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ACROSS-THE-BOARD IMPROVEMENT UNDENIABLE FOR MIAMI HURRICANES DESPITE LATE SEASON SKID

Posted on by Chris Bello

The constant re-litigating of the winning-cures-all-while-losing-exposes-warts sentiment rolls on as Miami faithful continue flailing in their efforts to live through yet another rebuilding season.

For anyone still paying attention and looking for a logic-driven conversation—opposed to the barrage of emotion-fueled rants that follow every loss—supporters have to accept and deal with what is, instead of constantly trying to sell what they believe things should look like.

The Hurricanes dropped their third game in a row this past weekend, on Senior Day in the home finale. After a hot 4-0 start, “The U” has now gone 2-4 since—for reasons we’ll soon delve into.

Miami wound up hanging tough all afternoon in a back-and-forth, 38-31 battle against No. 10 Louisville; one that will send the Cardinals to their first-ever ACC Championship game, while dropping the Canes to 6-5 on the season.

This loss comes on the heels of Miami falling late to No 4 Florida State on the road last week, with Emory Williams making his first-ever road start. In an always-hostile road environment for the Hurricanes the true freshman hung tough, before breaking his arm diving to convert a fourth down in the game’s final minutes, trailing 27-20.

The once-great, since-maligned, recently-benched Tyler Van Dyke stepped in to try and lead Miami to glory in Tallahassee, but after two quick first downs it was a 4th-and-10 situation where the benched starting quarterback was picked off after heaving it into coverage and the Hurricanes’ upset bid fell short.

REBUILDING HICCUPS AND LEARNING CURVES

Accepting the sentiment that moral victories aren’t celebratory, close losses at least have to be acknowledged as part of the grand scheme, overall bigger picture and building blocks for programs in rebuild-mode.

The late, great Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden left us with a slew of feel-good quotes; none more important than the sentiment that, “First you lose big, then you lose close, then you win close—and finally you win big.”

While this dated, somewhat cliché saying understandably brings zero solace in the midst of a three-game losing streak—Miami is undoubtedly in the losing-close-winning-some-close-ones year two, after Mario Cristobal had to strip this thing down to the studs year one—as there was more than surface damage going on with the program he inherited.

The concept of “learning how to win” might sound a bit trite, but when you observe some of the mistakes Miami has made and struggles this program’s had over the past couple of seasons, it more than adds up.

Take unranked Florida State squad last fall—sitting at 5-3 in year three under head coach Mike Norvell and rolling into HardRock early November—laying a 45-3 pasting on Cristobal’s year-one program, while the Hurricanes were at 4-5 with an injured Van Dyke; this beating coming just weeks after embarrassing home losses to Middle Tennessee State and Duke.

Two weeks after Florida State ate Miami’s lunch, the Canes strolled into Death Valley and caught a 40-10 beatdown from a Clemson squad—who like the Noles, went on to field a similar-looking team in 2023 compared to their 2022 versions—same quarterbacks under center, key contributors returning and what not.

Miami absorbed back-to-back losses before taking on Clemson in October; the infamous non-kneel against Georgia Tech, followed by a turnover-defined disaster at North Carolina—where Van Dyke and the Canes gave it away four times while the Tar Heels protected the football in that 41-31 road loss for UM.

Van Dyke pulled up limp for Clemson, Williams got the start and the Canes went on to tame the Tigers in double overtime, 28-20—and eight-point win over a team that rolled them by more than four touchdowns less than a year prior.

The next big moment; the challenge of taking on a Playoffs-focused, fourth-ranked Florida State program—one who spent the past year living off the 42-point pasting they’d put on Miami—with sentiments it’d be worse this year, as the Noles rode a 15-game win-streak into this year’s showdown.

Williams was back in the saddle as coaches benched Van Dyke for a three-interception outing at North Carolina State a week prior—and the freshman kept Miami in the game all afternoon; an early 10-0 deficit turned into 10-10 at halftime—which realistically could’ve been more had ACC zebras not inexplicably whiffed on a non-safety call that would’ve made it 10-9 and Hurricanes’ ball with two minutes remaining.

Emory Williams cleaned up the turnovers for Miami, but relying on a true freshman quarterback had its limitations.

Florida State pushed a 13-10 Miami lead to a 27-13 advantage of their own—before Williams hooked up with Jacolby George on an 80-yard strike—making it a 27-20 ballgame and giving Doak Campbell Stadium it’s first real “oh shit” moment of the season as 8:20 remained.

Miami forced a punt and Williams got the ball at the 12-yard line with 4:20 remaining—scrambling for a first down on 4th-and-2—only to break his non-throwing left arm in the process. Van Dyke entered, threw for two first downs and got the Hurricanes to midfield—before a few quick incompletions set up a do-or-die 4th-and-10 ball that was picked off; the quarterback’s eleventh interception since the wheels fell off against Georgia Tech’s zone defense.

TVD PART 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

With Williams out for the season, Van Dyke was re-tossed the keys to the offense by default—looking for some of his old mojo with tenth-ranked Louisville headed south and playing for a spot in the ACC title game against Florida State, should they beat Miami.

The blow-for-blow effort ended in favor of the Cardinals, in a game where Van Dyke was turnover-less for the first time since a road win at Temple in late September.

The quarterback threw for 327 yards and a touchdown, while obviously very banged up and taking a beating all game—commentators reporting for the first time all year that Van Dyke has been dealing with Morel-Lavallée—a painful soft tissue injury commonly seen with high-speed traumas like car accidents.

Ouch.

Despite the obvious disappointment of back-t0-back losses and a 6-4 record—where recent Miami teams would’ve absolutely mailed it in—the Canes put up 486 yards to the Cards’ 470.

Louisville turned it over once, while Miami protected the all—and time of possession was roughly even, as were third down and fourth down percentages and penalties—until the final minutes, at least.

Miami went from a disciplined three flags totaling 20 yards on the day, to picking up 30 yards in penalties on back-to-back possessions where two Hurricanes lost their shit and did infinitely more damage than a fourth down timeout that the pundits won’t let rest.

With 1st-and-Goal on the four-yard line after a pass interference call, the Canes were setting up for 4th-and-Goal from the one-yard line—after a Mark Fletcher run netted a yard on first down and Van Dyke had two back-to-back incompletions.

After seeing Louisville’s personnel on fourth down, Miami called timeout—letting the offense talk over what they saw defensively and making sure they were good with the play call.

Van Dyke took the snap, looked left for Xavier Restrepo—who got jammed up on his route—forcing Van Dyke to go right for George, in man coverage. The pass to the right side of the field sailed high—while the receiver immediately reacted as if he was again held—which was the case five plays earlier, resulting in the penalty that put Miami on the four-yard line in the first place.

Louisville would’ve taken over on their three yard line with 1:29 on the clock—against a Miami defense that had technically sacked both Clemson and Florida State quarterbacks in similar moments, despite biased conference officials seeing it otherwise.

Tyler Van Dyke played a turnover-free game against Louisville, but 12 interceptions will define his 2023 season.

Instead, George chose this moment to get baited by a chatty defender—going hands-to-the-face and walking right into an unsportsmanlike conduct call that gave the Cardinals the ball on the 18-yard line and some game-changing breathing room.

Miami would stuff three runs and use their final two timeouts—getting the ball back at the :29 mark, instead of just over a minute if there were a third timeout to have used on third down—a situation made worse when Brashard Smith pulled a George on the punt return, costing the Canes another precious 15 yards.

The use of Miami’s first timeout prior to the 4th-and-Goal from the three-yard line became a topic of discussion after the game—especially after Cristobal didn’t respond favorably to the query in the post-game presser.

After Fletcher picked up a yard on first down, Van Dyke threw incomplete on second and third, setting up a one-play, game-defining conversion—which explained offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson and Miami wanting to go over the play call and assignment after seeing the defensive personnel Louisville trotted on to the field.

