Miami Hurricanes : The Latest At The U

The Miami Hurricanes are five days removed from a “road” win over the Florida Atlantic Owls and are three days away from a home showdown against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Canes are 2-0 on the season, but haven’t faced a true test yet. That all changes over the coming weeks and starts this Saturday.

Some the latest from “The U” this week as Miami preps for Nebraska:

No more prevalent storyline this week than the whole “ignore the noise” mantra bubbling over in the wake of the win at FAU Stadium. Fan-shot video (vertically, pathetically) has since surfaced of an interaction between defensive coach Mark D’Onofrio and someone in the crowd last Friday night.

As D’Onofrio began to engage in a let-me-do-my-job type response linebacker Raphael Kirby came to his aid, while linebacker Tyriq McCord boldly told said fan to, “Shut the f–k up”. From that point on, the Hurricanes’ defense came together, clamped down on the Owls, forced some turnovers and finally put the game out of reach.

On one hand, you have to respect the unity. Players sticking up for each other and coaches as of late, coming together, blocking out the critics and using adversity-fueled moments to their advantage.

Two weeks back it was a weather delay against Bethune-Cookman that jumpstarted the Canes. Days ago, a reported lighthearted nature while in a tight game followed by an altercation with a fan that provided some form of a spark.

“We have a very open team right now, very communicative and very trusting, so we were able to solve problems quickly,” head coach Al Golden told the Palm Beach Post, in reference to the fan interaction. “Even on the sideline, we were able to do that, which was awesome.”

Of course the end result and outscoring the Owls, 24-0 down the stretch helps the narrative. Had that incident taken place in a game Miami lost, the mere fact that players and coaches were engaging—and not necessarily ignoring-the-noise as they all preach from inside—this gets spun in a completely different manner.

As the year progresses, this will either prove to be a stepping-stone type of moment, or it will pinpoint the issue within this program—betting the right or wrong horse.

Golden’s approach that the players are buying into will either be pivotal in Miami righting the ship this season and turning a corner, or the 2015 season will go down in flames due to this blind belief.

At day’s end, all of the rah-rah and motivational tactics only goes so far. Yes, it’s great that the Canes have been building off of some backs-to-the-wall moments—but even that masks a bigger issue with sloppy play, lack of motivation and head-scratching slow starts.

Some huge football over the coming weeks for Miami—where it’s going to take a full four quarters of focus, as well as some well-thought out X’s and O’s to keep the W’s rolling in.

Regarding the aforementioned “huge football” on the horizon; that was in reference to showdowns against Florida State and Clemson and maybe even Virginia Tech or Duke. It wasn’t referring to this week’s foe; Nebraska.

Lots of talk this week regarding whether the Huskers offer up a “statement game” situation for Golden. Staying in line with the Miami Herald’s Manny Navarro; they don’t.

It’d be very easy to get caught up in the history and nostalgia surrounding Miami and Nebraska, but fact remains both of these programs have fallen on hard times and are not the powers they once were. This showdown is simply another game; though an obvious step up from scrimmages the past few weeks.

Save for a three-loss season last year, it’d been a slew of four-loss runs under former coach Bo Pellini. Proir to Pellini, Bill Callahan did four seasons in Lincoln and was a Goldenesque 27-22, with two losing seasons.

Frank Solich had some early success in the wake of taking over for the legendary Tom Osborne, but much like Miami and Larry Coker inheriting a solid program, saw things slipping after a few years. Solich and his Huskers were worked over by Coker in the 2001 national championship game 37-14, but went 7-7 and 9-3 the next two seasons, leading to his eventual firing.

The Canes and Huskers also share some disastrous baggage regarding athletic director as Shawn Eichorst did little for Miami in his short stint, before leaving for Nebraska and making few new friends in the process.

Pellini and Eichorst locked horns, while many are still scratching their heads over the off-season hiring of former NFL and Oregon State head coach Mike Riley; a seemingly strange fit for the Nebraska program.

Back to the original point; this is a “big” game by way of name and brand out out-of-conference opponent (as well as national exposure on ABC Sports)—but these aren’t your big brother’s Cornhuskers.

