Miami hangs tough with Florida…

Miami versus Florida wasn’t a football game – it was a title bout.

In one corner, the ‘champ’ – a seasoned veteran, a heavy favorite and the hometown crowd behind him. In the other, a feisty up-and-comer given little shot for the upset, but amped up after being disrespected and counted out.

Early on, the underdog took everything the champ could throw his way and kept fighting back. For nine of the twelve rounds, it was almost evenly matched. The champ won a few rounds, but so did the underdog, absorbing blows and delivering enough of his own to strike fear in the favorite.

For a while, it looked like the newbie actually had a shot at dethroning the champ. The capacity crowd spent most of the evening in stunned silence, worried that the unexpected might soon become a harsh reality.

In the end, the champ used his experience and maturity to get out of the hole he found himself in and put away the underdog in the final rounds, even delivering one last cheap shot after the final bell, frustrated that it took over three-quarters of the evening to flex his muscle.

Miami may have walked out of Florida with a loss, but if there’s any such thing as a moral victory, this may have been it. Nationally, some folks will see 26-3 and assume the Gators blew the Canes out. If that’s the case, they didn’t watch the first three quarters of action. The Canes said they were coming to play and that they did.

Leading up to game day, Florida faithful were talking ‘blowout’. The Gators were going to hang half a century on the Canes defense. Tim Tebow would own Miami. Florida’s defense would punch Robert Marve in the mouth all night and snap the first-time starter like a twig.

Then the game started and both sides came out swinging, proving that talk is cheap.

Miami proved for the majority of the evening they could hang with the No. 5 team in the land, rattle a Heisman-winning quarterback and leave the largest crowd in the history of The Swamp (90,833) in stunned silence for over three quarters.

The “most hostile environment in college football” was a monastery until early in the fourth quarter, with Urban Meyer looking like a confused, rattled monk on the sideline. Maybe that’s why the frustrated, arrogant Gators coach decided to tack on a final field goal with :25 remaining in the game. One last attempt to ‘pour it on’ since his team was unable to do so the majority of the contest.

With 1:56 on the clock and a 23-3 lead, Meyer had Tebow passing on first and second down, ran on third down and with an opportunity to run out the clock, instead sent his field goal unit on for a ‘run their nose in it’ final score (much to the chagrin of gamblers nationwide who took Miami plus the points.)

The classless move, typical and what the sports nation has come to expect of the Gators – prompted a half-hearted midfield handshake out of Randy Shannon at game’s end.

The score may have read 26-3, but those who watched all sixty minutes know that two special teams blunders by Miami and two questionable calls accounted for 16 of Florida’s 26 points.

After the initial three-and-out, Matt Bosher sailed his first punt 14 yards, setting Florida up at the Miami 35-yard line. Five plays and a miracle grab later, it was 7-0, Gators. Bosher kicked and punted out of his mind the rest of the evening, nailing a 50-yard field goal, setting up good field position and twice leveled Florida returners.

With the score 7-3 late in the second, a Florida punt pinned Miami at the 1-yard line. Seven plays later, faced with a 3rd and 14, the young Canes suffered their first meltdown of the evening in the form of a personal foul on Orlando Franklin. Punting from the end zone on 4th and 24, Bosher’s punt was blocked and the ball was pushed out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

The third quarter proved scoreless for both teams. The defensive battle ensued.

Miami stayed the course, chewing up over seven minutes of game clock with two drives. The Canes succeeded in keeping the Gators potent offense on the bench, yet failed when it came time to punctuate their offensive drives with scores.

Late in the third, Florida got their third gift of the night, this time in the form of an all SEC officiating crew who reversed a questionable call.

On a 3rd and 9 from the Miami 33, Tebow threw a strike to Carl Moore. Miami’s Randy Phillips got underneath Moore, appearing to drive him out of bounds, where the ball popped loose as soon as he hit the ground.

The play, called incomplete on the field, was reviewed and eventually reversed, stating that Moore’s elbow hit inbounds.

Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t – but no crew in the nation other than some SEC homers are overturning the call on the field. The ‘conclusive evidence’ was only conclusive to a handful of officials who announced the reversal of the call with a full-on southern twang.

The Canes held steadfast, forcing Tebow into an incomplete and stuffing Brandon Moore for a one-yard run. On a 3rd and goal from the five, Phillips was again the victim of a semi-questionable call, getting hit for pass interference on Percy Harvin on what looked like a bang-bang play. With the way the SEC crew called the game, hardly a shock Miami got hit with another there.

With a 1st and goal from the two-yard line, Miami stuffed Mr. Heisman twice en route to the end zone but buckled on third down, giving up the two-yard score to Harvin – a play in which Miami’s Chavez Grant was held, yet the all-SEC zebras again let one slide.

Even with a fairly officiated game, Miami most likely still loses – but a shame that the officials were so blatantly biased with some calls and non-calls.

16-3 with 5:50 left to play, Florida’s gift touchdown proved to be the straw that broke Miami’s back. The final minutes of the game played out the way the masses expected the previous 54:10 to. The Gators defense penetrated a tired Canes’ offensive line, sacking Marve while the potent offense tacked on 10 more points in consecutive drives, while Tebow and crew stepped up their game and put together an impressive scoring drive.

Florida got the lucky breaks, capitalized and did what good teams do, putting the underdog away late. But Miami’s effort for over 54 minutes of play – there’s your real story. The Gators did what was expected, but the Canes on some level shocked the world, proving they could hold No. 5 in check.

Some positives? How about Miami’s gem of a defensive coordinator in Bill Young? The Canes though Shannon was a guru, calling the defensive shots the better part of this decade, but Young proved he was a true mastermind. Close up shots of both Tebow and Meyer showed the nation their frustration all night. New looks were brought every series and confusion was the name of the game.

Based on last night, you have to believe the Canes defense is going to run roughshot all over ACC offenses this season. Young proved he’s the real deal and that sound you heard was a collective, “oh s**t” from offensive coordinators conference-wide.

Offensively, Marve looks like he’s a great one in the making. In his first-ever collegiate action he strutted into the Swamp, flexed his muscle and never once flinched or backed down.

Unfortunately, Marve’s receivers didn’t always help him out, his highly-lauded offensive line looked porous at times and the rushing attack that needed to play difference-maker was only good for 61 yards. Miami’s ground game better improve as the season rolls on and the wideouts need to haul in more passes to help out their rookie QB.

The ‘Fire Patrick Nix’ posts are already sprouting up in cyberspace, with armchair quarterbacks chastising Miami’s signal caller. While all that talk might be premature, Nix is definitely guilty of calling a conservative game and will need to open things as the season progresses. In his defense, this was Marve’s first game in a hostile environment and keeping it close to the vest offensively was the best way to chew up clock time.

Nix has the rest of 2008 to get this offense rolling. If not, he needs to look no further than former defensive coordinator Tim Walton to see what happens if a playcaller isn’t cutting the mustard. Nix got a mulligan for last year, due to damaged goods at quarterback and a lack of playmakers. That excuse won’t hold water in 2008. These kids may be young, but the talent is there to complete. Show some cojones, Patrick.

While Miami’s defense played stout and was in Florida’s face, there were no defensive turnovers to help a green offense. Just once, it’d have been nice to see the Canes offense with a short field and a chance to build up some confidence.

The Canes are 1-1 and head into a bye week before heading to Texas for an out of conference road game at Texas A&M and then conference play will be underway. While a win at Florida would’ve been great for bragging rites, it means nothing in regards to the ACC and trying to get to Tampa.

Miami needs to crawl before they walk and yesterday was a big step forward. The Canes proved they could hang with the Gators and that all this talk of The U’s demise has been grossly overrated.

