up a school-record 310 all-purpose yards in a 40-37 win against Miami. An overtime thriller where a Clemson wideout called the game’s final play – a would-be 26-yard strike which the Tigers has never run before. How fitting. This was also another heartbreaker where Harris threw a game-changing pick six.
Miami sits at 7-3 with one legitimate beat down on the resume; 31-7 at Virginia Tech. The Canes couldn’t get anything going and were manhandled by the Hokies. A week later, Miami bounced back and upset No. 8 Oklahoma.
These last two losses – a completely different monster. Rip-your-guts-out type losses where one play literally made all the difference in the world. Poor special teams play. Ill-timed turnovers. Poor clock management prior to halftime, leaving points on the field. Interceptions returned for touchdowns.
No disrespect to Clemson or North Carolina, but Miami beat itself as much as both ACC foes beat the Canes.
It’s year three of a rebuilding project for the ages. All of you on the sidelines clamoring for old schooler Tommy Tuberville or flavor of the year Brian Kelly, let the dream die. Lest some of you forget the line for ‘next Miami head coach’ wasn’t a long one in late 2006 when Shannon said he wanted the gig.
Hell, Greg Schiano opted for smoggy New Jersey over sunny South Florida.
Any big name, flavor of the week head coaching option isn’t going to do for the University of Miami what Shannon has signed on to do. The long-time Cane made a commitment to rebuild this from the ground up. This isn’t a stepping stone to a NFL gig – which it would be for just about any other head coaching option. Keep the Canes humming and the big leagues come calling.
Just ask Howard, Jimmy, Dennis and Butch, all lured away from The U for big time pay days.
Furthermore, none of the aforementioned ‘next best thing’ coaching options are going to recruit South Florida the way Shannon and staff have, shutting down both Florida and Florida State’s pipeline to the TriCity area.
It took three years to assemble the type of assistants Shannon needs to bring this thing back. You’re not bringing in the big names year one as an unknown. It might be a one-year gig and no coach worth his weight is signing up for that… which is why you get fifth-choice Nix running the offense and promoted-from-within Tim Walton as the new defensive coordinator.
Walton got the boot year two and was replaced by veteran Bill Young – proving to the Shannon doubters that the second-year head coach wasn’t looking for a puppet to run his plays. Young brought experience to the table and Shannon allowed him to run his own defense. Problem was a lack of personnel to implement said plays.
Young’s dream job opened at Oklahoma State, so it was a short-lived run which opened the door for Lovett – a long-time ACC assistant who would focus on fundamentals. It’s the type of defense that will gel when Miami finally has the players in place to make plays.
Shannon did go ‘next level’ with his hire of Whipple – an experienced OC with NFL experience and a headstrong quarterback coach. Having head coaching experience from his days at UMASS (where he won a national championship), Whipple was also give the title ‘assistant head coach’ as Shannon continues learning his role.
Misuse of timeouts on offense. Stubbornly going long when the deep ball isn’t there. Shannon can’t be your scapegoat for issues of that nature. Head coach? Sure, the buck stops with Randy. But some of this is on assistant head coach Whipple.
When the veteran coach was hired, message boards lit up with Whipple-related threads. Fans were hopped up reading about the ‘Whiplash’ offense and the fact the sometimes stubborn coordinator would go for it on 4th and long deep in his own territory. Great when it works, but disastrous when it blows up in your face.
Same with the deep ball. Great when Harris hits Benjamin in stride, but extremely frustrating to see your play caller continuing to go to the well when that play simply isn’t there or your quarterback’s timing is off.
Ten games it, it’s a 7-3 season – which many of us would’ve been fine with had this been predicted back in August. Remember that as 2009 winds down.
If this thing isn’t back on track by 2011, I’ll be the first to admit change is in order. But I’m not the type to call out a man halfway through the job he took on. It takes time to rebuild depth and to fill years worth of holes created by poor recruiting and development of talent. Miami hasn’t “reloaded” since 2002 and even then, the offensive line wasn’t what it was the year before.
The full cupboard left by Davis was no accident. That was five recruiting classes and while Butch endured probation, he also took over a squad coming off of 10-2 and a No. 3 final ranking after the 1994 season. Hardly the shell of a 7-6 program Shannon took over after 2006.
Patience, people. Employ some logic. Losses to Clemson and North Carolina definitely sting, but figure out where to place all that frustration. It’s not doing anybody any good when it’s misplaced.
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I appreciate your optimism. But the reality is RS ain't ready for prime time. Call me a reactionary. Whatever. He has done many things well. Including recruiting, graduation rates, etc. But as far as coaching goes, he is horribly overmatched. It doesn't matter that they barely lost to Clemson and NC. That they had more yardage than NC, etc. It's that Clemson and NC were in the games to begin with. They aren't going to smack every team they play. But they have more talent than most teams they play and should for the most part be beating them soundly. And for them consistently losing or struggling against inferior foes is alarming and lies at his feet. Good teams or rather, well coached teams, get better as the season goes on. The Canes? They regress. The kick coverage has been a disaster all season. The D has been inconsistent and shown poor execution all season. The offense has been much better than anyone could have expected, but still shows poor clock management, pass protection, etc. Issues in week 1, are still issues. If you want to excuse these things, because it's year 3 of 5 or whatever, that's your perogative. But you're misguided.
Some guys are just better coordinators and aren't fit to wear the big boy pants. I think Randy falls into that category.