A fourth down timeout would be a logical play call under normal circumstances, but there’s nothing normal about The State of The U as decades of disaster roll on.

Instead, this proved to be the moment of the game the dejected segment of the fan base wants to hang everything on—a it fits the “clock management” agenda and gives them their manufactured reason to make anything and everything about their disdain for Cristobal.

Forget the incompletion itself, the no-call on potential pass interference or two huge unsportsmanlike conduct penalties completely flipping the field being a focal point and more-important topic of conversation—the seething portion of this fan base that will make everything about “coaching” will add this to their running list as they case-build against Cristobal game-by-game, drive-by-drive and play-by-play.

Those who have followed this thing for decades; all these knocks about being a garbage game day coach, as well as a next-level recruiter and stacker-of-talent—present day rants sound identical to the late 90’s knocks Butch Davis—banners flying over the Orange Bowl three games into year three, before a 1-2 start was fast 1-4, after losing the home banner-flying game against West Virginia and then getting destroyed 47-0 at No. 4 Florida State.

EVERYONE’S FAVORITE COACH RESIDES ELSEWHERE

Sticking with the running theme in these weekly recaps and the winning-cures-all-while-losing-exposes-warts narrative.

In this scenario, an attempt to villainize the coaching staff for using a timeout to go over the game’s most-important play thus far—a lose-lose outcome unless the Hurricanes scored, stopped the Cardinals in regulation and prevailed in overtime, as the win would’ve given everyone amnesia as to how Miami got it done—similar to the lack of nitpicking that occurred after overtime wins against Clemson and Virginia.

With another loss, the focus remains blaming the coaching staff at every turn as two decades of irrelevance and incompetence are immediately lumped onto the shoulders of every new staff, who is expected to deliver immediately—which also includes taking outlier situations and highlighting them for the sake of case-building.

Jeff Brohm and his year-one success at Louisville is one of many examples; the Cardinals going 10-1 with their first-year head coach—which leaves the jaded Miami fan pointing to the former Purdue coach’s success as a way to underscore their sentiment that Cristobal is a wrong-fit guy for Miami.

A year ago Lincoln Riley was the flavor of the year hire as the former Oklahoma head coach brought his own offense and his Heisman-worthy quarterback from Norman to Troy and Southern Cal hit the ground running with an 11-3 season for the Trojans.

Two losses to Utah were ignored in the storytelling, yet were the focal point in 2021 when Cristobal and his Ducks lost to the Utes in the regular season and Pac-12 Championship game—just like Riley would a year later—and the follow-up for USC was a 7-5 season, with a legit Heisman-winning quarterback under center in Caleb Williams; all blame shifting to recently-fired defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, who wasn’t the scapegoat last fall when the Trojans’ offense better-hummed with Biletnikoff winner Jordan Addison as a portal pick-up.

A year later—exit Riley, enter Brohm—the latest addition to the pedestal for the sake of stigmatizing Cristobal.

Of course the pro-Brohm debate will leave out the fact this year’s reshuffled, division-less ACC saw Louisville with a favorable schedule draw where there was no Florida State, Clemson or North Carolina on the schedule—who were No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 respectively in the conference preseason rankings.

ACC preseason No. 5 Louisville saw there highest-ranked conference foe in a road match-up against No. 4 North Carolina State, escaping Raleigh with a 13-10 victory—while preseason No. 6 Miami matched them statistically and took them to the wire.

As for the season’s lone loss; that came against No. 8 Pittsburgh, where the Panthers rolled the Cardinals, 38-17… but why let facts get in the way of one’s slanted argument?

Same to be said for cries that Miami was “undisciplined” after George and Smith had their individual meltdowns. The Hurricanes play a clean game all day long—never shooting themselves in the foot and finally winning the turnover battle—yet two receivers taking the bait and letting emotions get the better of them; it’s an indictment on the staff and somehow a lack of discipline across the board is the culprit?

Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis sustained a season-ending ankle injury during a first quarter run against North Alabama hours after Miami and Louisville were in the books—which not only diminishes the Noles chances at running the table—it could arguably impact both their regular season finale at Florida, as well as their shot at an ACC Championship.

Translation; Brohm and his Cardinals just caught another break in their quest for a conference title—but for the sake of the salty Canes fan looking to amplify the first-year head coach’s narrative, the Travis injury will barely be a footnote while creating another way to stack the deck against Cristobal.

WHEN THE LEGEND REPLACES REALITY

The anti-Cristobal fan also seems to love the Mario-handcuffs-his-coordinators narrative—something that started becoming a social media go-to after jaded Oregon fans played their we-never-wanted-him-anyways card when their former head coach returned to his alma mater; on the heels of Ducks fans citing facilities and a big time Nike contract as reasons Cristobal would never leave Eugene.

Of course this has never been proven, while articles after Miami’s rout of Texas A&M back in September speak to the contrary.

The Atlantic featured a blow-by-blow of the Canes’ final offensive series—specifically the sideline interaction on a 3rd-and-7 from the UM 36-yard line—with 2:37 left on the ticking clock in a game Miami led 41-33.

Jacolby George made some big time plays, but losing his cool after a turnover on downs against Louisville was disastrous.

If Cristobal were the micromanager and slow-playing head coach he’s being accused of, why didn’t Miami run the ball and force Texas A&M to take a timeout if not converting?

“I don’t think we can run the clock out,” Cristobal told Dawson. “Run the clock out?” Dawson replied. “I’m trying to end this motherf**ker right here. If they match up, we’re gonna throw the vertical.”

The article went on to say that Cristobal “loved what he heard”—as did the players—as Dawson huddled-up his offense. “We gotta go score again,” he told them. “We can’t put all the pressure on the field. We gotta help them out and give them a comfortable lead.”

Miami took the field, the offensive line gave protection, Van Dyke got back, George got open and a 64-yard touchdown strike was the end result—Miami 48, Texas A&M 33 with 2:37 remaining–Te’Cory Couch with the fourth down interception to seal the victory.

Proof that winning cures all?

Imagine for a moment George doesn’t haul in that pass—an incompletion stopping the clock, Miami now punting on 4th-and-7—allowing the know-it-all Cristobal hater to bitch incessantly how the Canes now should’ve run the ball, forcing the Aggies to burn one of their two remaining timeouts.

Texas A&M arguably would’ve gotten the ball back with good field position—two timeouts and two-and-a-half minutes remaining—trailing by eight, where a touchdown and two-point conversion tie things up 41-41.

TURNOVERS TRUMP COACHING IMPERFECTIONS

The exhaustive walk down early season memory lane was done to underscore the bigger picture for Miami as this program looked to take a step forward year two under Cristobal.

Anyone not willingly admitting the Hurricanes better look the part in 2023 than they did in 2022—you’re not to be taken seriously as you show your ass in this conversation.

Furthermore, constantly putting everything on coaching opposed to real-life circumstances is misguided and a sign of a fan who is probably catching way too much shit on Twitter from rivals fans, having run his mouth all off-season and overhyping what Miami was going to look like here in year two.

Pinning all of the blame on Van Dyke is unfair, but failing to weave him into the storyline where this season fell apart—that’s also completely disingenuous; especially if the weekly argument is that Cristobal is the lone culprit.

Did the second-year Miami head coach absolutely make the gaffe of a lifetime when not taking a knee against Georgia Tech? Absolutely. It was and ego-driven, amateur hour, machismo-fueled move that single-handedly cost the Hurricanes a game that was 20-17 in that moment—where the clock would’ve run out and the comeback would’ve been complete—and while it can’t directly be blamed for a loss at North Carolina the following week, at minimum it was an unnecessary distraction that hung over the program for weeks.

Still, putting the non-knee aside, Van Dyke’s inability to read a zone defense became an infinitely bigger problem—and this night was just the tip of the iceberg, as the meltdown would literally last for the next six games—including the ripple effect that saw him benched twice for a true freshman.