Florida didn’t pour it on and expose a huge talent gap between the two programs, even though Meyer inherited a better team than Shannon and has been building depth, hauling in four solid recruiting classes at UF. Shannon saved the 2007 class, but 2008 was his first year of recruiting his own talent and reeled in what ESPN thought was the best class in the land.

Let’s see where the Canes are at after Shannon repeats the feat and has as much time to stockpile as Meyer has.

If anything, Miami showed that with a few more players and a little more experience, the Canes should be back on the Gators’ heels as quickly as next season.

Until then, it’s all about 2008 and getting better every week. After seeing the effort and potential last night, an ACC title game berth is certainly within reach, if Miami can play with the heart they showed against No. 5 in a hostile environment.

Comments

comments

45 thoughts on “Miami hangs tough with Florida…

  1. Even if we lost, I thought it was an awesome game. Defense was awesome, Marve is going to be a great QB… As an alumni I am ready to open the checkbook once again to donate to the dept…

  2. Don’t forget about the SEC refs looking away when one of our palyers was horse collared. Very poor officials last night but the Canes played great as far as being very young. Imagine next year, wow!

  3. LOL. You spin with the best of ’em, my man, that’s all I can say. Miami managed only 140 yards (61 rushing) and a field goal in 60 minutes of football. They lost, 26-3. It really only felt close for a period of time due to the score, but Miami never seriously threatened the Gators. The lone field goal was a 50-yarder after being pushed back well out of the red zone.

    I was quick to give credit for your defense, which is definitely legit. Is Miami “back?” … No, not yet, but they’re making progress.

    Trying to make it sound as though Florida was dazed, confused, helpless, and needed officiating to help win the game is way too much of a stretch and doesn’t really deserve any further comment, I s’pose.

    Good luck in the ACC… I think you can make some noise there. But please, 26-3 is no moral victory, and all the words in the world won’t make it so.

  4. nix needs to open it up, last year the offense looked bland also, look what a new imaginative def. coordinator can do. Nix has 10 games to prove himself.

  5. You know, I usually don’t get into the “classy vs. classless” debate but c’mon dude. Maybe you should ask Charleston Southern about how “classy” Miami is, I think you just scored on them again.

    These are things that happen in football. Grow a thicker skin.

    Pity? Is that what you want? Did you want the Gators to take a knee as if the Canes were a 1AA team?

    I’m a UF alum who had the misfortune of buying two tickets on Ebay that happened to be in the Canes section and the “classy” Miami fans taught me two new and very classy cheers:

    F*ck the Gators, F*ck the Gators!

    And

    D-Fense, F*ck ’em up, D-Fense, F*ck ’em up.

    Your team did put up a heck of fight. The slogan for the Canes going in was “no excuses”. Too bad you didn’t buy into it. Blame the refs? That’s weak. If your player had landed with the elbow in like Carl Moore did and you didn’t get the replay official to overturn it, you’d blame THAT on the officials. It’s a no-win for us and it’s a convenient argument that attempts to conceal the fact that your team never got closer to the End Zone than the 39 yard line.

    The Gators were a 21 point favorite and the oddsmakers were right.

    I think the Canes are going to be a good team this year. You don’t deserve for that to be the case but it is.

  6. I saw alot of great things last night out of the UF UM game. First of all, Robert Marve played well. I really like his poise, he never appeared to be rattled, and his confidence was very exciting to see. Another plus, Miami’s defense, will soon be one of the best in the nation.

    The few things I found very dissapointing was the commentating. I thought MUSHBERGER (i know i spelled it wrong) was absolutely 100% bias toward UF. He started the game off refering to Tebow as Superman. He even tried to justify Meyer’s “running up of the score” saying how college football is a beauty contest, and that this will help with recruiting… blah blah blah. What really topped it off was the last statement he made regarding superman and the joker…

    “Superman got it done, but the joker hung around longer than expected.”

    First of all MUSHBERGER, Joker was Batman’s nemisis, not Superman.

    Disquisted by the job that MUSHBERGER did, and really made me lose respect for him. I watched the UF Hawaii game a week before that he covered, and his commentary wasn’t remotely as close. I think ESPN should do someething about that, because it truly does take away from the nature of the game.

    And as for Meyer running up the score, I think Randy Shannon’s “NO COMMENT” and quick handshake says it all. Go Ahead Meyer, kick ’em while they are done. Rub it in now… because you will pay for that one… And don’t be surpised to see this bunch of ‘Canes VERY VERY soon, they could even meet later this year in the Peach Bowl…

    BOTTOM LINE:
    -I LOVE MIAMI’s FUTURE
    -URBAN MEYER HAS NO CLASS
    -SHANNON IS THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB
    -MIAMI WILL BE BACK!

  7. Oh and those biased refs called 4 penalties against the canes for 33 yards and 5 penalties against the Gators for 35 yards. I thought the game was cleanly played and the low number of hankies was a reflection of that. And since when is being “a bang-bang” play a reason not call pass interference. You saw that replay. You know the ball was catchable and would have been caught if not for the DB grabbing Harvin’s left arm.

  8. gatorpilot and gomez – Don’t put words into my mouth. I think I was pretty clear when I said, “Even with a fairly officiated game, Miami most likely still loses – but a shame that the officials were so blatantly biased with some calls and non-calls.”

    It was 23-3 and Meyer was running his starters and kicked a late FG. A classier coach runs the clock out. It’s not “wrong” that Meyer did what he did, but it is classles and will come back to bite him.

    Losing 26-3 or 23-3, it’s still a loss so I could give a s**t about the three points. It’s just vintage Florida. Couldn’t beat Miami for 23 years, talked of pouring it on and running up the score – so when it was 9-3 early in the fourth, Meyer was going to do whatever he could to make things appear more lopsided than they were.

    The refs called a bad game. What else can I say. No call on the horsecollar take down of Marve. The overturn of the Moore catch. The PI on Phillips. The no call regarding the hold on Grant when Harvin scored.

    There’s NO reason an SEC crew should’ve called that game. The fact they did and the fact there were a few bogus plays, it doesn’t look good.

    I admitted Miami would’ve most likely lost anyways, but you’re high if you think I’m not going to point out the obvious.

    I never said Florida needed the help of the officials to win, but they also had more than they could handle for the majority of the evening.

    If you’re not buying my argument, read what Dennis Dodd (CBS), Matt Hayes (TSN) and Ivan Maisel (ESPN) all had to say about the game.

  9. All I’m hearing here is celebration of moral victory along with a bunch of bitter complaining about refereeing and getting beat aka running up the score)…

    The offense looked hapless last night and the gameplan and play calling in no way tested the suspect and shaky Florida secondary…

    All this hype you guys keep piling on Marve is almost worse than Tebow hype…

    Playmakers make plays and players look pedestrian…

    Marve looked pedestrain at best last night and Harris looked maybe a bit better IMHO…

    The way you’re bitching about the referees you’d think they cost Miami the game…

    Newflash, chief: They didn’t…

    Would have ANY of the calls you outlined made a difference in the outcome? No…

    You complain about the Moore catch? Watch the clip again and you’ll see his elbow clearly inbounds…

    Horsecollar? Again watch the game replay and you’ll see a handful of jersey and that the Gate’s hand didn’t reach into the neckline of the jersey and grab the shoulder pads…

    I find it unbelievable that Randy would complain about the Gators throwing the ball and kicking a field goal late when the week before he allowed Miami to pile another 24 points on top of a game that was firmly in control…

    And isn’t the classier thing to do actuall to walk up with a smile afterwards even when you think you’ve been slighted, shake hands and simply make a note of it for the next time rather than the pouty little show Shannon put on and bitch publicly after he just ran the score up last week?