Miami and Nebraska are both middle-of-the-road, middle-of-their-conference type teams this season—each program in need of a win to keep things on track. This certainly isn’t a rush-the-field type of game for whoever wins. Sad, but true.

On the injury front, the Canes saw wide receiver Stacy Coley return to practice on Tuesday, though Braxton Berrios will remains sidelined. Miami is doing a swap at linebacker injury-wise as Juwon Young is coming back, while Darrion Owens was lost for the season due to a knee injury at Florida Atlantic.

For the Canes, the return of Coley is a big one as the junior looks to shake off last year’s sophomore slump. Berrios has been a part of this Miami offense, but not at the capacity of Coley—who had a brilliant freshman campaign and also plays a large special teams role.

At linebacker, the loss of Owens for the year is a rough one as the position is simply in need of bodies to rotate in and out. Golden has stated that McCord—who has played both linebacker and rush end for the Canes—will help compensate for the loss of Owens. Rush end Trent Harris can also see some time at linebacker due to Al-Quadin Muhammad being available and back from suspension.

Sounds like a makeshift way to deal with another loss; as well as a stark reminder that depth and talent simply aren’t where they need to be regarding the Canes’ front seven.

Matt Hayes of the Sporting News is another national writer boldly talking about Golden’s failures at Miami; breaking it down in this week’s “First-and-10” column. To Hayes’ credit, he’s quick to remind folks of what the fifth-year head coach inherited, but doesn’t hold back regarding where things stand at this point; especially talent-wise.

“The difference in talent between the last time they played in the (BCS) championship game (in 2002) and now is remarkable,” said one AFC scout told Hayes. “If you’re going to recruit in one area in the country, it would be Dade and Broward (counties). I don’t know how they’re not winning big.”

Hayes goes on to point out that this current team lacks the swagger and bravado of the bad boys 80’s and 90’s squads, as well as the quieter, talent-heavy teams in the early 00’s. He also knocks Miami for a close game with a Florida Atlantic team is should’ve pummeled, while making it clear there are no gimmies over the next six games.

Not that the fire needed any more fuel on it or the seat needed to get any hotter—but it did and it is.

Good piece by Matt Porter of the Palm Beach Post on Wednesday regarding the Canes’ third-down struggles versus going for it on fourth down, playing the odds in punting situations.

Grantland has touched on the phenomenon, as has HBO’s Real Sports—all centered around head coach Kevin Kelley at the Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas.

While many up-and-coming coaches have tried new twists and wrinkles in effort to pile up wins and make a name for themselves, Kelley has the stats to back up his practice and in time could change the way the game is played.

In this case, the stats don’t lie. Cal professor David Romer concluded that statistically-speaking, coaches shouldn’t punt when facing a 4th-and-4, or less. There are other facts to back up this sentiment and in the end, the biggest reason that punting is still an integral part of fourth-down decision-making; coaches are afraid to fail and pay the price.

Back to Miami, the Canes are an abysmal 6-of-24 on third downs after two games this season (against grossly inferior opponents), ranking 118th in the nation. The lone upside? UM leads the nation and is 5-for-5 on fourth down conversions.

Part of Golden’s strategy; a higher-percentage play on third down, bettering his team’s odds on fourth. Porter points this out while describing Miami’s new offensive philosophy of more shotgun and pistol under center, as well as the incorporation of more tight ends and h-backs into the play calling.

“Some teams will say it’s third-and-9, let’s try to take a shot downfield,” quarterback Brad Kaaya told Porter. “Or, it’s third-and-11-plus, throw a screen pass or something like that. For us, coach will say, ‘We have four downs here.’ If we know we have four downs, we call a play that’s high percentage, that’ll get us five or six yards and get us in fourth-and-manageable.

“We’re not going to worry about getting all seven yards. We’re going to call a play that gets us fourth-and-1, fourth-and-2, fourth-and-3. Then on fourth down, we’ll call a play that we know is our money play, our play that’s going to get us a first down.”

Some might see this as innovative, while others deem it desperate. For the Canes’ offense, it’s a few extra plays-per-game to manufacture yards and points.

In regards to the defense; potentially more pressure on a unit that doesn’t need it based on the current state of things.

Stay tuned for a Miami v. Nebraska full game preview and prediction later in the week.

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