Three interceptions gifted to the Yellow Jackets—along with two fumbles—in a game Miami lost the turnover battle five to two; the Canes should’ve been kneeling up by at least three touchdowns—not three points.

A week later in Chapel Hill, the turnover battle was lost four to zero, as the Tar Heels protected the ball—Van Dyke credited with two interceptions, while fumbling a snap in the early third quarter of a 21-17 ball game where North Carolina had just retaken the lead.

The Canes defense would force a punt, which Van Dyke immediately gave back on a first down interception. Three plays later, the Tar Heels were in the end zone and the lead was now 28-17. Facing a crucial 3rd-and-7  on the next drive, Van Dyke took a sack and North Carolina put together a back-breaking nine play, 63-yard drive, going up 35-17.

Banged up and sidelined for Clemson a week later, Van Dyke yielded to Williams and Miami won the chess match—as well as the turnover battle, with one to the Tigers’ three—allowing for a 10-point fourth quarter rally that forced overtime, where defense prevailed in the second overtime and the Canes emerged victorious.

Kam Kinchens pick-six against Virginia is the only reason the turnover-prone, TVD-led Canes aren’t 0-5 since October.

Van Dyke was back against Virginia a week later and had it not been for Kam Kinchens with a pick-six, Miami would’ve officially lost the last five games Van Dyke started—Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina State and Louisville—as it was two interceptions given away to the Cavaliers and three the following week in a touchdown-less loss to the Wolfpack.

Seven attempts coming off the bench for Williams; Van Dyke coughed up his eleventh interception in five games—which saw a 15-to-5 turnover ratio for Miami over that stretch.

Can the triggered Cristobal critic turn the heat down for boil to simmer for a moment to at least acknowledge that a three-to-one turnover ratio average over a five-game stretch is an incomprehensible nightmare for a program who statistically had one of the best quarterbacks in the nation the first month of this season?

Who saw this collapse coming in the wake of Van Dyke throwing it all over the yard against Texas A&M—to the tune of 374 yards, five touchdowns and no turnovers?

IF IT AIN’T ONE THING, IT’S ANOTHER

The Hurricanes finally fielded their strongest overall offensive line starting line-up in decades, boasted four quality running backs in the stable and finally saw a trio of wide receivers turning the corner—Van Dyke was supposed to get that ball in the hands of playmakers and Miami was supposed to light up scoreboards this fall.

Sadly, it was too little too late by the time Van Dyke finally regained his composure against No. 10 Louisville—a respectable 327 yard, one touchdown outing that fell short. In a game where the quarterback was interception-less for the first time since a late September road trip to Temple—Miami’s inability to find the open tight end wound up being the difference in an even match-up.

Three big boys from Louisville were the difference in a seven-point game; the group combining for 112 yards and a touchdown on nine clutch haul-ins as Lance Guidry the Canes defense was on its heels all day.

The trio’s performance was impressive, but still couldn’t hold a candle to Clemson’s one-man wrecking crew Jake Briningstool, who had five monster grabs for 126 yards and two touchdowns in regulation against Miami—but remains a footnote on the season, as a monster takedown of Cade Klubnick in overtime by Corey Flagg will be the definitive moment of the game.

Why? Because Miami emerged victorious and winning cures all, while losing exposes all warts—another reason the Hurricanes need to get back to their championship-caliber ways.

Is Cristobal the guy that will lead “The U” back to glory? Better hope so, as a seventh head coach since 2006 will feel like yet another step back if the native son is unable to succeed at his alma mater.

Whether UM has or hasn’t found their answer with Cristobal, fact remains a two-year sampling after two decades of disappointment—it’s nowhere near enough.

Year three is where the magic usually begins to happen and year four should have Miami back in the national conversation.

Anything less than a 2025 contender—for $8,000,000 a year—all pitchforks out for Cristobal will be deserved and understood, but until then stop the case-building and suck it up, buttercup. “The U” didn’t go to shit overnight and won’t be rebuilt that way, either—no matter how much you want to take shots at the guy showing up daily actually working to right the ship.

Christian Bello has been covering University of Miami athletics since the mid-nineties. Getting his start with CanesTime, he eventually launched allCanesBlog—which led to a featured columnist stint with BleacherReport. He’s since rolled out the unfiltered, ItsAUThing.com where he’ll use his spare time to put decades of U-related knowledge to use for those who care to read. When he’s not writing about ‘The U’, Bello is a storyteller for some exciting brands and individuals—as well as a guitarist and songwriter for his Miami-bred band Company Jones, who released their debut album “The Glow” in 2021. Hit him on Twitter for all things U-related @ItsAUThingBLOG.

“THE LATE KICK” WITH BETTER THUMB ON PULSE OF MIAMI HURRICANES’ REBUILD THAN MOST

Posted on by Chris Bello
(The Late Kick with Josh Pate)

Josh Pate gets it… and I’m not just saying that because he dedicated an entire early episode of Late Kick to a comment I’d made on a Canes message board years back. I’m just a sucker for logic, reason, common sense, practicality and educated conversations driven by facts over feelings.

Tuning into these Monday morning breakdowns; it feels infinitely more-productive than the contingent of Miami’s fan base that heads over to WQAM 560—ready to pounce-on and dissect every word Mario Cristobal shares with Joe Rose, in the wake of another Hurricanes’ loss.

The obligatory weekly appearance by a head coach answering softball questions on the flagship station—fueled by coach-speak and back-to-the-grind soundbites—before heading over to Greentree to actually get back to said grind; what kernels of wisdom are people truly expecting from what’s intended to be nothing more than fluff?

Conversely, Pate’s latest six-minute segment—in the wake of an offensive-less 20-6 showing at North Carolina State— all killer and no filler as the on-the-ball host spits knowledge and avoids the type of hyperbole the knee-jerk fans pointlessly dissect with in the aftermath.

A true professional knows to avoid the tired, cliché ramblings about Miami’s staff getting out-coached, while demanding change at quarterback or other emotional, way-too-long, cold takes—rants rooted in authentic embarrassment that comes by way of unabashed fandom in this modern-day, all-encompassing, social media- and message board-driven vortex… which is a bigger societal issue to unpack at another time, but is a real trigger nonetheless.

The Late Kick’s platform is dedicated to an objective view of college football as a whole, with agenda-less, unbiased takes on match-ups, storylines and an in-progress season unfolding in real time—which isn’t something your average, everyday super-fan YouTuber is going to deliver from his orange and green man-cave—triggered after a loss as the trolls lay him out for predicting a Canes’ victory, resulting in a shoddy recap video driven by the visceral shame that comes from being an overly-dedicated fan, opposed to an unbiased observer talking shop.

DECADES OF IRRELEVANCE REPLACED DECADE OF DOMINANCE

The trajectory of the diehard Miami Hurricanes fan has been sheer misery over these past two decades—based on self-imposed expectations—and especially for those who lived through the rise-up moment of the ’80s, the rebuild in the late ’90s and what looked like an infallible dynasty in the early ’00s, which soon became a two-decade long drought.

Longtime supporters of “The U” grew up embracing Miami being the villain in the black hat—which was gratifying-as-all-hell watching this counterculture program not just dominate, but do so while turning the entire sport inside out—which is what’s makes the mocking, hate and rival laugher sting that much more after every new hiring, firing and rebuilding effort since the demise.

The only thing worse than being hated-on for once being dominant and great; constantly getting laughed at for becoming inconsistent and irrelevant.

It’s a sentiment that’s taken its toll over the years—resulting in false bravado and overconfidence with every new hire—which quickly results in a desire to burn-it-all-down a year or two in when the new regime hits a few speed bumps early in the rebuild process… which is also why the overemotional contingent of this fan base needs to find a way to self-regulate.

All good things take time and lest anyone expect another microwave dynasty, this is the wrong place and time as college football has become big business and cutthroat competition across the board for ultimate supremacy.