    And even then, it’s a rivalry game and things like that late field goal are what makes it such…

    Personally, Miami looked TERRIBLE and the Gators simply didn’t put it together by their own fault for three quarters…

    Not because of anything the Canes were doing to them…

    Gates were dropping wide open passes on offense, had poor tackling on their front seven at times and looked a little lethargic all around…

    You guys keep drinking Shannon’s kool-aid though simply because he had some good years here…

    I didn’t see anything last night to suggest to me that UM will turn a corner this season or in the imediate future…

    I’m just wondering how long before your jadedness rubs off from the Shannon hire and you guys see the light…

  10. cat.5, you lost all credibility when you said:

    “Personally, Miami looked TERRIBLE and the Gators simply didn’t put it together by their own fault for three quarters…”

    – and –

    “I didn’t see anything last night to suggest to me that UM will turn a corner this season or in the imediate future…”

    Miami suited up a first-time quarterback in his first game – supposedly at the ‘toughest’ place to play in the nation – and the kid didn’t turn the ball over once, never looked scared, picked up some first downs and showed promise for the future, when he can cut his teeth against lesser opponents instead of being thrown into the fire.

    As for seeing nothing last night, I think the rest of the nation saw a solid, young defense that kept your team of world-beaters in check until early in the fourth quarter. The first touchdown came after a muffed punt and you got a safety. Zero points in the third quarter, as well.

    Where was that potent Florida offense that was supposed to kick the ass off Miami? I’ll tell you where – confused and stifled because Bill Young’s defense rattled your gimmicky offense most of the night.

    You won. Congrats. You did what you were supposed to do at home, with the No. 5 team in the land and a Heisman winner behind center.

    Miami came into your house and made it close for the majority of the game — something you clowns never expected.

  11. allcanes…THE U is on it’s way to the top again, and the nation saw it CLEARLY last night. ooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOO C A N E S!!!

  12. I’m not going to get involved in the back and fourth bull sh*t. I think Miami played a good game last night. I’m really excited about the future of this program. One more thing what is the injury status of Javarris James?

  13. Still cannot understand why GAYtor fans clutter this board.

    Trust me when I tell you, we don’t give a crap about what you think. We don’t measure ourselves against you,,,, ever. Our standards are so high you need to wear oxygen masks to even formu;ate ideas about them.

    We could care less about you. We only know that you and your coaching staff are totally classless.

    Think those recruits on your sideline missed that fact???
    Well,,, at least those not named Patcham didn’t,,, trust me. Thanks UR-VANE for showing that you have Z-E-R-O class,,, no matter how many little Asian boys you circumsize.

    On the other hand,,, you seem consumed with what is going on with our program. You cannot let it go for some reason. You scramble to our boards with your precious vanity at every opportunity.

    ENVY,,,, mabye??

    I reckon it really doesn’t matter, it’s just what you do.

    You will NEVER have what we have,,, no matter how much money you throw down. EVER.

    You cannot buy FAMILY,,, you cannot buy loyalty. All you can buy is facilities and Brad Culpepper “ambulance chaser” radio spots.

    Hell, you cannot even buy a cogniznat thought for that matter. But keep the fanatsy alive,,, until you have to play Georgia or LSU,,, or Alabama,,,,,, when do you guys play Mississippi State ???

    Karma is a mother phukker,,,,,, but,,, you already know that. I mean,,, just look at you.

    John Reeves just called,,,, he wants his crackpipe back.

  14. Allcanes,
    Great post once again. I agree that a lot of calls were questionable, but the U has got to put points on the board. I was on the edge of my seat during the first 3 quarters, man I thought we were going to pull it off! Hopefully, this loss will prove to be a good building block for the Canes. Nonetheless, the offense has got to put more than 3 points on the board – the defense did it’s job, the offense must help out. I also thought that Nix called some very conservative stuff, I would’ve liked to have seen more passes down field. But, I’m not a coach, so what do I know. Keep up the good work on the posts!

    FL Panhandle Cane

  15. Wow, could gator fans suck any more gator c*ck? Impossible…

    There’s so much to be said about last night’s game.

    1) “Would have ANY of the calls you outlined made a difference in the outcome? No…”

    Are you crazy or blind? Before that BS call, Miami’s D was manhandling your precious Tebow. While your paid refs were reviewing the play, I said “whoever wins this call, wins the game.” Sure enough, the call was reversed which put the Gators within arm’s reach of the endzone (Miami’s 5 yard line). Had that call stayed as was called on the field, the Gators would have been looking at 4th down on Miami’s 33. (It was 3rd and 9 when Tebow threw to Moore for the “reception.) If the call hadn’t been reversed, would the outcome be different? Did the refs cost Miami the game? Who knows (certainly not you or I). All I do know is that if the call had stayed, the Gators would have punted (unless Meyers was willing to go for it on 4th and 9 from Miami’s 33) and the score would have still been 9-3 early in the 4th. I know this much: that call sucked the life out of Miami’s D that had been playing spectacular all night. Unfortunately, the team is young and they couldn’t get past the bad call. That call put the Gators up 16-3. After that, the D gave up. And can I blame them? No. You can’t ask any more from Miami’s D that night. They had NO help from the offense; they were tired and frustrated at bad ref calls and lack of points by Miami’s O. Props to the D. The O needs to step it up big time.

    2) I can’t help but wonder why gator fans with their immense victory over Miami find the need to come to Miami blogs and talk crap. Honestly, I think Gator fans are little uneasy after Saturday’s game. In my opinion, Miami can only walk away from Saturday’s game with positives in every regard. I can’t say the same for our neighbors up north. Miami’s team is as green as they come. They have freshman starting at nearly every position. The mighty gators are a veteran team by all standards. Some of their current players were around for their National Championship win and they have a Heisman winner at the helm. If I’m a Gator, I’d be concerned that this Miami team held their mighty O to 9 points for three whole quarters. Truth is, the final score is a facade. 17 of those 26 came in the fourth quarter off an exhausted Miami D and EXTREMELY favorable ref calls (the ones they did call and certainly the ones they didn’t).

    Honestly, we could sit here all day and debate ref calls. Gators will say Miami is whining. Cryami, anyone? And Miami will say they were cheated. Whatever, let’s give the Gators the “W” because at the end of the day, all you see are the W and L columns.

    Still, the No. 5 Gators were supposed to put a hurtin’ on the Canes. The Gators were SUPPOSED to win and win BIG. They won, but not big. Miami exposed UF’s flaws and now the nation can see that the big, bad Gators are fallible and Superman Tebow is mortal after all. I can only hope that other teams gearing up to play the Gators watch the film to see how it’s done. If we only had a more seasoned O, the game would have been done, son! Our D was stellar and the talent is there. So, Miami only has only one direction to go from here and that is up. The Gators? I’ll say this much. From what I saw on Saturday,

    GEORGIA IS GONNA WHOOP ON THE GATORS!

    and

    THE GATORS ARE NOT GOING TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP THIS YEAR!

    Yea, I said it! Mark my words. This Gator team is good but completely beatable as Miami has revealed. If Miami could hold UF to 9-3 for three quarters, there’s no telling what Georgia, LSU, or any other more seasoned opponent will do to UF this year. Let’s not even talk about USC vs UF should it happen at the end of this season. USC is lookin’ GOOOOOOD!

    So, while Gator fans will come to Miami blogs and talk about how AWESOME the Gators are and how sore losers Miami fans are, you have to wonder, if the Gators are so incredible, then why pay so much attention to such a lowly opponent as UM. Even after the game is over, the Gator fans are still talkin’ sh*t… and on our blogs! Don’t you guys have bigger and better games to look forward to? Take the W and look forward to the rest of your season. It’s going to be tough and I get the feelin’ you’re going to be seeing a lot more losses than you think.

