Game Twelve: Boston College 28, Miami 14

I never thought I’d utter these words, but I hate all things college football right now.

Can’t stand any aspect of it. Still sick that I wasted twelve Saturdays since September getting roped in loss after loss. Too numb too even enjoy the slew of heartbreaking let downs so many teams endured in 2007.

I couldn’t even enjoy a three-loss Florida campaign because they actually looked good doing it and have the second coming in Tim Tebow behind center. The soph will win the Heisman. Everybody’s All-American. Dude even teaches Sunday school and will have the Gators in the hunt next year while the Canes are still figuring things out. 

Miami bit another big one today, losing 28-14 to Boston College. 5-7 on the season. No bowl game. Worst outing since the 1970s. The probation teams weren’t even this bad.

The Canes have become the polar opposite of what they once were. Now the lesser team in most match ups, Miami can temporarily hang in there – but the better team overcomes the ebbs and flows of the game and does what they’re expected to do.

Boston College looked suspect for a few drives around the middle of the game, while Miami was overachieving and making some plays. Eventually, as the ACC Atlantic Division rep should do, the Eagles turned it up a notch, pulled away from the lesser Canes, putting the game out of reach.

Remember when The U used to do that? This feels like some kind of bizarro world.

Worst part of all this was being duped into expecting more. 7-6, an on the field brawl, a murdered player, a blue turf bowl game and a fired coaching staff? The only thing missing were the plagues. It couldn’t get any worse. Impossible. Things had to turn around. Rock bottom seemed to be already witnessed.

Randy Shannon took over. He was one of “us”. Miami-bred and a three-headed Hurricane threat as a former player, grad assistant and defensive coordinator. Three rings. One earned at each level. Shannon will bring Miami back. He has the blueprint and simply has to implement it.

The U won’t be rebuilt in one day. We know that. We just didn’t expect 5-7. No one saw 51-13 coming at Oklahoma, a 23-9 dogfight with lowly FIU or a 27-0 halftime deficit at North Carolina.

Tashard Choice never should’ve rushed for 204 yards in a third straight loss to Georgia Tech. Kirby Freeman never should’ve gone 1 of 14 in a season-defining OT loss to NC State.

Then again, he never should’ve gone 3 for 3 down the stretch in an upset of Florida State – the brightest spot of 2007.

48-0 in the Orange Bowl finale? File that one under “unforgivable” – as are back-to-back losses against Virginia Tech and Boston College, outscored 160-28 the final three games.

I won’t quite say this team lacked heart, though it didn’t come out in large enough doses. There was some fight in the Canes against the Hokies and Eagles. Just not enough to hang four quarters.

Miami used to beat up on middle of the pack teams. Now it’s become one. Pretty bitter pill to swallow. But I’ll focus on the silver lining.

The 2007 season has been taken out to pasture. I’d rather have seen a bowl game, but with it all coming to an end today it officially became ‘recruiting season’ at The U. An area Shannon and staff can shine and the only place the ghost of Larry Coker doesn’t lurk.

Shannon has a few more years with his predecessor’s players, but he’ll rebuild with his own.

Rebuild. Get used to the word. These aren’t your turn of the century Canes. The talent is few and far between. Tons of holes to fill and Shannon needs to seek out Miami-type players.

Shannon has to rebuild this thing from the ground on up.

Great teams are made, not born. They usually start with a “special” freshman class and the weeding out of upperclassmen responsible for the team’s decline. New players start making an impact, experience some growing pains but said team improves.

A few more great classes are signed and a few years later, you see the chemistry. That “special” freshman class reaches their junior season and you start seeing a turnaround. Close to or in a BCS game that season and in the hunt a year later.

To rebuild, plant some good seeds, nurture them and watch ’em grow. It’s a fool proof recipe.

I’ll say it again – great teams are made, not born. Look across the current collegiate landscape and top-ranked teams for further proof.

Kansas rolls into this evening ranked No. 2 in the land and 11-0. The past five seasons of the Mark Mangino era? 25-35. Mangino started out 2-10 year one with the Jayhawks. A first-year head coach in 2001, MM cut his teeth calling offenses for Oklahoma and Kansas State the eleven previous season.

A respected, big time assistant earning his first shot as a head coach. Sound familiar?

Regardless of where Kansas winds up this season, they’re on the right track. Mangino planted some seeds a few years back, nurtured the project and it’s harvest time.

Same can be said for Les Miles. LSU may be out of the title race, but not many would want to face this two-loss team in a playoff. This year’s redshirt seniors were on the bench for the 2003 title, set out to win one of their own and although recruited by Nick Saban, all benefitted from the past four classes brought in by Miles and his four year effort to bring home a title. 

Look at all the top teams and see a similar pattern. Nobody came out of nowhere. Every team up there has been progressively getting better the past few years. All programs were on the rise. Even second tier teams like Southern Cal or Florida. Both in the hunt at some point in 2007, beaten and strongly improved down the stretch and entering 2008.

Miami had a great run 2000-2003 and unfortunately, most of us remember those days as being a lot more recent than they were. The Canes have fallen off big time as of late. It’s now been four down seasons to counterbalance the four straight BCS games the preceding years.

That’s a lot of time to be out of the mix for a recently proud and tradition-heavy program. A big mix of poor recruiting and even worse development of players helped make it a reality. Each year, this program eroded a little be more. On top of the college football world for four semi-recent years and some giant steps back every year since. 

This thing didn’t crap out overnight and sure as hell can’t be fixed that quickly either. 

These current Canes don’t have rings. Hell, they haven’t even reached the ACC title game, even after The U was the crown jewel in the conference expansion four seasons ago. The ghosts of Miami’s past earned that right to talk as part of an era built from the right way from the ground on up. Talented players. Leaders. Solid chemistry. Character-defining losses which helped earn the program some unforgettable wins down the road. 

Comments

comments