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.
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.
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.
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.
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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...
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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...
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.