Miami v. Wake Forest : The Preview

Another game and another week where the question remains; which Miami shows up?

Sitting at 5-2, just past the halfway mark, this season is already a success. The Hurricanes weathered the early storm, hung on against a few lesser foes and fell to two quality ACC opponents; Virginia Tech and most recently, Clemson.

Five games remain, with a slim shot at a BCS berth potentially in the cards. At best, a 10-2 regular season. Realistically, 9-3 looks like a logical conclusion regarding year three in the Randy Shannon era.

For all those balking at the premise of 9-3, remember where this program spent the past three seasons; somewhere between 7-6 and 5-7.

You might also want to remember how you originally predicted this season playing out. For many, 9-3 was a dream and 8-4 would’ve been considered a step forward – yet at 5-2, many folks are ready to write off 2009 and consider the season a failure. Typical Miami.

Should fans be miffed over the performance against Clemson? Absolutely. The majority of the game was a car crash. Jacory Harris was half awesome and half awful. The offensive line earned a big ol’ “fail”.

Defensively and special teams-wise, the Canes had their fair share of breakdowns. Coaching-wise, Shannon, Mark Whipple and John Lovett came across as playing not to lose, as opposed to having their squad performing like the No. 8 team in the land. All that said, last week is in the rearview.

When Miami fell to Virginia Tech earlier in the season, Harris received a text message from former Cane great Ken Dorsey. The former quarterback’s advice for the current quarterback? Simple, yet poignant; don’t let the Hokies beat you twice. Oklahoma was on the docket and it was imperative that Miami was ready for its next opponent, no longer dwelling on its last.

Wake Forest welcomes Miami on Saturday and the Demon Deacons are a shell of the team who won the ACC a few years back. Riley Skinner remains behind center, but gone are the supporting players who made head coach Jim Grobe look all world.

The Deacs stumble in 4-4, coming off back-to-back losses. Clemson schooled them 38-3 and last week, an embarrassing 13-10 loss to Navy; a squad that didn’t complete one pass in the contest.

On paper, a Miami win would be a safe bet. In reality, another week where a decent squad can step up and save their season with an upset win.

In reality, the Canes are as banged up as they have been all season and will again rely on unproven upperclassmen to carry the load.

For those keeping score, Miami now officially has eight players out for the year and six more which are sidelined against Wake. The biggest names on that list; Ray Ray Armstrong, Sean Spence, Javarris James and Eric Moncur. Losing Ryan Hill, Adewale Ojomo, Jordan Futch and JoJo Nicolas hurt, as well.

Miami is already underclassmen-heavy in 2009. Over fifty Canes are either freshmen or sophomores and while that bodes well for the future, it is a crushing blow this season with fourteen players sidelined tomorrow and beyond.

While the hard-headed fan pounds the table, screaming “suck it up” and “find a way”, the logical fan knows better. This team is still a year or two away and for all intents and purposes, the Canes are overachieving at 5-2 this year. Another loss (or two) would be understandable, but in the same breath, Miami could still win out if bodies heal and this team plays better football.

The key this week? Shannon’s ability to get Miami’s collective head out of the toilet after a heartbreaking loss. Rebounding from a 31-7 pounding at the hands of Virginia Tech? Chalk it up as a bad day out. A 40-37 OT loss to Clemson in a back and forth shootout? A completely different ball of wax.

Word out of Coral Gables is that a ‘focused’ Miami took the field all week. The standard soundbites came out of the usual suspects; guys like Jason Fox owning the loss and talking about the Canes rebounding. All of that may sell newspapers, but it doesn’t win ballgames.

The Canes’ defensive line needs to get after Skinner in the way they didn’t get after freshman Tigers quarterback Kyle Parker last week. Miami let Parker play like a Heisman-worty senior. Lovett must get aggressive defensively, rattling a veteran quarterback early and looking for turnovers.

Offensively, Miami is without James, but Graig Cooper and Mike James must be ready to go. Take the pressure off Harris by implementing an effective ground game. Wake’s defense has proven suspect and Miami has to answer. Don’t be afraid of the deep ball. Rely on J-12 and let the sophomore quarterback get his mojo back against a squad known for giving up the big play.

The Deacs should be the right remedy for a Canes win… but only if this squad is mentally ready to play.

Even with the injuries, it’s hard to argue against Miami this week. On paper, Wake is the second to last easiest opponent the Canes face from this point on (Duke earns the top spot, visiting Land Shark on 11/21).

The Call: Miami 34, Wake Forest 20

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