“Everyone that doesn’t properly study the history if these programs leaves themselves vulnerable to mis-defining, or ill-defining expectations—and that sets you up for failure and disappointment,” Pate shared on this latest Canes-themed episode of Late Kick, in regards to fans moving the goal post on Miami’s win total now at 6-3 with three to play—many now pushing back that 8-4 or 7-5 should be deemed progress in the wake of 5-7 last fall.

Pate went on to legitimately ask what business to fans have taking a program with one double-digit win season since 2004 and “just blindly expecting 10 wins to be the baseline” in this situation—rightfully calling the reaction and expectations “illogical”—because that’s precisely what today’s entitled fan behavior has become.

RINSE, LATHER, REPEAT—JADED FANS ALWAYS CLAMOR FOR CHANGE

It’s a point re-litigated here ad nauseam, but as the insanity reaches new levels—due to years of incompetence and irrelevance—and patience wears thinner and thinner, it will continue being brought up in some way, shape or form until is resonates with the masses.

Cristobal is Miami’s third head coach over a five-year span; one month from wrapping up year two after three short years after Manny Diaz assembled a 21-15 record—the former defensive coordinator taking over for Mark Richt, who was ready to hang it up after 15 long years at Georgia and the meat-grinder that is the SEC, but instead choosing to give his alma mater three years of his time—and $1,000,000 of his own money—to try his hand at a much-needed rebuild and infrastructure revamping.

That aforementioned 10-win season Pate referenced—Miami’s only double-digit win season since 11-2 in 2003—a fugazi of a 2017 campaign for the Hurricanes, who eked out miraculous early season wins which paved the way to two massive primetime night games against No. 13 Virginia Tech and No. 3 Notre Dame—before closing the season 1-3, struggling early before closing out Virginia, falling on the road to a four-win Pittsburgh squad, getting rolled by Clemson in Miami’s first-ever ACC Championship game and outlasted by Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl.

Mario Cristobal went 35-12 over four years at Oregon, where he won two Pac-12 titles, a Rose Bowl and had two double-digit win seasons.

Richt wound up going 8-9 overall after the Canes’ old school beatdown of the Irish—Cristobal eventually taking over a team that was 29-24 since final stretch of 2017 and through the Diaz era, which ended in 2021—roughly a 7-5 annual average over that span.

Need to run it back even further for some bonus context?

Miami’s record between that 2005 Peach Bowl debacle against LSU—a 40-3 ass-kicking that extended from the field to the tunnel post-game—the Hurricanes were 116-85 prior to the Cristobal era; an average of 7.25 wins per season and 5.31 annual losses over a 16-year span.

Miami’s current senior class were freshman in the COVID-defined 2020 season—one where Diaz’s roster got a quick boost after nabbing D’Eriq King from the transfer portal—replacing Jarren Williams, who famously missed curfew in 2019 prior to an embarrassing “home” loss to Florida International—on the hallowed grounds where the Orange Bowl once stood.

King’s run ended three games into the 2021 season, prematurely launching the Tyler Van Dyke era—which was relatively pressure-free for the redshirt freshman quarterback as expectations were in the tank after the 1-2 start—and quickly 2-4 after close losses to Virginia and North Carolina.

Van Dyke threw it all over the yard in wins over North Carolina State, Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech—before his first real career implosion in a road loss at Florida State—rebounding with wins over bad Virginia Tech and Duke teams for a 7-5 run that sent Diaz packing and welcomed Cristobal as next coach up.

Rhett Lashlee took his offense to Southern Methodist when getting his first head coaching opportunity, while Van Dyke was saddled with one season of Josh Gattis calling the shots in 2022 and was looking for a rebirth under Shannon Dawson—his third offensive coordinator in as many seasons—while his short-lived comeback has crashed and burned miserably over the past several weeks.

DREAM SEPTEMBER, NIGHTMARE OCTOBER, UNKNOWN NOVEMBER

Week Two of the 2023 season literally feels like a lifetime ago; a long-gone era where Van Dyke looked flawless, slinging it all around HardRock for 374 yards and five touchdowns against Texas A&M—sitting at 11 touchdowns and one interception four games into the season and statistically one of of the best quarterbacks in the game after one month of football.

Three games later—and sidelined for a win over Clemson—Van Dyke has since throw five touchdowns, ten interceptions and fumbled twice the past two outings.

The most-important position on the field—evidenced by a successful program that once owned the moniker “Quarterback U”, en route to four championships over a nine-year span, with four different gunslingers—where would this current team be if Van Dyke was merely playing pretty good and somewhat protecting the football, opposed to next-level awful and morphing into a world-class liability overnight?

We’re literally talking the difference between the reality of 6-3 and what could realistically be 8-1, or even undefeated right now.

Knowing the weakest link with this 2023 is literally tied to a quarterback who lost his mojo—one has to have bigger picture clarity and look past the numerical value of 6-3 with three games remaining—recalling that this team was absolutely passing the eye and smell text before the wheels completely fell off for a third-year starter being praised for making NFL-caliber throws and heady decisions just over a month ago.

The Hurricanes’ improvement at offensive line, running back and wide receiver had this offense humming out the gate under Dawson, while a feisty Lance Guidry-run defense was making a difference before Miami started massively losing the turnover battle weekly and a unit that was bending was now officially breaking.

This most-recent loss at North Carolina State; a microcosm of the entire second act this season in four quarters of football—ill-timed misfortune resulting in field goal attempts and points left on the field when Miami had been driving and was in position to find the end zone—as well as turnovers that gifted the Wolfpack points, while the Hurricanes’ defense stood strong on most drives and continued getting the ball back in Van Dyke’s hands.

Late third quarter, Miami had gone a methodical 72 yards on 12 plays—eating up 7:35 and getting to the 9:47 mark in the fourth—when the Hurricanes faced a 4th-and-Goal from the three-yard line, trailing 10-6.

Had Miami not missed a 45-yard field goal on the opening possession of the second half, a safe bet Cristobal and Dawson kick it again—as the goal was for the Hurricanes to finally get a momentum-shifting lead.

Instead, a battle of wills as Miami ran Mark Fletcher into the teeth of the line and the back was expectedly stuffed for no gain.

Manny Diaz went 21-15 over three years at Miami, including an 0-3 run against North Carolina and former boss Mack Brown.

While the focus was on the Canes going for it and not punching it in, the bigger issue was a non-threat, turnover-prone quarterback in the shotgun—everyone in Carter-Finley Stadium well-aware Van Dyke would handoff to Fletcher, as the odds of him rolling out to pass or run it himself were less than zero—which remains a philosophical issue for Cristobal and Dawson, leaving them deciding between a broken junior quarterback, a true freshman not quite ready to go, or an athletic, one-dimensional sophomore whose aerial attack leaves much to be desired.

The struggle is real, as all with ties to this program are painfully aware—but there has to be context within these three losses.

A flubbed kneel-down giving away the Georgia Tech game, while losing the turnover battle to North Carolina and North Carolina State—the Canes coughing it up eight times in those two contests—while the Tar Heels played clean and the Wolfpack had two turnovers.

They “why” in these losses couldn’t be more obvious, while the answer to solving the riddle remains murky—yet the second-year head coach and first-year coordinators remain the punching bags through this understandable, albeit misguided frustration.

CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS BUILT FROM THE GROUND UP

Fans love to point at successful programs that are riding high, while often ignoring the arduous path that a successful team and coaching staff took en route to newfound, dominant ways.

Case in point, Georgia didn’t wake up one day as college football’s newest powerhouse.

The Bulldogs benefitted from 15 years of Richt running a very solid program that won two SEC Championships and six division titles during his 145 -51 run—averaging out to 9.66 wins and 3.4 annually. He simply couldn’t get over the hump and spent a big chunk of his career dealing with Urban Meyer and Florida dominating the SEC East, while Nick Saban turned Alabama around and began owning the conference halfway through Richt’s tenure in Athens.