    So, if there is such thing as a moral victory, UM definitely had one. The future is bright. And I can only see our recruiting getting better. If I’m a recruit and I see that a team that doesn’t even get a SINGLE vote to be in the top 25 can hold the No. 5 team with a Heisman winner to only 26 points (the least amount the Gators have scored since their Sept. game against Auburn last year) then Miami is still worth considering. And if I’m a recruit thinking about UF, I might think twice. But that’s just me and I’m a biased Miami fan.

    But you can’t deny… Miami is up and coming. But after Saturday’s game, where is UF going from here?

    Down, baby!

    GOOOOO GEORGIA!

    (or anyone but the Gators! lol)

  16. By the way – Harvin’s little TD run had a block in the back, AND an OBVIOUS hold in endzone….-

    BUT…I’ve never come off a loss as happy as last night…what took butch 4 years to do, Shannon has done in 2…

    and and for your quote, “If anything, Miami showed that with a few more players and a little more experience, the Canes should be back on the Gators’ heels as quickly as next season.”

    I’d have to say, next season, the gators’ will be at our heels!!!

  17. Well said allCanes…

    Cat couldn’t spell football if you spotted him the first 7 letters. How did he not see that Miami’s D was all over the field for 3 quarters? And Marve, didn’t do anything to jeopardize Miami’s chances of winning. The depth of skilled players is what beat Miami, not the refs. Leave this homer to his rants, and let us watch our ‘Canes grow…

    Josh
    Tampa,FL

  18. Meyer is definitely classless.

    But Shannon is clueless — when it comes to offense.

    And while no SEC crew should work that game, those calls weren’t all that terrible.

    That was definitely PI on Phillips. The same Phillips who has been getting dusted and drawing flags for two years now. He’s not smart or very good.

    The push out … not so sure. But he gave him a substantial shove there. Again, stupid. Break on the ball and knock it down. Or jar it loose with a real hit, not a shove.

    Yes, Tebow and Meyer were frustrated. But that place was hardly a morgue.

    I mean, how can you have a morgue when you’re dealing with 90,000 liquored-up, brainwashed, front-running yay-hoos on a Saturday night in a shithole southern town?

    Miami is legit on D. Their O, as of now, is very, very far from legit.

    And there were many more examples of poor officiating yesterday.

    Ask SDSU or Washington. For starters.

    The U is back … on defense.

    Not so sure about anything else. Including the HC.

    How about finding a punter so you don’t have the same guy punting, kicking FGs (from 50 yards out) and kicking off, for starters?

    Much work to be done. But progress from last year, for sure.

    Athletes everywhere …

  19. Exactly, a young Miami team came into Floridas house and left them wondering “WTF”. We lost, you guys won fine its done. As much as i want to say the officials sucked, the theme for the canes is “NO EXCUSES”. Ivan Maisels is correct Florida is lucky they played an inexperienced Miami team early. I like the way things are looking so far, a loss at Florida was expected. But what i expected happen, we lost but our guys saw they could hang with the #5 team in the nation. That right there is going to play huge for them, that would make any team feel great. Gator fans can say all they want, but for a rebuilding team Saturdays game was a huge moral booster we needed.

  20. Lost all credibility with who???

    You?

    Who cares…

    You’re sniveling little shopkeeper that puts his whiny opinion on the internet…

    And a rude one at that…

    Last time I came into your store on a visit down South, it was everything I could do to get you to answer a question and the look on your face screamed nothing but “Leave me alone and just buy some shit”…

    So I’m not really concerned about MY "credibility" with you…

    Which brings me to my second point of lumping me with a bunch of Gates…

    I hold a bachelor's & post graduate degree from UM…

    Do you? From what I remember reading here, you don't…

    Third, while I often read your articles here, I believe I've only commented once before on inquiry of the kids that weren't going to be in camp because of academics back in July/August maybe…

    And while I read them and often see TONS of bias and homerism, I don't really mind so much and usually dimiss you as just a overzealous fan just fighting tooth and nail for the team…

    I usually just take them with a grain of salt and laugh at your often ridiculously over bearing attitude and statements…

    This time I couldn't though as I feel you're embarrassing the school, thus the previous commenting I made…

    I see that while we have a disagreement on the play of the Gates and Miami, we don't seem to have a disagreement on you "clowns" whining about the refereeing or the big ol' mean UiF kicking a 3 pointer at the end…

    It's supposed to be the "U" remember, Mr. AllCanes?

    No excuses?? Isn't that what I see written here so often???

    Yet this post is full of nothing BUT excuses…

    Regardless of what happened in the first three quarters, we got our asses handed to us once the Gators figured out what to do and more importantly that Gate kid that was running his mouth started catching the ball…

    The game plan on defense was assuredly a bit stronger than the offensive one…

    Our offensive strategy NEVER tested the Gators deep (except once) and seeemed Randy simply was playing not to get beat too badly rather than trying for the upset…

    Well, that backfired in the end, didn't it…

    I'd rather us get beat by 50 and attack than sit back and play "not to get beat badly" and lose by 23…

    You're looking through jaded lenses right now, as you always do…

    We had a crappy gameplan and Florida simply came out in the
    4th, pissed off and took it to us after screwing around all night…

    Their drives in the first three quarters were killed by dropped balls and penalties not necessarily anything the defense did…

    The way you've been "Tebowing" Marve up about him being SO special…

    I didn't see it, I mean what was so special…

    He didn't make any tough throws per say given the playcalling was set up for dinks and dunks and he spent most of the night running for his life…

    Sure he came back in the game, but what's he gonna do? Tell Shannon he ain't going back in? You are blowing up the fact that he was "poised" and "did'nt get scared"…

    Good, that's his JOB!!

    Special would be if he had been allowed to open it up and give him some leash and Bobby blew the place up…

    However, I'll chalk that up to the lame offensive game plan he was saddled with for now…

    As I said before, I'm not sold on Shannon yet nor that we'll be turning the corner before next season…

    Could I be wrong? Sure and I would be thrilled to be wrong…

  21. Football is about winning games,not keeping the score close.This game was not as close as it seemed.The Gator defense had total control.The UM offense was in a stranglehold.Shannon and Nix had no answers once again.Wake up,these coaches are not here for on the job training.The Shannon debacle continues.

  22. Lost all credibility with who??? You? Who cares…

    Based on your rant here, you, obviously…

    You’re sniveling little shopkeeper that puts his whiny opinion on the internet… And a rude one at that… Last time I came into your store on a visit down South, it was everything I could do to get you to answer a question and the look on your face screamed nothing but “Leave me alone and just buy some shit”…

    I run allCanesBlog.com and allCanes.com from San Diego, CA… No one in store has anything to do what with I write. I don’t work in store.

    Which brings me to my second point of lumping me with a bunch of Gates… I hold a bachelor's & post graduate degree from UM…Do you? From what I remember reading here, you don't…

    What can I say? The way you come across, you sound like a Gator. As for your degree, nice work. Still doesn’t make you anymore of a Cane than anyone here who didn’t graduate from Miami. The majority of the Canes fan base never stepped foot on campus. And as for me, yeah, I earned my bachelor’s degree from UF. Born and raised Miami. Grew up going to all the sports camps. When it came time for college, I didn’t want to stay in my own backyard, so I blew town. Started covering the Canes from the UF library, writing for various websites.

