Game Ten: Virginia 48, Miami 0

A few days later, I don’t feel any better about things.

Honestly, I probably feel a thousand times worse regarding Miami’s pathetic display in the Orange Bowl finale. How in the hell does this team lay a goose egg and give up 48 points to a nobody Virginia team who lost to Wyoming in the season opener?

Of course that said, if the Cavs are a nobody, I shudder to think how insignificant the Canes are at this point in time. Uber nobodies? Nobody infinity?

There’s no excuse for 48-0. Everybody involved with this program is accountable for the abortion this fan base witnessed on Saturday night.

in the past when Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma, Nebraska or Leading up to kickoff, the OB was electric. You couldn’t “feel” it in the air the way you might’veNotre Dame were on the other side of the field – but it was as rowdy as we’ve seen the past few years and the fan base was treating this one as a prime time, big time affair.

Miami faceplanted on a damn grand stage Saturday night.

Where was the magic this team displayed against Texas A&M or late in the contest against Florida State a few weeks back? Non-existent, outside of a Colin McCarthy fumble returned for a touchdown – called back moments later for a hold. Another penalty. Typical. Momentum lost for the next three and a half quarters.

The Canes went into shut down mode. It’s been the case more than once these past few seasons.

The past 72 have been surreal, bittersweet and nauseating for me. I trekked back to Miami from San Diego for the Orange Bowl, the same way I would’ve had an old relative passed. I was there to pay my respects, win or lose and to pay tribute to past UM legends who built this legacy.

I knew Saturday eve would be a funeral in Little Havana and I knew it’d take some OB magic for the Canes to pull the win. My gut told me the old girl didn’t have any more tricks up her sleeve. I was simply there to represent the OB, pay tribute to former UM legends and hope The U could simply find a way to squeeze out one last “W” for the record books.

Miami’s dominating 34-17 Thursday night win over Texas A&M earlier in the season had that ‘last hurrah’ feeling while it played out. The OB came alive that night and I remember thinking that might’ve been all the juice the old estadio had left.

Looking good in a nationally televised, prime time event and up 31-0 at the half – how could it get any better? A sad twist of fate when we saw the polar opposite in the finale, down by the same margin the Aggies faced and showing none of the life aTm did in their failed second half comeback attempt.

These Canes have zero heart, outside of a few guys who seem to give a hell. You don’t respond like this program has recently if you do. Miami is now 13-13 in its past 26 games. It never even got that bad in the probation era. This is a new low in the modern era.

I can already hear my critics praising these kids for their effort on the practice field, working hard, wanting to win, et al and questioning who am I to criticize a bunch of college age kids I don’t know aside from a few hours during game time.

Screw the critics, idiots and bleeding hearts. The truth is the truth. I judge these kids by their efforts and results come Saturday – or a random Thursday. Based on what I’ve seen the past two seasons, I am absolutely disgusted by anything and everything about Miami Football.

48-0 was the largest home shutout the Canes endured in their home stadium. This 2007 bunch made history, all right. They took losing to a whole new level. This one will be in the record books all right. Congrats, I guess.

You don’t get shut out in you home finale in the Orange Bowl by a Virginia team barely in the top 25. You don’t fold up the tent in the face of adversity. You don’t waste or take for granted the energy given off by a rabid Miami crowd when fan turnout and support is oft criticized. You don’t “no show” on Senior Day and send the upperclassmen out with the loudest thud in the OB’s storied history.

You also don’t roll into Flanigan’s off Bird Ave post-game around midnight, choke down a burger and sip on a beer amongst a bar full of dejected Canes fans like a certain defensive lineman I saw.

I’ll give him that he looked somewhat bummed out over the loss, but when this team has been knocked by local media – and most recently offensive line recruit Matt Patchan – for yucking it up on the sidelines and being more concerned with post-game plans… seeing a current Cane defensive star sitting in a bar is about the last thing I want to witness the night of the Orange Bowl’s funeral.

At the beginning of the season I expected upwards of four losses this season. I thought a three-loss season was best case, but four should be expected.

Miami is now 5-5 entering their final two games of the season – road games at Virginia Tech and Boston College. 6-6 would be a ‘dream’ season right now, allowing the Canes to get back to a garbage bowl game instead of the season coming to a crashing halt in two weeks.

Any betting man will tell you Miami is done. Stick a fork in this divided team. It’s over. For the second year in a row, the Canes have quit on their coach. I hoped Randy Shannon would have more of an impact year one, but I was wrong. It’s going to take more than a hard ass mentality and ‘press forward/never look back’ approach to change attitudes/mindsets and win football games at The U.