Kirby Smart was handed the keys in 2016—another sign of the University of Georgia’s commitment to building a winner, along with dumping over $200,000,000 into their football program as part of their “Do More” campaign, aimed at outspending the likes of Alabama as their desire was to dethrone and replace the Crimson Tide.

By year six, Smart finally had the Bulldogs’ first national championship since 1980… nabbing another year seven and looking for a three-peat here in year eight.

Southern Cal and the Lincoln Riley narrative of 2022 was understandably compared to Miami and Cristobal, as both were hired around the same time and rolled up their sleeves to rebuild once-proud, private school football programs on opposite costs—Cristobal with a focus on culture and rebuilding “The U” in the mold he once knew as a former player and national champion.

Conversely, Riley brought his high-flying offense in from a powerhouse Oklahoma program; one that Bob Stoops built over 18 seasons, where he won 11 conference championships and one national title—amassing a 191-48 record that averaged out at 10.6 wins a year and 2.6 annual losses—which Riley maintained for five years before bailing and chasing a huge payday and rebuilding effort in Troy.

The only “culture” Riley focused on what implementing his high-flying offense—a system where he calls his own plays, poached his own Heisman-caliber quarterback from the Sooners and reeled in the transfer portal’s top-dog, Biletnikoff-winning wideout—all of which helped the Trojans air-mailed their way to 11-3 in year one.

Fast-forward to the follow-up and the old adage that defense wins championships; it’s rearing its ugly head for USC as Riley’s squad got rolled by Notre Dame, lost its third game over the course of a year to tougher-built Utah and was outscored in a shootout with Washington—while almost losing in triple-overtime to Arizona in-between.

Now USC gets Oregon and UCLA down the stretch—with Riley and the Trojans legitimately staring down the barrel of 8-4 or 7-5 in year two—which would be major backsliding and reason for concern after a strong opening act last fall.

Still, no other comparison is better-suited to what Miami fans just witnessed these past three-plus seasons at Florida State regarding the trajectory of Mike Norvell and roller coaster ride Seminoles Nation has been on since bringing on the former Memphis head coach in 2020.

Norvell went 38-15 with the Tigers—handed the keys to a program future Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente built—before getting the nod at Florida State; a program that was rolling and hit a wall in 2017 when strong>Jimbo Fisher bailed out when Texas A&M backed-up the Brinks truck; leading to a failed two-year run with Willie Taggart, only to settle on Norvell when some bigger names didn’t want to take on the job in Tallahassee.

Sound familiar, Miami fans?

Norvell’s first year was nothing short of a complete disaster; a 3-6 run during the COVID-defined 2020 season—including a 52-10 loss to Diaz at Miami. By year two, it was 0-4 out the gate—including a home loss to Jacksonville State, on the game’s final play—while stumbling to 3-6 before a 5-4 Hurricanes’ squad rolled north and choked away a late lead in Tallahassee; a season that ended with a thud by way of a  road loss against rival Florida.

After two full seasons with the Seminoles, Norvell was 6-12 and any college football fan worth their message board weight saw Florida State faithful in full-blown meltdown-mode—doing that simpleton fan math and trying to figure out if and how FSU could even afford to buy Norvell out after paying Taggart eight figures worth of get-lost money.

It wasn’t a matter of “if” with Norvell those first two years; it was “when” as he was considered dead-man-walking in all Seminoles’ circles… until he wasn’t.

Somehow a No. 23-ranked recruiting class in 2021, No. 20 in 2022 and some moves made in the transfer portal—as well as the emergence of Jordan Travis at quarterback—and things finally got rolling for Norvell in year three and continue.

What a difference a confident and capable quarterback can make…

PATIENCE A VIRTUE FOR HATED RIVAL UP NORTH

A fast 4-0 start that was just as quickly 4-3 after Florida State lost to the only three ranked teams it faced in the 2022 season—N0. 22 Wake Forest, No. 14 North Carolina State and No. 4 Clemson—before bouncing back with wins over Georgia Tech, Miami, Syracuse, Louisiana and Florida.

Throw in a another fortunate bounce with big-named Oklahoma—despite the Sooners rolling into the post-season 6-6—and that eked-out victory in the Cheez-It Bowl had the Seminoles putting their stamp on a 10-3 season that ultimately set the tone for year four.

Since that mid-October loss to Clemson last fall, Florida State assembled a 15-game win-streak, is now 9-0 in and sits atop the ACC with a legit shot at the Playoffs this season—all while being led by the same head coach their fans wanted to run out of town two years ago, as well as a left-for-dead transfer quarterback who miraculously entered the Heisman conversation this fall.

Had Miami fans had their way, Butch Davis would’ve been canned in year three and not been around to assemble the most-loaded team in history.

None of this is any type of proclamation or guarantee that Cristobal will turn Miami into a championship contender, but 21 games into his tenure—it’s hardly enough of a sample-size to warrant any stick-a-fork-in-him, pull-the-plug chatter.

Especially in regards to the state of the program inherited, a broken culture needing to be stripped down the studs—fully rebuilt—and the fact that all three setbacks in 2023 have been mostly-tied to unprecedented quarterback regression, considering how good and successful Van Yips looked earlier this season.

Too much of the conversation around Cristobal still treats him like the former Florida International head coach of yesteryear, while leaving out a four-year stint under Saban at Alabama—where he earned Recruiter Of The Year honors in 2015—as well as what he pulled off at Oregon after replacing FSU-bound Taggart.

An impressive 35-12 run over four seasons, two Pac-12 championships, two double-digit win seasons, a Rose Bown win over Wisconsin and an upset over No. 3 Ohio State on the road in 2021—not to mention, recruiting like a beast and leaving the cupboard full in Eugene.

Lest not forget the last time Miami had an alpha dog head coach in this mold—who was also a tireless recruiter that was oft knocked for some game day blunders early in his career with the Hurricanes—fans always wanted to run him off, as well.

Butch Davis was lambasted from day one, up through an early year six loss at Washington—constant bearing the brunt of the blame for turning “champs into chumps” after a 1-2 start year three back in 1997, where a banner flew over the Orange Bowl before a loss to West Virginia and fans openly talked about his ousting.

That third-year Davis-led squad bottomed out with a 5-6 run that season and a 47-0 loss at Florida State, but the head coach continued recruiting like a beast, stockpiled talent, got Miami to 9-3 in 1998—including an upset of No. 2 UCLA a week after losing the Big East title at Syracuse, 66-13—before an improved 9-4 campaign in 1999, which featured some big-time moments (an upset over No. 9 Ohio State), a head-scratcher (blowing a 24-3 lead to East Carolina) and a few close-but-not-quite-there outings (No. 2 Penn State, No. 1 Florida State).

Still, the growth was obvious and the talent upgrade undeniable.

By year five in 2000, it was smooth sailing and an 11-1 run—including upsets of No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Virginia Tech, as well as a Sugar Bowl win over No. 7 Florida—which should’ve been an Orange Bowl match-up against No. 1 Oklahoma—but the glory eventually came in 2001 when the most-loaded roster in college football history rolled on to 12-0 and the Hurricanes’ fifth national championship… which never would’ve been the case if the savages had their way, running Davis off in year three.

In short, progress it taking place on a macro-level even if there are some micro-level setbacks that have ruined a handful of Saturdays this weekend—so buckle in for the bumpy ride and pray for smooth sailing over the next couple of seasons—as progress it taking place, even if it felt like one step forward and two steps back these past couple of weekends.

(Editor’s Note: Pate’s deep-dive into the history of “The U” and breaking down why Miami was hated in the ’80s and ’90s—a good use of one’s time—an informed outsider explaining what us veteran insiders and 305 natives lived through during that iconic era.)