    I see that while we have a disagreement on the play of the Gates and Miami, we don’t seem to have a disagreement on you “clowns” whining about the refereeing or the big ol’ mean UiF kicking a 3 pointer at the end… It’s supposed to be the “U” remember, Mr. AllCanes? No excuses?? Isn’t that what I see written here so often??? Yet this post is full of nothing BUT excuses…

    Facts, or excuses? It is a fact that the game was poorly officiated. I never said it cost Miami the game. I said even called fairly, Florida most likely wins. It’s also fact that it was a low-brow move for Meyer to continue throwing the ball, up 20 with under two minutes left. He didn’t get to pour it on during the majority of the game, so he was playing catch up in the final moments to make it look like more of a beatdown than it was.

    Miami could’ve gone the classless route and made it open season on Teabag the final minutes of the game. Send a message right back to Urban that if you want to play dirty and run up the score, Miami’s defense will start teeing off, late hitting and cheap shotting your quarterback, because hey, that’s part of the game, right?

    Regardless of what happened in the first three quarters, we got our asses handed to us once the Gators figured out what to do and more importantly that Gate kid that was running his mouth started catching the ball…

    Sorry, but I think that’s a lame outlook. “Regardless” of what happened the first three quarters? What happened the first three quarters gives Miami hope for this season. Tell the coaches and players those first three quarters don’t matter, Mr. Post Grad Degree from UM. Miami needed to win what battles they could up there and gain some confidence to help get them over the hump. These Canes feel they can hang with the Gators — a deeper, more experienced team. That will help these kids down the road. If you don’t “get” that, then you don’t understand anything about motivation or nuturing young talent.

    The game plan on defense was assuredly a bit stronger than the offensive one…Our offensive strategy NEVER tested the Gators deep (except once) and seemed Randy simply was playing not to get beat too badly rather than trying for the upset…

    Miami attempted three deep balls – one to Hankerson, one to Shields and one to either Travis Benjamin or Thearon Collier. I can’t recall which. Miami was playing to win, as the game plan was obviously ball control and keeping Florida’s offense off the field. Where Miami failed was capitalizing on scoring opps. Long sustained drives need to be punctuated with scores. That wasn’t accomplished and yes, Miami coaches failed regarding putting enough points on the board. But what good is airing it out going to do? Stops the clock. Doesn’t allow for sustained drives and gets the ball back in Florida’s hands.

    I’d rather us get beat by 50 and attack than sit back and play “not to get beat badly” and lose by 23… You’re looking through jaded lenses right now, as you always do…

    …. and you’re talking nonsense. You’d really feel better having lost 50-3, completely demoralizing the team and just airing it out a few more times, instead of trying to slow Florida’s offense?

    Jaded lenses, eh? Show me some proof of these so-called jaded lenses? Because I call it as it is?

    We had a crappy gameplan and Florida simply came out in the 4th, pissed off and took it to us after screwing around all night…

    … that’s one take. Another would be that momentum changed after a would-be 3rd and 9 incomplete pass was ruled a catch, setting up 1st and goal. It was a defensive battle and that was a game-changing play. Just ask the Urban Myth. Your take is that Miami’s defense did nothing to rattle Florida all night – but that they were just screwing around and when the finally decided to get serious, they then had the ability to simply flip a switch and take it to Miami?

    Yet I’M the jaded one? I guess the rest of our fan base, the game’s commentators and the national media, all who praised Miami’s defense the next morning are off-base and you’re the right one here.

    Their drives in the first three quarters were killed by dropped balls and penalties not necessarily anything the defense did…

    Good call. I’m sure Tim Walton’s defense, sans all the new impact freshman this year would’ve done the exact same thing and it’d have been a 6-point game early in the fourth.

    The way you’ve been “Tebowing” Marve up about him being SO special… I didn’t see it, I mean what was so special…He didn’t make any tough throws per say given the playcalling was set up for dinks and dunks and he spent most of the night running for his life…Sure he came back in the game, but what’s he gonna do? Tell Shannon he ain’t going back in? You are blowing up the fact that he was “poised” and “did’nt get scared”… Good, that’s his JOB!!

    ‘Tebowing’ Marve up? Please. The kid has potential and I’ve written about it a few times. Godforbid I show support for the starting quarterback here. A lot of kids would’ve wet the bed their first NCAA start – at the Swamp. Ken Dorsey looked absolutlely shaken in 1999 at Virginia Tech, beat down and rattled all night in a 43-10 loss.

    I’m not ‘blowing up’ s**t. I’m judging the kid like the r-freshman he is with one game under his belt and you’re talking about him like a f’n fifth year senior.

    Special would be if he had been allowed to open it up and give him some leash and Bobby blew the place up… However, I’ll chalk that up to the lame offensive game plan he was saddled with for now…

    …. then do so and quit riding Marve’s ass like he’s a nobody. Have an ounce of faith here. You’re sound like someone who never sees the good in things. Never content with an outcome. Win by 7 and they should’ve won by three touchdowns. Win a bet and upset that you didn’t lay more on the action. News flash, champ…. Miami was SUPPOSED to go to Gainesville and get their asses handed to them. Tebow WAS supposed to eat Miami’s lunch all night. Florida faithful and the media idiots all called for a 50-point scoring onslaught.

    There is a small victory in a 9-3 score early in the fourth. There is a victory in this young team enduring all the Swamp had to offer for most of the night. There is a victory in sending the Gators a message.

    Florida wanted to crush Miami and send a message to recruits that The U was done. Instead, Miami sent the message that while young and inexperienced, it’s not too far off Florida’s tail. A few more big classes and Miami is a title contender again.

    As I said before, I’m not sold on Shannon yet nor that we’ll be turning the corner before next season…Could I be wrong? Sure and I would be thrilled to be wrong…

    Then why not f’n relax and attempt to be semi-positive here? There’s a huge difference between homerism and a positive outlook. There is some good to be taken out of Saturday’s game. Miami looked better in a loss to the Gators than they did in a win over Florida State last year. There is something to build on. These kids showed heart – which is something we haven’t seen in 2 years – and they played with some passion. Get them some experience and they’ll be a force.

    You could give a damn what I have to say and I could care less if you’re sold on Shannon.

    I also never said Miami ‘turned the corner’ or would this year. I said the ACC was wide open and after what we’ve seen with Clemson, Virginia Tech, NC State and Virginia, that Miami has as good a shot as anybody. The Canes appear to have a solid defense in the making and they’ll have a slew of ‘tune up’ games to get the brand new offense on track.

  23. can’t we all get along?

    Seriously.

    Nothing like other Canes fans coming around here to talk smack, insult our own and trash the blog, as well as my integrity.

  24. You are absolutely correct on you assesment of the game. I was at pukeville and that play changed everything. The big Mo swung in Florida’s favor and they rode that wave to a win (along with VERY questionable calls). I mean no holding penalties at all??? Please. Were the canes going to win? More than likely no. They probably would have had a better chance if Shannon open up the offense a little bit more but he saw his recievers drop a few early and decided to close the playbook early. Was it the right call? I dont think so but then again i am not the head coach. All i know is that as a die hard fan I can finally see that better days are arriving and after Saturday night they might be closer than anyone thinks.

  25. Just a thought, I am a Gator fan, so all you Cane fans can read this with a grain of salt. I think you’re defense played great, especially against what Urb’s has said is our team’s strength, the O-line. Your offense, with a more mature QB and a OCoordinator that will grow a pair, will be pretty good if not great. And yes I understand he played it “close to the vest” because of a young QB, but seriously it seemed like he had no faith in Marve what-so-ever.