I haven’t lost faith in Shannon. I still believe he can be ‘the guy’ regarding bringing the Canes back. The caveat there is that he’ll have to alter his approach in Miami’s climb from the basement to the penthouse.

Personally, I don’t buy that the players are scared of Shannon. This isn’t a newbie in the program. This is a long-time Cane who spent the past six seasons as defensive coordinator to some and mentor or sounding board to others. We’ve all heard about Shannon’s open door policy regarding talking and hanging with the kids who need him to be more than a coach, so can all this “the kids are scared of him” b.s. That’s not the case.

The Canes are definitely playing tight under Shannon and might be pressing for fear of letting their coach down, but they’re not scared. You really want to tell me that some of these inner city kids playing for Miami are scared of their inner city-raised head coach? Please. Fear bullets whizzing by your head growing up in a rough neighborhood – not a coach or his reaction to a dropped pass or missed assignment.

Fear isn’t doing these kids in. A lack of talent, heart and effort is. Shannon’s goal was to rid this program of it’s loser mentality and ten games into the season, it seems as prevalent as ever. Everyone said all the right things at 0-0, but at 5-5 you can hardly tell the difference between 2006 and 2007.

There might be some bright spots on this Hurricanes team, but they’re few and far between. It’s time to stop judging these kids based on their high school accolades or potential and start grading them out by how they’ve produced since entering the program. What is potential if it remains untapped? How long do you make excuses for an upperclassman that’s shown next to nothing a few years into his playing days at Miami?

Damaged goods. That’s a good majority of the players on this team. Broken beyond repair – the headline for the old Sports Illustrated in 1995, urging Tad Foote to shut down the program. Seems pretty fitting regarding the current state of many players on this squad.

This program can rise again, but not with the majority of this team. Some of these bodies here are simply taking up space and pulling the rest of the program down. Sad but true.

For that, I’ll beat the Larry Coker dead horse again. I don’t know which coaches are responsible for recruiting specific players that proved to either be busts or ballers, but at day’s end it all happened on Coker’s watch. He had the final say and in at least two dozen cases, he chose wrong. He didn’t sign Miami-caliber kids. He didn’t sniff out the leaders and winners his predecessors recruited to build this program, or simply reload when graduation or the NFL came calling.

Most bright spots in this current team are the underclassmen – freshman either signed by Shannon this past February or guys who only spent one year in Coker’s system and are still able to be saved.

The recruiting class for 2008 looks to shape up nicely and one more big time class in 2009 will officially make this Shannon’s team. Until then, the waiting game where we can individually choose to be optimistic, pessimistic or somewhere in the middle.

I’ll get a little bit more optimistic each milestone that’s reached between now and when Miami is officially ‘back’. Shannon needs to reel in a big time class in February. Not a bunch of five-star blue chippers, but kids who want to be part of this program. Kids with a winner’s mentality. When was the last time Miami had a big time, on the field leader? I can’t recall any since Ed Reed and Joaquin Gonzalez. The quality of players at The U slowly eroded each February when Coker inked another class.

The Canes need those ‘special’ players to return. That’s the make up of this program. The a little bit under the radar guy who have more heart than the coddled, high-profile recruit. Guys like Patchan, who have the balls to call out current regime and rip guys for not caring enough. I love it.

Patchan, if you’re reading this, please get your ass down to Miami and be a building block for the rebuilding process. Spend the next few years blocking for Robert Marve, who you’ve raved about, and be part of the solution. You had the stones to open your mouth, so back up the big talk and come be part of the rising.

I believe Shannon will sniff the right guys out and get them on board, but that’s only part of the process. Before a new class is signed, some dead weight needs to be cut. Miami needs to take a few steps backwards before moving forward. It’s plain as day that a handful of the kids on this team need to go.

Don’t buy into the Shannon way? Get lost. Miami can’t afford to be a divided team. Get on board, or get shown the door. There’s no other option. Thanks for your time, thanks for “trying” and good luck. If you’re not helping the program, you’re hurting it. Time to sever some ties.

I’m not going to call out individuals, but there are at least a dozen kids on this team who have no business returning in 2008. Talented on paper, but half the heart of the two-star kids and no names this program saw during the late 90s when on probation.