Christian Bello has been covering University of Miami athletics since the mid-nineties. Getting his start with CanesTime, he eventually launched allCanesBlog—which led to a featured columnist stint withBleacherReport. He’s since rolled out the unfiltered, ItsAUThing.comwhere he’ll use his spare time to put decades of U-related knowledge to use for those who care to read. When he’s not writing about ‘The U’, Bello is a storyteller for some exciting brands and individuals—as well as a guitarist and songwriter for his Miami-bred band Company Jones, who released their debut album “The Glow” in 2021. Hit him on Twitter for all things U-related @ItsAUThingBLOG.

MIAMI HURRICANES DEMOLISH FLORIDA STATE IN QUEST TO AGAIN BE CONTENDERS

Posted on by Chris Bello


This one was over before it even started—a dream scenario-type evening for the Miami Hurricanes—who dismantled the Florida State Seminoles, 52-10 in primetime at HardRock last Saturday night. It was the biggest beating the Canes laid on the Noles since 1976 (47-0) and was the first time 50+ points were scored in the series. Definitely the kind of history one wants to be on in this storied rivalry.

On a grander scale, it was just the type of evening the doctor ordered in regards to the trajectory both programs are headed. Miami appears to be turning a corner year two in the Manny Diaz era—the adaption of the spread offense under first-year offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, as well as much-needed stability at quarterback with grad transfer D’Eriq King—the Hurricanes are college football’s most-invigorated bunch.

Meanwhile, the Seminoles continue a free fall into oblivion. A program that once was the beacon of head coaching stability with Bobby Bowden at the helm for decades, first-year head coach Mike Norvell is Florida State’s third different leader during Miami’s four-game win-streak in the series. Insult to injury came in the form of Norvell missing his first game in this rivalry due to COVID-19, laid up in Tallahassee while his team took a colossal beating.

Before this recent streak. the Canes had lost seven in a row in the series—and one One doesn’t have to look far in the rearview to drudge up some painful memories; especially at HardRock, where the Noles had won five in a row between 2008 and 2016. Visions of ones-that-got-away—local talent like Devonta Freeman and Dalvin Cook, playing for an in-state rival and making mincemeat of the Canes; at times felt like the bleeding would never stop—both on the field, a well as the recruiting trail.

The Hurricanes are thankfully getting back to keeping those next-level running backs at home, too—as the coming out party for both Don Chaney Jr. and Jaylan Knighton continues. Knighton, a former FSU commit flipped to UM after Chaney Jr. had committed, welcoming the competition—while Chaney Jr. is one of those throwback talents who was all about ‘The U’ from day one. Both freshmen hit the ground running this fall and are proving to be ideal compliments to the hard-nosed Cam’Ron Harris, who already matched last year’s five touchdowns three games into 2020.

Miami put up 517 yards against Florida State, going into cruise control-mode at the half, sitting on a 35-3 lead. The Noles finished with 330 total yards against a Hurricanes defense that held them in check all evening. The iconic Turnover Chain made three appearances, while players like Harris declined the Touchdown Rings after his two scores, giving them to his offensive linemen instead—the culture seemingly changing one play at time.

LONG-AWAITED CULTURE SHIFT FINALLY UNDERWAY

A small gesture, but one that certainly confirms a culture shift is underway at Miami and should have fans excited about the future. First-year football Chief of Staff, Ed Reed is also already having a cultural impact—as every facet of this program top to bottom will instantly be better by way of an all-time Miami great—and NFL Hall of Famer—so closely tied to UM’s day-to-day.

Miami moved up to No. 8 in both polls and will go into a bye week 3-0 before a road trip to take on No. 1 Clemson in Death Valley—again, in primetime. It’s the ultimate litmus test in a quirky season where the Canes and Tigers weren’t set to meet, until out-of-conference games got the boot in favor of a few more in-conference match-ups—and should be welcomed by all, as getting a crack at top programs is the only way to tell where one truly stands.

Critics continue asking if the Hurricanes are “back”—the annual premature build-up of Miami, only to tear the program down if or when it gets tagged in the mouth at some point this season. Understandable as it’s good business for the media to over-hype the polarizing program that is nationally loathed, but locally loved.

As the legend Jimmy Johnson stated after the Canes’ 10-0 start in 2017—Miami won’t be “back” until that sixth national championship is claimed—but on a weekend college football went so haywire for many, UM getting to 3-0 in dominating fashion over a bitter rival; it was a hell of a way to close out September.

Those paying attention saw No. 3 Oklahoma blow a 21-point third quarter lead against a Kansas State team who fell to Arkansas State in their opener—the unranked Wildcats tearing off 24 unanswered in the upset. Meanwhile, down in Baton Rouge, No. 6 LSU was the first SEC victim of Mike Leach and his Air Raid offense—the Bulldogs hanging 623 yards and 44 points on the defending champs.

There was also No. 8 Texas barely surviving a road test at Texas Tech—down 15 with 3:13 remaining, before tying things up and surviving in overtime, despite giving up 56 points in regulation.

Meanwhile, Miami continues shocking the nation with a best-case-scenario turnaround after a dismal 6-7 run last fall—on the heels of a 7-9 under Mark Richt, after his squad’s 10-0 start in 2017.

The hiring of Lashlee, the reeling-in of King—as well as poaching a crosstown kicker in FIU’s Jose Borregales—it gave Hurricanes supporters off-seasonhope, though it was somewhat tempered based on Miami’s over-hype the past 15 seasons. Even when everything looks like it’s lining up the correct way, all hell has had a way of breaking loose for UM—dating back to that late Fiesta Bowl flag in the wee hours of 2003.

FAST START DOESN’T ABSOLVE LAST YEAR’S FLOP

Just like the Hurricanes aren’t officially “back”, Diaz also isn’t yet out of the woods after a brutal inaugural season—one that won’t soon be forgotten after the year ended with a three-game losing streak to lowly FIU, Duke and Louisiana Tech, who shut the Canes out in a third-tier in the bowl game.

Toss in the fact Miami faithful have bought into fool’s gold the past decade, by way of wrong-fit head coaches, or seasons that started strong, but ended with a thud—it’s going to take more than wins over UAB, Louisville and a bad Florida State team to crown Diaz “the one”. Keeping this team level-headed after any modicum of prosperity; it was a killer in 2019, as well as recent years passed.

Again, that mortifying three-game losing streak last fall—it came on the heels of big wins over the Noles and Cardinals, when Miami got big-headed and dropped its guard. Learning from those mistakes, these Canes must be mentally prepped for the meat of the schedule with Clemson, Pittsburgh and Virginia on deck—some thorn-in-the-side ACC programs that have all caught Miami slipping.

The rout of Florida State was a definite step forward for Miami, but it also must be taken in context. The Seminoles aren’t a good football team—haven’t been in a few years now—and the Hurricanes are riding high due to a level of maturity and experience at quarterback that the program has been void of for almost two decades. Despite most knowing this to be the case, it hasn’t stopped a lot of premature and overconfident, “We want Clemson!” chatter as Miami rolls through a bye week.

In a season where the fifth-seeded Miami Heat defied bubble odds with a 12-3 playoff run that had them toppling #4 Indiana, #1 Milwaukee and #3 Boston, en route to the franchise’s first Finals appearance since 2014—it’d be foolish to not give the Canes a fighting chance against the Tigers. This 2020 sports calendar has been as quirky and unpredictable as any in recent memory—and where a neutral court and no fans put the Heat in a mano y mano competitive situation—Miami playing in a sparsely packed Death Valley is not the same as full-throttle Clemson.

Still, that is a far cry from a belief that the Hurricanes belong on the same player-to-player, competitive field as the Tigers, program-wise right now—and Miami fans failing to acknowledge this are setting themselves up for a lot of misguided frustration this season, as well as 2021 when King is (most-likely) gone and a fresh new, inexperienced face is under center.

Those needing proof, just look at the past decade-plus of Miami football and all the program’s false starts that supporters have over-bought into.