    I would love, though, for a Cane fan justify to me Shannon scoring late in your game the week before against a IAA opponent. You were clearly in control of that game, and yet decided to score. I have no problems with people bitching about the officiating, personally I think for inter-conference play they should have the away teams refs. But to put down Meyer for giving his kicker his first in-game kick of the year, is just ridiculous. Going for a TD, on fourth down, would have been running up the score. Going for three….grow a pair Shannon. Before this I had respect for the man based on how he ran his program the first year. Now, I think of him as nothing more than a crybaby.

    As for the recruits, I hope when Shannon visits them he brings along a tape of this game and shows the recruit how we “ran up the score”. I hope this for one reason, I know Meyer will be prepared with a tape of Miami scoring late in their first game. If the recruit is dumb enough to only see UF’s classless act, and not Miami’s (which I actually do not consider classless at all- dont want us to score, then stop us) then I dont want him on our team. Not to mention that if that recruit actually wants to be out on the field and take a knee then he does not have the competitive drive that is what constitutes a real football player.

    Bottom line, please, please, please, tell me how Miami’s first game scoring is any different than UF’s.

  26. Bottom line, please, please, please, tell me how Miami’s first game scoring is any different than UF’s.

    Glad to tell you, Gator.

    Miami scored late against Charleston Southern, getting the ball with 6:17 left to play.

    The Canes had third string quarterback Cannon Smith in the game and third string tailback Shawnbrey McNeal.

    Miami got the ball and ran for 2 yards, ran for 2 yards and ran for 3 yards. On a 4th and 3 from the 42 yard line, Miami ran again and picked up 8 yards.

    Smith threw one pass for 2 yards and McNeal rushed twice – once for 31 yards and once for 1 yard and the score as there was almost three minutes left on the clock.

    Florida got the ball with under two minutes to play, a 23-3 lead and Meyer had Tebow come out on first down and throw a nine-yard screen. From there, an incomplete and a run for a loss of four yards.

    With a 4th and 5, Meyer could’ve let the clock run out with 0:25 remaining. Miami would’ve gotten the ball back on the 11-yard line with a few seconds, would’ve kneeled and it’d have been game over.

    Personally, I could give a s**t if Meyer wanted to run up the score. Is it classless? Yes – but so is he, so it’s expected.

    There’s a little thing called sportsmanship. Florida was the more complete team the other night. That was understood and proven. 23-3 or 26-3 doesn’t sound different in the record books, so was the three points really worth it for Meyer to try and rub Miami’s nose in it? We’ll see.

    Shannon doesn’t need to bring game tape of this to take recruits from Meyer. He’s already doing a fine job locking down south Florida.

    The Gators got the win, but the Canes proved they’re not as far off as some thought.

  27. thanks all canes for pointing out something that no Florida fan gets…the opponent doesn’t matter, charleston southern or alabama, if you have a 20+ lead on a team with time winding down, take out your starters. PERIOD. miami has long had it thrown in our face that we have run up the score here and there, but everytime we are accused of that we have 2nd, 3rd, and “4th” string players in. there is a difference having your 3rd string tailback score a TD, than throwing in your starting qb to strike again. it’s also extremely irresponsible for a coach to do that. maybe florida fans would bitch a little more if their precious tebow had a season ending injury in those last two minutes…then you’d be asking “what the hell was tebow still doing in the game?” meyer has made his way up there with other classless acts like steve spurrier and bill belichick.

  28. I was going to write about a lot of things that didn't go our way in the game. Coker’s kids still on the team dropping balls, Nix’s play calling, SEC officials…, but you know what Puck-it. We fans need to learn from the players, this year is NO EXCUSES.

    I was impressed by our play in this lose. As in, I see true Hurricanes wearing that uniform again. Bosher for one, he totally messed up on that punt. Did he stay down on himself? No, he punted well, kicked great and tackled like an animal for the remainder of the game. Spence, Forston and B. Harris are playing defense like some real Hurricanes as well. Try walking up to them and say nice moral victory. These kids are playing well beyond their years/age.

    Marve did great as well. Kyle Wrong and Kirby Heavman would not have thrown combined for 140 yards in that game (even given their experience level). Marve looked as poised as Tom Brady for a kid that last threw a pass nearly two years ago in high school. Try telling him nice moral victory.

    What this game was is nothing more than a measuring stick. As it was a game we were going to lose and one with no impact on the ACC picture. The measurement is there. Our defense is nearly back to form and our offense just needs to let it ride now that Marve has this game under his belt.

    So let’s stop the moral victory and excuse talk. Time to talk the CONFIDENT Canes talk of old. Let’s go to Texas and F-ing kick some A&M ass.

    Gators, enjoy your victory. But the game is over. So please go about your business and let us go about enjoying this forum (blog).

  29. Its not even the fact that its classless to keep your starters in, its completely stupid. What did those 3 points get Florida other than cover the spread? Not a damn thing, but that could have cost them the season had Tebow been hit the way Tom Brady was yesterday. OSU learned the hard way, now they aren’t sure if Wells will be at 100% come time to play USC. If Urban wants to conitnue leaving his starters in to get points thats fine, but i can’t wait to see the highlight of tebow getting dropped when he should have been out of the game.

    Also if people don’t like the posts made on here, then why are you coming here to read it then? This is an All”CANES” blog, who cares if its biased or not. Your not being forced to log on here and read this, most of you come on here just to start problems. I have coming on here for alittle over a year to read info on the canes. And its not all good, everything you read on here is the good and the bad. We aren’t “tebowing” Marve, but we are addressing how good he looked in his first game in a very hostile stadium. Yes, some people are praising him as the next heisman winner for Miami. Which i believe is to early for it, but i was impressed with how he played. The next game at aTm will show us if it was just luck, or if Marve really is what many expect him to be. I hate the fact that we have a bye so soon. I mean the off season was long enough to have to toss in a bye in week 3.

  30. First off, Gator fans, go to your own blogs and keep your comments to yourselves. We don't give a damn what you have to say. Go back up Urban Myth's ass and focus on your own team. You beat us this year, for once. Good job. Now get the f*ck out of here.
    Secondly to Canes fans and those who belong on this blog, it felt good to watch the first 3 quarters, especially defensively. We shut them down and frustrated Tebow and Urban. The thing that killed us in the 4th quarter in my opinion was depth on the D Line. We looked a little tired and gave Tebow too much time. He made a couple of plays with his legs to keep drives alive but he was pretty much stymied most of the game. Get in another year of DL recruits and we'll be fresher. The D played their asses off. As far as the offense, I just wish Nix would have opened it up a little more. I know he waas trying to build confidence and not shatter anyone in game 1 on the road, but you have to throw downfield a little more. There were only 2 passes attempted downfield more than 20 yards and one was off a scramble. Because they knew we weren't going deep or even intermediate, their front 7 began to crowd the line and shut us down. So against A&M, a team we should handle if you've seen them this year (lost to Arkansas State and barely beat NM), we have to threaten them vertically. Let's vary up the play-calling some. We did a lot of WR screens, it seemed to guys who weren't that quick. How about hitting them on the move, or a stop and go since the DB's were going for picks all night. For the running plays, how about something other than a read option or a power off tackle? How about a circle route behind the LB's? I know we wanted to run clock and keep their offense on the sidelines, but the bottom line is we needed to execute the plays that were called and we didn't at times. Too many drops and too many times not making running lanes. But when they stack the line, you have to make some adjustments, such as the slant from inside our own 5 was a great call. Anyway, the team looked good overall and now it's on to beat a Texas A&M team who we should really exploit.
    -ColumbusCane

  31. I see you have chosen not to post my response, AllCanes…

    Why is that?

    It was certainly sent before about the last five posts…

    That’s pretty weak…

  32. I see you have chosen not to post my response, AllCanes… Why is that? It was certainly sent before about the last five posts… That’s pretty weak…

    Get over your paranoid ways. You must’ve screwed something up in the process.

