Miami Hurricanes 2010 Season Preview

It’s here. Kickoff is this Thursday. All the chatter — the message boards rants, pre-season rags, over the top radio shows and TV talking heads — all that information overload has simply been filler. The main course is finally here.

Amazing how much more difficult the off-seasons are these days. You think it’d be easier with all the non-stop, around the clock coverage, but it’s worse. Used to be you could almost train yourself to ‘forget’ about football during those dog days of summer. Hardly the case today, thanks to the Internet, handheld mobile devices, ESPN programming running non-stop and various websites devoted to both specific teams and the game itself.

The end of August is here and with FAMU on deck this week, as a fan you feel like you’ve already endured a full season.

Expectations are all over the map with the 2010 Miami Hurricanes. Ranked has high as #4 in one poll and #20 in another, the majority have UM ranked somewhere in between.

Either way, the preseason polls and throwing-darts-at-a-dartboard predictions all go out the window once that ball is kicked off Thursday night … which is why we’re not really doing a “preview” here, per se. You can talk talent, depth and coaching, but entering this fall the million dollar question remains; is this Miami’s year?

Anyone who’s followed this crazy game of college football over time has learned that best teams don’t always win and the worst ones don’t always lose. Championship teams are generally talented and well-coached, but an element of luck always plays into the equation, as well.

Simply put, are the football gods with you or against you?

Solid as Alabama was last season, if not for the outstretched hand of Terrence Cody, blocking a potentially game-winning field goal attempt against lowly Tennessee, the Tide aren’t in the championship game. Same to be said for the counterparts in Texas, who needed Instant Replay and some clock scrutiny to earn a shot at their own destiny-changing kick, punching their ticket to Pasadena.

Same with Miami in 2001 (Miracle at Chestnut Hill), Ohio State in 2002 (fourth down touchdown against Purdue) or even Oklahoma in 2003 (getting an undeserved title shot after getting throttled 35-7 in the Big XII title game). Every year you look back at those two title game teams and see a handful of moments or plays that could’ve gone either way, inevitably changing the landscape of the season and many teams’ collective fates.

Put your own team under a microscope annually and you’ll see many close games with either / or type moments. Miami could’ve just as easily won games against Clemson and North Carolina last year as it could’ve lost to Florida State, Oklahoma or Wake Forest. Is it one team stepping up, another cowering or are they simply getting some lucky breaks and bounces en route to determining their history that season?

Make no mistake, expectations are high in Coral Gables this off-season and they damn well should be. Randy Shannon inherited a joke of a program three seasons ago and as much as many wanted to deny it then, all the talk of it being a four to five year rebuild looks pretty spot on these days. Depth and talent have returned, but so has experience. The much-heralded recruiting class of 2008 are no longer newbies. They enter this year as juniors and it’s time to elevate their game to that next level.

Each fan views this program from a different perspective, so there will always be disagreement regarding expectations. Based on my vantage point, I see improvement and a commitment to getting things right. Doing so requires patience. There is no short cut to getting back on top — not if you want to do it the right way. Rebuilding takes time. Depth and talent need to return. Young, inexperienced players need to grow into seasoned veterans, none of which happens in a few years, let alone overnight.

Brian “The Beast” London had CaneSport’s Matt Shodell on allCanes Radio last week and I thought it was one of the most telling, candid interviews (regarding the state of the program) that I had heard in forever. Shodell has covered UM for what seems like a lifetime (on and off between ’93 and ’10), experiencing all the highs and lows and has his thumb on the pulse regarding where things are, were and where they’re headed.

If you missed the interview, check it out because it can’t help bring some much-needed perspective – especially regarding recruiting and getting away from that UM blueprint (re: finding quality two and three stars instead of being enamored with the highly-touted four and five stars who might not be Miami guys and don’t fit the system.)

A few years of straying from what worked and not sticking to that proven recipe? That’s when a 7-6 season, four-game losing streak, on the field brawl and head coach firing becomes the new norm – all less than half a decade removed from a 24-0 start, a championship and back-to-back title games.

Anti-Shannon folk are quick to play the “stop blaming Larry” card, but there’s a different between attributing blame and logically explaining a situation.

If those same fans were accepting of how far the program slipped and were willing to give Shannon ample time to fix things, there would be no argument. Puff your chest out, build emotionally-fueled arguments, talk about ‘swagger’ and demand that things are fixed within a year (“Look what Nick Saban did at Alabama!”) and you’re going to get the Coker-heavy facts and stats ad nauseam.

For those refusing to acknowledge the forward steps taken these past few years, your head is simply in the sand. A once-dominant program earlier this decade was reduced to a shell of itself five seasons later and after a few down years picking up the pieces, is finally ready to make a run again. The turnaround didn’t happen by accident and if you’re not giving Shannon some credit, you’re simply biased. Even the biggest anti-Randy type out there has to admit that there has been improvement and steps forward each of the past three seasons.