CANES LOOKED “BACK” IN RECENT YEARS, BUT WERE FAR OFF

The Canes landed on the right side of a season-opening shootout at No. 18 Florida State in 2009 and went from unranked to No. 9 in the country after taking out No. 14 Georgia Tech at home a week later. Cue the standard “we back” chatter going into No. 11 Virginia Tech, where Miami was slaughtered, 31-7. From there, eked out a one-point win over No. 8 Oklahoma in a bounce-back game—the Sooners without veteran starter Sam Bradford—and picked up wins over Florida A&M and Central Florida, before blowing an overtime loss to Clemson late October.

Miami then beat Wake Forest, Virginia, Duke and South Florida—but sandwiched between those, another loss to the Butch Davis-led Tar Heels for a 9-3 regular season that ended with a Citrus Bowl loss to Wisconsin. A year later, Randy Shannon stumbled to 7-5 in his fifth season as head coach and was fired weeks before the Canes got crushed in the Sun Bowl by Notre Dame.

In 2013—year three of the Al Golden era—Miami rolled out to a 7-0 start, hyped by a defensive-fueled win over a No. 12 Florida squad that went on to finish the season 4-8, with a bottom-out home loss to Georgia Southern. The Canes crept all the way up to No. 7 for a road showdown against No. 3 Florida State and left on the wrong end of a 41-14 beatdown.

An unranked Virginia Tech squad gave the No. 14 Hurricanes an even worse beating a week later—42-14—before Miami surrendered 18 unanswered in the final quarter at Duke the following week, knocking them out of the Top 25. Wins over Virginia and Pittsburgh followed, before getting embarrassed by homegrown Teddy Bridgewater and Louisville in the Citrus Bowl.

The 2017 season felt different talent-wise. Malik Rosier was a question mark at quarterback, but he managed to overachieve in what should’ve been a strong senior campaign from Brad Kaaya.

Coming into the new season fresh off the program’s first bowl win in a decade, a gutsy Miami squad finally broke that seven-game losing streak Florida State, with a last second win in Tallahassee. UM seemed to gain momentum each week in “Cardiac Canes” fashion—while late game heroics against Georgia Tech, Syracuse and North Carolina kept Miami’s dream season alive and an undefeated record resulted back-to-back November primetime showdowns at home.

No. 9 Miami pulled away late against No. 13 Virginia Tech, 28-10—setting up the perfect scenario with No. 3 Notre Dame looming. ESPN’s GameDay made for an electric atmosphere, the Irish were swamped early and the Canes experienced one of those rare perfect evenings where everything just works, in game-of-the-season, 41-8 rout.

Miami survived two 14-point deficits to Virginia the following week, before the offense was exposed by a four-win Pittsburgh team in the regular season finale. Clemson rolled big in the Canes’ first-ever ACC Championship Game appearance, 38-3—before Wisconsin out-gutted Miami in the Orange Bowl; an early 14-3 lead gone by half in a 34-24 loss and three-game losing streak that took all the piss out of that 10-0 start.

Three cautionary tale seasons in recent memory—yet few seem to have learned their lesson about what it takes for Miami to be back to true contender status.

TWO-DEEP STILL WAY OFF FROM TRUE CONTENDER STATUS

Even with a win over Clemson and a would-be, socially distanced miracle season—Miami still lacks a two-deep that could hang with the likes of bigs like Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia or Alabama—and is literally one or two injuries away from a fully derailed season. Contrast that to legit contenders who reload across the board the way the Canes used to in the dominant 80’s.

Come 2021, Miami is not only set to see King headed to the NFL—a slew of would-be seniors will most-likely forego their final year of eligibility to chase NFL paychecks.

Tight-end Brevin Jordan is playing his way into a first or second round pick, while there’s no reason for Harris to keep taking that uncompensated running back abuse. Those highly-touted, former 5-Star transfers from the Pac-12—Bubba Bolden and Jalean Phillips—are both also having the type of seasons that will send them packing a year early, while Temple transfer Quincy Roche is another who will probably decline the NCAA’s bonus year—content with a solid one-year showing at UM.

Longtime Canes like Jon Ford, Amari Carter, Zach McCloud and Mike Harley all graduate—not to mention other yet to be named, would-be seniors who follow current Canes’ culture by leaving prematurely; feeling they’re ready, despite experts and scouts telling them otherwise.

All the news isn’t bad, as the future is certainly bright for Miami—the 2020 class already yielding positive results by way of what Chaney Jr. and Knighton are showing in early season toughness and work ethics as true freshmen. Quarterback of the future Tyler Van Dyke was also part of this most-recent haul, as well as quality kids like Avantae Williams, Jalen Rivers, Elijah Roberts and Chantz Williams.

The drops and inconsistency at wide receiver, by anyone not named Dee Wiggins—Miami is prepping for guys like Michael Redding, Dazalin Worsham, Xavier Restrepo and late addition Keyshawn Smith to take over; all of which seem to have the tools and toughness needed at the position.

The Canes finally landed a their first 5-Star crown jewel type player since running back Duke Johnson in defensive tackle Leonard Taylor, of Palmetto—as well as American Heritage athlete James Williams. Miami currently has the ninth-ranked class—second best in the ACC—with 22 “hard commits” and that number can grow based on how the Hurricanes look against Clemson, as well as the rest of this season.

MAXIMIZE POTENTIAL DREAM SEASON; STAY LEVEL-HEADED

In a year when up is down, left is right and little adds up—the processing and summing up of these Hurricanes remains one more thing to try and make sense of. Who are these Hurricanes right now, what will they grow into this season—and how does one temper the excitement of this season, while properly assessing where the team will be year three in the Diaz era, without this season’s key components?

In most cases, the modus operandi would be to soak up 2020 for all it’s worth and to deal with next year, next year—but the Hurricanes’ experience is always a different animal in comparison to other more traditional programs. Miami’s rich championship history, coupled with a decade and an half of irrelevance—and the embarrassment associated with that level of failure—it’s the catalyst for overbuying into false starts over the years, instead of looking at things through a more logical and reasonable lens.

While Miami continues its preparation for Clemson and looks to shock the world once again—Hurricanes faithful might want to use that time wrapping their arms around what is, what could be and what lies ahead. A special year is underway, by way of a game-changing veteran quarterback and high-octane offense—which should have all Miami fans optimistic for all things 2020.

The trick lies in accepting this season at face value, while not prematurely getting caught up in the being “back” route—or fast-tracking the timeline regarding being a bonafide contender again.

Make 2020 all it can be, close strong recruiting-wise for 2021 and identify that next crop of team leaders ready to fill the void of the mature group that is captaining the ship this fall.

Chris Bello has been covering University of Miami athletics since the mid-nineties. Getting his start with CanesTime, he eventually launched allCanesBlog—which led to a featured columnist stint with BleacherReport. He’s since rolled out the unfiltered, ItsAUThing.com where he’ll use his spare time to put decades of U-related knowledge to use for those who care to read. When he’s not writing about ‘The U’, Bello earns a living helping icon Bill Murray build a lifestyle apparel brand. Hit him on Twitter for all things U-related @ItsAUThingBLOG.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL UPSETS & CHANGING OF GUARD MUST SERVE AS CAUTIONARY TALE

Posted on by Chris Bello

With Miami opening its season a week early, resulting in a bye for this official opening weekend for college football—one can only hope these kids witnessed what took place across the country and that head coach Manny Diaz will find a way to use it at a teachable moment for his players.

Week One had its share of drama, but no primer an example of what not to do than the debacle at Doak Campbell Stadium, as Florida State blew a 31-13 lead to Boise State—giving up 23 points unanswered, despite the advantage of the game being relocated from Jacksonville to Tallahassee and kickoff being moved from primetime to high-noon.

Even with the venue change and moved-up time, the underdog who traveled 2,300+ miles never flinched and found a way to outlast the home team; a national championship-caliber program that prides itself on better athletes and superior conditioning—which the Seminoles obviously thought was enough to carry them to victory. It wasn’t.