    I don’t “moderate” here, though I’ll tell you right now – insult our employees again (i.e. – your rude sniveling shopkeeper crap) and I’ll gladly start tossing your commentary.

  33. I run allCanesBlog.com and allCanes.com from San Diego, CA… No one in store has anything to do what with I write. I don’t work in store.

    So you don’t work in the store? Then I take it that’s not you in those pictures that I saw last year with the Patas and Portis. I say that because whomever that is is the same person who was rude to my kids and I when we came in to patronize the store.

    What can I say? The way you come across, you sound like a Gator…

    What can I say? I view things objectively. Sorry that you didn’t pick up on that.

    As for your degree, nice work. Still doesn’t make you anymore of a Cane than anyone here who didn’t graduate from Miami…

    I’ll speak for myself and the rest of the folks who attended UM. I’ll disagree given all the hard work I and others put in and the one or two pieces of paper that were bestowed upon us by the university. My fellow alumni and I ARE Canes. The rets of you are Cane FANS. Nothing personal there, but certainly a point that needs to be made.

    It is a fact that the game was poorly officiated.

    Really? Show me the evidence that proves your statements. Until then, it’s an opinion. Didn’t they teach you the difference between fact and opinion at UF?
    As I pointed out before, the replay clearly showed control of the ball and that the Gate landed in bounds. From where I was in the stadium and what I saw on the replay, there was not a horsecollar either; as I also pointed out earlier. I saw a hndful of jersey and no gripping the pads at the neck.

    It’s also fact that it was a low-brow move for Meyer to continue throwing the ball, up 20 with under two minutes left.

    I guess the thought never occurred to you that Meyer had to throw the ball because they weren’t able to run it consistently against our defense even after they were tired in the fourth quarter. Objectively speaking, I would expect Shannon to do the same if our offense was having the same problems.

    Miami could’ve gone the classless route and made it open season on Teabag the final minutes of the game. Send a message right back to Urban that if you want to play dirty and run up the score, Miami’s defense will start teeing off, late hitting and cheap shotting your quarterback, because hey, that’s part of the game, right?

    It’s statements like that which make those of us that actually attended UM look bad. Sure, maybe kicking the FG is a shitty thing to do. But why lower yourself to Meyer’s level and give that half ass handshake. The bigger thing to do is to walk up, look him square in the eye while applying the old Bill Clinton double hander and say “We’ll see you in four years. Maybe sooner, Urban.” Then smile and walk away while planning on serving up that revenge real, real cold. As that is the most satisfying way to do it. No?

    Randy made himself look like a pouter and as much of a poor sport
    as Urban with the way he handled it.

    Miami attempted three deep balls – one to Hankerson, one to Shields and one to either Travis Benjamin or Thearon Collier.

    Actually after looking at the play by play summary, there were only two “deep” balls thrown all night both to Johnson.

    Miami was playing to win, as the game plan was obviously ball control and keeping Florida’s offense off the field.

    I fully realize what the game plan was, but where were the adjustments, AC? If we are “hanging” with Florida, then certainly we should be providing some opportunity. When things aren’t working you have to make adjustments and revise your scheme. that didn’t happen.

    Where Miami failed was capitalizing on scoring opps.

    What scoring opps? We never had the ball inside their 30 and only one drive that resulted in more than 40 yards.

    Long sustained drives need to be punctuated with scores.

    As I just pointed out there were no long drives in order for us to punctuate.

    But what good is airing it out going to do?

    Taking more than two cracks at a suspect Gate secondary surely would have put a little respect in them enough to get the linebackers backed off. Without at least trying though, we’ll never know. Apparently our coaches didn’t watch any film from UGA or UM’s games with the Gates last season. Hit them with the run then attack the corners. It worked both last year against the Gators and my money says it works in at least two games against them this season.

    Doesn’t allow for sustained drives and gets the ball back in Florida’s hands.

    Um, yeah. As I have just pointed out neither did our game plan.

    You’d really feel better having lost 50-3

    Of course not. That was sarcasm. However, I would rather attack than sit back and allow them to stuff us on the dink and dunk. As I just said we made no attempt to keep them honest just didn’t want to lose badly. Since when is Miami football not about attacking on both sides of the football. At some point you gotta test the waters and go for it.

    Show me some proof of these so-called jaded lenses?

    Your archives? J/K, but you are a ridiculous homer. Which is fine, I don’t really have issue with that.

    … that’s one take.

    Not a “take” at all. The Gators were screwing around killing themsleves with the few penaties they acrrued and dropped balls.

    Let’s take a closer look at the Play by Play summary.

    Gates scored on their first possesion. Good for them.

    Second Poss: A Gate persoanl foul sets up first and 24 and then a dropped pass by Murphy on a deep crossing rout forces a punt.

    Third Poss: Miami sack on third down forces the punt. Concede point to AC.

    Foruth Poss: Illegal formation on the gates negates a possible fourth and one. Third down incomplete pass dropped by their little fast midget dude. Sets up a punt. Gators shoot themselves in the foot again.

    Fifth Poss: Oh look. Another dropped pass by that loud mouth Murphy again on third and ten. Gates punt because they can’t catch the ball.

    Sixth Poss: Second half after a QB hurry. Another gator reciever drops the ball on third and 11.

    Seventh Poss: After getting a couple first downs. We do hold them on a nice little stand at the fifty and force the punt. Another point to AC.

    Eight Poss: Our pass interference penalty keeps their drive alive along with poor call that was overturned. Gators score. Good for them.

    Ninth Poss: All the sudden Gag Order decodes to start catching the ball. We can’t stop them. Gates score. Again. Good for them.

    Tenth Poss: Yes, they scored again and Randy thought it was “bullshit” as apparent by reading his lips the next day when I was rewatching the game at home on DVR.

    Those are the “facts”, AC. We held them two times respectably and the other times they beat themselves. This is after I watched the game twice. once from the stands and once at home. This all backs up my statement of:

    Their drives in the first three quarters were killed by dropped balls and penalties not necessarily anything the defense did…

    Does it not IYO? If not, tell me how but don’t give me this crap:

    I guess the rest of our fan base, the game’s commentators and the national media, all who praised Miami’s defense the next morning are off-base and you’re the right one here.

    In a word? Yes. As I just showed you with my breakdown. Show me otherwise.

    On another note…

    I perhaps was a bit harsh with my Marve comments. He did show pluck and bravery throughout the night. Which was exactly what I expected, largely due to the analysis and comments I’ve seen here. I DO however think he was somewhat cuffed and let down by an offensive gameplan that never saw any adjustment and never fully attacked or even effectively tested what was a glaring Gator weekaness last season in their secondary and had seen little change in personnel. Our coaching staff could very well be thinking “What if?” down the road when any of the approaching Gator opponents beat them in the manner I described above.

    You could give a damn what I have to say and I could care less if you’re sold on Shannon.

    Looks like we found something we can agree on.

    I fully agree there was some good that came from a frustrating victory that ends a streak that began in the Reagan Era.

    Perhaps some of that frustration and negative outlook stems from that and some of it stems from just still not feeling comfortable with the coaching staff.

    One last thing…

    insult our employees again (i.e. – your rude sniveling shopkeeper crap)

    I leave that comment out if you don’t insult me by calling me a Gate (even if that guy was rude to me)…

    BTW – I think I screwed up a html tag or two before. Humblest apologies for accusing you of screening my post…

  34. cat5 it was clearly a horse collar tackle. I have HD TiVo and rewound that tackle several times. He grabbed the shoulder pads and pulled him down by his pads not his jersey. It was an obvious horse collar. I’m sure the “fancy” “big screen” at the game was in crystal clear HD quality right?