Wow Chris, thank you for imploring for your logic. If there is anywhere I turn to listen to a true Canes fan speak, its here. That's what Westminster(if I am not mistaken by what you stated way back during the death of Sean Taylor) education does for you hey? I'm a 2009 baseball state champion for Westminster and I must say, it was not easy. My coach took over a program that has gone nowhere in the playoffs to a state champion team in 3 years. It had been 11 years since the last state title and we pulled the feat in 2009. Yes, it's HS, but its the same idea. So in comparision, I love these Canes, I love Jacory and the fact that he personally lead his Bulls to 2 state championships and I have faith, believe, know he has what it takes to make Miami a national champion. Go Canes
2011? laughable.. no one is asking for MNC's in year three.. but we should be able to win the coastal by now..
CPJ is winning the coastal in year 2, dabo swinney is probably going to win the Atlantic in year 2 (technically this is his first full year).. and randy shannon.. 3rd in the coastal, in year 3. that's improvement baby!
now cpj took over a 7-6 team, was that a shell of a program or were they really talented and on the uprise? i can't imagine you think the clemson program dabbo took over was amazing either.. both coaches have their teams competing play in the acc champ game..
i know we as a fan-base love excuses, and i also know the 7-6 team randy inherited was probably the worst 7-6 team in the history of college football (how did the even manage 7 wins, crazy).. but this 2011 stuff is nonsense.. it shouldn't take an eternity to win the coastal. in 2011 it's going to be "2012" is our year.. we'll still be blaming coker.. and there's no talent and there's no depth.. and we're young and we have injuries.. etc. etc..
i don't even care what our record says we are.. this is the time where the team should be clicking and gelling. instead, we are essentially the same team we were in week 1.. that's more worrisome than being 9-3 or 8-4 to end the year..
While these losses sting, you sum it up best...PATIENCE! I'm still on board with the coach. Any time you IMPROVE from year to year, you must be doing something right...Coker got worse every year...Shannon has gotten the team better...IF we were in the BCS title hunt, this would've hurt a bunch, but using it as a stepping stone it should be...C'mon peeps, can't you see things are getting better?? Didn't Butch lose to ECU in 1999 after being up huge early? These things happen as you grow and learn...
Everything is gonna be alright...
I agree with you completely, but I was thinkin and although this may sound silly, has anyone noticed how poorly we've played wearing those orange pants? Seriously, going back to '03 when they started wearing them, as far as I can see, they've only won 5 times (FSU - '03 season twice, '07; NC St. - '04; UVA - '04). The rest are some pretty bad losses, including a similar 31-7 beatdown against VT in '03. There's one against FSU, another aginst NC State, once against Maryland, couple against UNC, etc. Just a thought.
I personally feel Harris should be a little further along in is decision making, but with all the injuries and tough sched a 10 win season and a top 15 finish is still a good possibilty and that my friends would be a big improvement over the last few years so lets support the Canes vs Duke, S.Fla and the bowl game and propel this team to a big year in 2010 Go Canes!!!
I think we have a great overall team and with the way the players are progressing and the way recruiting is going we are going to be an excellent team. (Hopefully we can stay healthier next year though)
The bottom line is.....Jacory needs to stop being so careless with the football. We could have a 2001 juggernaut like team next year or 2011, but if Jacory continues to be careless with the football, it won't matter.
Now we will see if the coaches can motivate the players to get up for Duke and USF after all the national championship talk at the beginning of the year....to making a bcs bowl...to winning the acc......Also, the next 2 weeks we are going to find out how mentally tough our football players are.
Finish Strong!!!!! All I ask is: No more bowl games on Blue Turf!
GO CANES!!!
Good post AllCanes,
I am so frustrated with this team! One week Harris looks like a true Heisman candidate the next week he looks like what he is, a 19 year old true sophomore. Whipple is going for the home run too often, with the wide outs Miami has he needs to throw the ball underneath and let them make plays. I knew coming into this season that the Canes were really young but talented and I knew that they would be much improved from last year. The first four games on the schedule were brutal and after starting 2 and 0 I made the 6 hour trek to Va Tech in a monsoon and watched the Canes lay an egg (long trip back home). Then a good outing against Oklahoma and I thought all was back on track. Harris is going to be a stud but Whipple has to quit going for the deep ball all the time and putting the M.A.S.H unit defense in bad situations. If not for the Int's Saturday the Canes would have won the game hands down.
As for all the people hating on Shannon, he is the right man for the job! He has brought this program back and is on the verge of being a contender for the NC every year, like it used to be. I admit I got spoiled at the beginning of this decade with Dorsey and crew. Coker totally dropped the ball on recruiting, I could have coached that team to a national title, he should have been busting his butt recruiting and not just assume kids would want to come to the U. Only recruiting one QB and then when they changed their mind having to go looking for a kid who isn't good enough to be a starter (Kirby Freeman) just makes no sense. Shannon is doing the right things but it takes time to show on the field.
In closing lets win out, get a bowl win and come into next year hungry and healthy and dominate.
GO CANES!
Let's call a spade a spade. This blog is associated with a store that likes its access to the program. No way they are going to rock the boat and call out the coach or the administration. Too risky. Not to mention the sales they need. Can't come on here and tell the truth about this team because it might hurt fan satisfaction and result in lower sales. So the writer of this blog comes on here and tells us that Shannon's not the problem even though evidence would suggest otherwise.
Clock management issues are crucial. This team cannot go a game without wasting a stupid timeout in either the first or third quarter. This team could not get its act together and at least try a field goal at the end of the first half.
The writer of this blog said it himself. Three years under Shannon. Three losses against North Carolina. Three games agaisnt North Carolina that Miami "should have" won. Where's the improvement? What's the constant here? The man wearing the headset.
You like Randy Shannon? Fine, that's your prerogative. But don't act like there's no evidence against the man. Don't act like those us of who are tired of the coaching issues are somehow idiots and that just don't see the light.
I just dont understand the "ditch Randy" mentality, i just dont get it. If you cant get behind Randy, get off the bus, we dont need nor want you.