The more I write here, the sicker I get. I think of all the big talk we’ve heard the past few years; the sound bites and stupid, hollow promises about winning a conference title or getting to the championship game. Based on what? A history no one on this team was part of outside it’s head coach? No one has a right to woof about National Championships being the goal when you’re 13-13 since losing to Georgia Tech (2005) when ranked No. 3 in the land. That’s embarrassing.

There are a couple dozen teams per year who have a shot at reaching the National Championship or BCS game and it’s not reputation or the history of your program that gets you there. Team unity. Blood, sweat and tears. Sacrifice. Leaving it out there every snap. Believing in yourself, your coaches and trusting your teammates.

There’s a reason that with all the Canes’ success the past three decades, there are only five trophies in the case. There’s a reason other major powers and big time programs haven’t won consistently since the leather helmet era ended. Alabama. Notre Dame. Michigan. Ohio State. Those four combined don’t have as many rings as Miami since 1983. College football is growing leaps and bounds. There’s more parity in the game. Keep up, or get left in the wake of programs who were a non-factor a decade ago.

These current Canes have no business talking about National Championships being the standard at The U. News flash – win a ring before you talk the talk. Your predecessors helped build this program, not you. They earned the right to boast, walk with a swagger, run their mouths and show that classic Canes spirit.

This current bunch has done zilch except take a once proud program and recent big time power into the gutter. Miami players and coaches should be ashamed of themselves right now. I can’t imagine how the legends who built The U are processing all this.

This ship needs to be righted. Shannon needs to reassess the situation, not just player-wise but personnel as well.

I’ll give Patrick Nix a temporary pass until he gets a quarterback and some capable receivers, but there better be big time signs of improvement in 2008. As for Tim Walton, that experience has been an utter disaster thus far.

Defense had been a constant and the Miami staple for decades. This current bunch ranks right up there with some probation era teams, minus the heart. The proof is in the 48-0 ass kicking.

On Walton’s watch Miami gave up 51 points to Oklahoma, 27 in the first half to a garbage North Carolina team and almost half a century to a nobody Virginia team. That ranks right up there with the Bill Miller era (1998) when Miami gave up 66 at Syracuse and 45 a week later to UCLA. Miller was canned a week later – and rightfully so.

I’m not calling for Walton’s job… yet, but Shannon needs to get re-involved with this defense until Walton is ready or a replacement is found. I’ve never seen a Canes bunch look more lost defensively. Out of position. Clueless as to what the opposing offense is bringing. Always disheveled before the snap and running around figuring out who’s doing what. It’s downright pathetic when your strongest suit has now become your weakest link.

Miami’s recent mantra on defense was “17-points”. If the offense could muster up two TDs and a FG, the defense would do it’s job and win the game.

That’s so not the case these days, it’s disgusting. The Canes don’t even look like a middle of the pack ACC program right now. It’s absolute rock bottom when Virginia comes into the OB and whoops your ass 48-0.

At least 47-0 at Florida State in 1997 was against the No. 1 team in the land and on the road in a hostile environment, in the midst of probation and the first losing season since 1979. This is 2007. Virginia is no FSU circa ’97. This was the last game ever at the Orange Bowl and over 62K were there to see a team that gives a damn. The Cavs were a beatable opponent. This was hardly an impossible feat, though the scoreboard proved otherwise.

These Canes absolutely no showed on the biggest night of the season.In hindsight, I’m almost wishing like hell I no showed instead of making the cross-country trek to see that train wreck.

I could’ve lived with a competitive loss for the sake of saying goodbye to the OB but no fan who spent decades going to that sacred stadium deserved that swan song and finale. I can’t recall a more pathetic display by a bunch of Canes. This team broke some hearts last Saturday night and spit in the face of the Orange Bowl and Miami football legacy.

I never imagined the day someone would come into the OB and do The U dirty like that.

I’m homebound and it couldn’t have come at a better time. A week ago, I couldn’t get to the stadium fast enough and right now, I can’t get far enough away. The Orange Bowl is history, as are the 2007 Canes; in my rearview mirror and no longer breaking my heart this season. If they’re done caring, then so am I… for the remainder of the year. I’m all for a pleasant surprise if Miami can pull an upset, but I’ve lost faith and will watch the remaining eight quarters of ball expecting the worst.

Best of luck, Hurricane Nation. Great time seeing the crew at W2 and the allCanes bash on Friday night. I only wish this team had the heart this fan base displayed for 48 hours last weekend.

Back to the drawing board, Randy. You have some serious work to do, coach. I’m still on board, but it’s time to look yourself in the mirror and determine what’s working, what isn’t and figure out what it’ll take to right this ship pronto.

.:Canes305:.

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