Turn on your TV. Pick up a preseason rag. Miami has worked it’s way back in the mix. Some of you have short memories and have forgotten that ESPN’s preview shows virtually ignored the Canes between late 2006 and summer 2009. Meaningless as it may be, when you see the question posed on the bottom of the screen “Will Miami compete for the national championship this season?” it should serve as a reminder that things are pointed in the right direction.

People are talking about The U again, in a positive light – both on and off the field. Analysts nationwide are at least acknowledging the talent level, the depth and the job Shannon and staff have done to make the Canes a contender again and while their opinion means little in the grand scheme of things, they’re paid to talk football and UM a top many lists right now … which is better than being ignored or criticized.

While Miami looks ready to make a run, the pieces haven’t all completely fallen into place. (Hence the four- to five-year rebuild projection.) This is a young and inexperienced (albeit, talented) offensive line. There is much unproven talent at running back. There are still some glaring holes at linebacker and in the secondary. The depth is returning, but hasn’t fully returned.

If the Canes can stay injury-free, the sky is the limit. Lose a key player here or there and that becomes the difference in an overtime loss, a special teams breakdown or inability to spark a late-game winning rally.

It’s also the reason “ACC champs or bust” mentality needs to be checked at the door. Miami needs to show improvement this year and if healthy, needs to take another big step forward. Everyone will measure that in their own different way, but regardless it’s something that needs to be done as season’s end – not on a game-by-game basis.

Last year, 2-0 out the gate last year had many prematurely putting the Canes in the title hunt, after not even being ranked to start the season. A quick loss at Virginia Tech had everyone writing Miami off while an upset against Oklahoma had folks lukewarm on The U again.

Too much grief was given over an anybody-could’ve-won-it loss to Clemson, while Miami seeming got a pass for pulling out a win against a lesser Wake Forest team, with fans simply elated that the Canes “showed heart” in the comeback.

As for the loss to North Carolina, again too much was made about Shannon’s 0-3 record to Butch Davis instead of admitting that an injured Jacory Harris was something this team didn’t have the depth to absorb (which could again be the case this year).

Harris and the Canes torched a top-five Tar Heels defense for 435 yards last November. Of course that stat is meaningless when four of J12’s fifty attempts on the day fall into UNC hands. (Hopefully Mark Whipple learned how to change up his game plan with an injured quarterback. Less deep balls, por favor.)

Look back at 2009 and grade out this team based on what was accomplished versus where it started. Going 9-4 with a few signature wins on the heels of 7-6 was positive. Losing a second straight bowl game and dropping that shootout with Clemson (when riding a 5-1 record, ranked in the top ten and in the ACC hunt), big negatives that need to be corrected in 2010.

If you need further proof, just pop in a copy of last year’s 21-20 win over Oklahoma and follow it up with game footage from that 51-13 beat down in Norman back in 2007. Again, if you refuse to acknowledge the growth, you’re living in denial.

This year’s Hurricanes need to keep their focus and not get ahead of themselves – something they have since admitted doing last year. Two quick wins produced some faux swagger and looking back, these one-year-older Canes know they let a few get away in 2009. With many of their collegiate careers coming to an end soon, this season just got that much more meaningful. Learn from past mistakes and grow.

The schedule is again brutal and for all the flack the ACC received, the Coastal Division boasts five top 25 teams this year. Toss in road trips at Ohio State and Pittsburgh in weeks two and three and the paths to both Charlotte and Glendale are that much harder to predict.

An ACC title isn’t the benchmark for this season, though if healthy, Miami does have the horses to get there. Regarding the national championship, way too premature to even talk about that right now. This team is still learning how to win and needs to prove that it can endure the pitfalls of an entire season before making post-season plans.

Even though they lacked the depth and talent, Miami at least found itself in the conference hunt at some point since joining the ACC, but the Canes haven’t had any legitimate title game talk since upsetting Virginia Tech in 2005 and climbing to No. 3 in the rankings. UM needs to worry about being in the top ten come November before even mentioning that next-level goal.

We’ll get into the meat of the schedule each week of the season, but looking at this twelve game gauntlet, a ten-win season should be very within reach – again, if key guys remain healthy and role players step up.

Ohio State and Pittsburgh are tough road games, but both are winnable. Clemson isn’t last year’s squad without C.J. Spiller. Florida State is breaking in a new coach and defensive coordinator. North Carolina is in some hot water and could be without some big time players on the defensive side of the ball. Georgia Tech has offensive players to replace. Virginia Tech has some defensive ones.

Point being, everybody has some holes somewhere. Every team on Miami’s schedule is in some way fallible. What it comes down to is who shows up on any given Saturday (or Thursday)? Which team executes and who gets those little breaks along the way that determine a season?

You’d think with the rash of misfortune the Canes have had the past few years that they’re due for things to go their way. Guys staying healthy. Clutch plays when you need them most. The misfortune of others. That said, there’s no rhyme or reason to this game and things will play out as they play out.

Either way, it finally starts this Thursday and we’ll all be tuned in to see how the season begins to unfold.

Go Canes.

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