    Adam ( Lake Norman Nc )

  35. Cat5, you made some decent points. But again, the game is over. Gators won, no one here is debating that. So hooray gators! Happy now!!

    Cane FANS (none students or alum that you speak of, that make up the majority of fans) are feeling optimistic. We see real promise for this season. And again, we’re not saying the ACC is now a lock. But after watching that game I fell real hope that we can make some serious strides in 2008.

    As you need to realize, before Jimmy Johnson was Jimmy Johnson, he was simply Jimmy Johnson first time head coach. Trust me; I’m not screaming Shannon (and Nix) is the greatest ever. But I do realize it takes a good 3-5 years to return a program to title contention. So it’s too early to call for anyone’s head. There will be a time for that.

    You have yet to hear a single player say, man we feel great and that was a great moral victory. I didn’t see any pretend Canes (i.e. let’s stomp the Louisville logo before the game even starts) Saturday night. The talent is returning and a storm is brewing.

    So please go enjoy a Gator blog and leave us “FANS” to enjoy our optimism.

  36. WOAH!

    Alot of jawing….

    Well AllCanes… I am a HUGE Gator supporter with a million Hurricane fans back home. So here is MY take on this entire post…

    First off all, I think someone peed in cat5’s Wheaties. Yikes…! As for all the running up the score talk, I don’t think it was the “Kicking the field goal” that chapped Shannon, I think it was more of the Shotgun, shots at the endzone, with all the starters in… I think thats what came off disrespectful.

    Secondly, what a racist comment by cat5… Drinking Shannon’s coolaid? I’m suprised allCanes even allowed that post to go up.

    Finally, as for the game, Florida was the better team Saturday night… Marve looked impressive, he has a strong arm, and his poise seemed to be above average for someone in his position… The Canes defense is going to be something special….

    I am just glad the streak is over, but thanks cat5, for keeping the UF FAN stereotype alive. Miami has been in a class of their own. 5 titles within a 19 year span, and all those kids they pumped into the NFL? I think Roscoe Parrish (who wasn’t even a first rounder, returned a SICK TD yesterday). Florida has wanted to get to Miami’ level of play. And as a fan, I have been envious of Miami’s success as a Gator and now that UF has put themself back in the national title picture over the past few years, I couldn’t be more excited.

    My suggestion is that allCanes just ban the bias and let these fans such as cat5 stick to their opinions…

    Good Luck allCanes, and all other Canes fans, your future looks bright… regardless of what my fellow Gators feel the need to say…

  37. So please go enjoy a Gator blog and leave us “FANS” to enjoy our optimism.

    You see, Cat5… I wasn’t the only one who thought you came off like a Gator.

    Secondly, what a racist comment by cat5… Drinking Shannon’s coolaid? I’m suprised allCanes even allowed that post to go up.

    That’s not a racist comment. It’s a reference to cult leader Jim Jones and the Jonestown Massacre where almost 1,000 followers died drinking Kool-Aid spiked with cynanide, as part of a mass suicide/murder.

    If an overzealous fan believes in their coach more than the average fan, they’re said to be drinking the coach’s Kool-Aid. In no way was that a racist comment. C’mon now.

    My suggestion is that allCanes just ban the bias and let these fans such as cat5 stick to their opinions…

    There is no biad. Cat5 screwed up his post and it didn’t go live. ban no one around here. It’s an open forum… for now.

  38. I dunno, Adam…

    The Gate defenders hand wasn’t inside the collar of the jersey or the pads from what I saw…

    Send a clip to AllCanes to post and we’ll all analyze it…

    How about that?

  39. One last thing and I ‘ll let this rest…

    Miami started 13 Seniors and Juniors, 4 Seniors on Defense and 8 of their 22 starters were Seniors…

    Gates started 12 Sophmores, ZERO seniors on defense and 2 of their 22 starters were Seniors…

    Which team was exactly the younger on on the field last Saturday?

    Looks like the Gates to me…

    Just another reason why I think that all this positive spin is kinda a smoke and mirrors wishful thinking that we’re turning the corner…

    Understandably, I’m not real popular right now here at this board…

    But I’m speaking the truth and laying down facts…

    We’re alot further away than Randy, the media, AC and ourselves would have like to have thought…

    JMHO…

  40. The Gate defenders hand wasn’t inside the collar of the jersey or the pads from what I saw…

    One hand looked in and the other on the shoulder.

    There were also some missed holds, especially on McCarthy and Grant during the Harvin score.

    A lot of talk yesterday about ‘the catch’ and folks busting out rule books to define the catch.

    The rule “Catch, Interception, Recovery” = Article 7.2 states, “Loss of ball simultaneously to returning to the ground is not a catch, interception or recovery.”

    The call on the field was incomplete. The rule book explains it was incomplete, as Moore left the ground and as soon as he came back down, the ball popped out. (Different from the ground causing a fumble.)

    Furthermore, you don’t OVERTURN the call on the field in that situation. It was a hose job and gave Florida a 16-3 lead and momentum midway though the 4th.

    Which team was exactly the younger on on the field last Saturday?

    Lame stat.

    Miami is younger, where it counts.

    A junior Heisman-winning QB versus a r-freshman and true freshman?

    A bunch of no-name freshman wideouts vs. a Heisman candidate and more experienced wideouts?

    Defensively, you can call it a wash if you want – but offensively, Florida was much better and more experienced where it counted — which was the difference in the game.

    You can’t compare a loaded offense with a bunch of kids who were playing high school ball last year. On offense, it’s all about timing and repitition. Tebow and his wideouts have been working together going on three years now.

    Three years ago, Marve was in 11th grade while Harris and his true frosh buddies were starting their sophomore years in high school.

  41. Touche, AC. I can certainly agree with all of that. Just playing a little Devil’s Advocate.

    In the end, I like what I saw except for the lack of adjustment and attacking perceived UF Secondary weakness on offense. Which are coaching issues over personel. Again, I’m just not so sure as the rest of you that we’re turning the corner just yet.

    There is still alot of growing pains ahead this season, IMO.

    A decisive road win in another hostile environment next weekend would probably do alot to change my mind.

  42. Well, I guess you couldn’t let it go after all, eh cat5??

    You must have a lot of time on your hands for such lengthy and redundant posts. NASA lay off some custodial staff again?

    And as far as your claims of UM pedigree,,,,,,, maybe you do and maybe you don’t. No one in here will ever know,,, pretty sure that no one really cares. It is easy enough to claim to be whatever you want in this environment.

    I myself am but a semi-retired, multi-millionaire who, while not claiming to be the Einstein of the keyboard, does own half the property that surrounds the University. Yeah,,, that’s the ticket. Pardon me,,, but my wife,,, Morgan Fairchild and I are headed off to our chambers for a much needed respite from all this blither.

    Hey,,, this is easier than I thought!!!

    Seriously though,,, I can actually see the Cane FAN in you, so I will put down my sardonic wit. Peace,,, if you want to slam me back,,,, I probably have it coming to me. So I won’t perpetuate anything beyond that.

    I was in ALLCanes last year before a game, and it was pretty packed. The staff, while not overly courteous, was slammed so I attributed it to that. In fact,,, I think every time I have ever been in there, the place was packed. Thus I have no benchmark to measure against. I do know of 305’s devotion to their cause and the way I have been treated anytime I ever placed an order to be delivered to me up here. At that was ALWAYS with courtesy and patience.

    Annnnnyhow,,, I am more than willing to put this gaytor game in the books and leave it alone.

    As someone mentioned earlier,,,, this was a measuring stick game that we measured up pretty well in. Hopefully, we will see continued improvement a week from Saturday and for the rest of the season.

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