Miami and Florida also boast similar state pride; having dominated in an era where the Canes, Gators or Seminoles would wear visiting opponents down in the Sunshine State heat, taking over games in the fourth quarter—especially Miami, who’s “four fingers” tradition started by way of late-game domination and grinding out wins.

This is a pivotal time for these Florida programs who make up “The Big Three”—which Diaz is well aware of, growing up in Miami, watching the Canes in the Decade of Dominance era—as well as witnessing probation in the nineties, rebuilding for the early 2000’s and backsliding yet again, thanks to low-rent coaching hires and a decade-plus of football where the Miami’s former president didn’t care to put money towards athletics.

How Florida State’s Willie Taggart or Florida’s Dan Mullen choose to attack this program—and mythical Sunshine State air of superiority based on past success—is on the two of them. The concern here is Miami and wanting to make sure Diaz and staff can inject the Hurricanes’ rich history into the modern era, without allowing these kids to believe that growing up playing football in South Florida instantly makes them better than other players across the nation—to the point where they aren’t putting in the required work.

Yes, there is a competitive advantage growing up and playing in sweltering conditions—but as Florida State learned against Boise State—it still takes next-level effort and execution to finish the job. The era of opposing teams wilting in defense just by seeing a “U”, a spear or a script “Gators” on a helmet—long gone.

BRONCOS’ TAKEDOWN OF ILL-PREPARED SEMINOLES; EYE-OPENING

For those who chose to watch the Seminoles take on the Broncos—it was obviously a tale of two halves. Florida State jumped out to a 24-6 lead early in the second quarter. To that point; business as usual. An early Boise State fumble resulted in a 38-year Cam Akers touchdown run. On the ensuing possession, a 75-yard dump-off from James Blackman to Tamorrion Terry that went for the score.

“Speed Kills”—or so that looked to be the case early-on.

Boise State couldn’t find the end zone, twice setting for field goals—while a 10-play, 76-yard drive for Florida State showed that the Noles could drive methodically downfield, as well.

Blackman fumbled when sacked midway through the second quarter, leading to the Broncos’ first end-zone visit—but the Noles exploded again, Blackman hitting Terry again for 17 yards before finding Keyshawn Helton for a 58-yard touchdown to regain momentum. Boise State on the the board with another field goal, but down 31-19 at the half things weren’t looking good for the road dog.

(In our best ESPN 30-For-30 voice) “What if I were to tell you, Blackman’s touchdown pass to Helton with 4:07 remaining in the first half would be Florida State’s final score of the day….” — because that’s precisely how things played out. The Seminoles punted on six of eight second half possessions; fumbling once and turning it over on downs in the final two minutes.

Equally as bad; an opportunity to stop Boise State from taking the lead early in the fourth quarter, when a jarring hit popped the ball loose after George Holani picked up 12 yards and a first down on a pass from true freshman Hank Bachmeier—only to see undisciplined Seminoles’ defenders go full-blown Keystone Cops, falling over each other to half-recover, half-pick-it-up—while Broncos’ tight end Garrett Collingham went full fundamentals-mode, jumping on it and securing the ball.

Two plays later, Boise State punched it in and a would add a field goal on their next possession after a Seminoles’ three and out. Florida State got  the ball back with just over two minutes remaining—picking up eight yards on 4th-ad-4, only to have it called back for holding. On 4th-and-13, Blackman scrambled for nine yards, resulting in a turnover on downs and an upset in the books for the Broncos.

CANES VICTIMS OF THEIR OWN SLOP; GATORS BARELY SURVIVED

While we’re certainly harping on Florida State here, let’s be clear—Miami also fell victim to sloppy play last weekend against No. 8 Florida, blowing ample shots to win the game late. Just as the Noles pissed away a would-be first down on their final drive, the Hurricanes saw a fake field goal called back in the fourth quarter—which ultimately led to a missed field goal attempt after the drive stalled.

Miami got another crack after that, when Florida bone-headedly threw late and Feleipe Franks was intercepted by Romeo Finley—only to lose 30 yards in one tick off the clock thanks to an unsportsmanlike conduct call, followed by an illegal block on first down.

Lest the Gators ride high and mighty over their win against the Canes, a reminder that a squad that went 10-3 last year and was expected to do big things in 2019—starting with rolling unranked Miami. Instead, Florida looked beyond sloppy and pedestrian against a UM team with a r-freshman quarterback, a brand new offensive staff and a first-year head coach.

Florida could’ve put a short-term stranglehold on “The Big Three” with a dominating win over Miami—also having whipped Florida State last November, 41-14—but instead left Orlando with more question marks than answers; especially in regards to Franks, who regressed since closing strong in 2018, throwing two interceptions, fumbling once and wasting time mixing it up with the crowd instead of leading his teammates.

The old adage that the road to the national championship ran through the state of Florida—as the winner of Miami versus Florida State or Florida State versus Florida was oft in the driver’s seat for a spot in the title game throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s; that ship has sailed.

The Noles are the last to capture a championship; winning it all in 2013 thanks to a Heisman-worthy season from controversial quarterback Jameis Winston. Prior-to, the Noles hadn’t won it all this century, while the coach who brought them that forgotten promised land—Jimbo Fisher—bailed for College Station and a fat Texas A&M paycheck as things were bottoming-out in Tallahassee.

The Gators had a strong run with a Heisman-winning quarterback of their own, as Tim Tebow led them to the 2008 national championship—two years after Urban Meyer brought home a ring in his second season at the helm in Gainesville. Once things took a step back in the post-Tebow era, Meyer did his best Fred Sanford and leaned on some made-up health issues to walk his way out of the job.

Since then, not much to boast about as Mullen is the third hire in the post-Meyer era; Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain were a combined 50-33—each with a few ups, but more downs than expected; winning the SEC East three times in seven seasons, but never a conference title.

TWO TRUE POWERS; EVERYONE ELSE VULNERABLE IF THEY SLIP

College football has been turned on its collective ear over the past several seasons as there is more parity in today’s game than ever before. Alabama has been the king of that mountain for the past decade under Nick Saban—who’s brought five national championships to Tuscaloosa since 2009, while losing the title game twice in that span; both to Clemson—who is the newest national power, but only after it took Dabo Swinney a decade to go from upstart, to contender, to champion.

Georgia, Oklahoma and Ohio State all make up that next tier—knocking on the door, but struggling to kick it in; though Meyer got the Buckeyes there in 2014 for their first title in a dozen years since robbing Miami in the Tempe desert—but outside of that group, no one else has truly broken through consistently.

Even scarier; the amount of unthinkable upsets that are occurring annually. Back in 2007, Appalachian State did the unthinkable—going into The Big House and upsetting No. 5 Michigan, 34-32 in Ann Arbor. The game was talked about for years and became somewhat of a red flag warning for big time programs; a worst-case scenario type game that could happen to you if you weren’t prepared.

Fast-forward a decade and David versus Goliath-type match-ups like that became much more common place.

Two years back lowly Troy went into Baton Rouge and upset LSU; an SEC Power and perennial national title contender that is often one half of the game-of-the-year when playing division rival Alabama. A few years prior, Georgia Southern went into The Swamp and upended the Gators, 26-20 for Florida’s first-ever loss to an FSC program in the school’s history.

Last year; three notable upsets—Eastern Michigan taking down Purdue, BYU upsetting Wisconsin at Camp Randall and Old Dominion topping Virginia Tech in Norfolk.

Two weekends into 2019—Tennessee lost to Georgia State in Knoxville, Nevada knocked off Purdue and Wyoming upset Missouri; the Tigers expected to make a run in the SEC East as one of a few true threats to beat Georgia—doing so with former Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant, who had his shot late, but couldn’t overcome the 37-14 hole his defense put him in entering the fourth quarter.

There was also a close call in Ames as Iowa State—finally getting respect and it’s first-ever Top 25 preseason ranking under trendy, up-and-coming head coach Matt Campbell—needed three overtimes to survive Northern Iowa; member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, while the once-hot Kevin Sumlin saw his Arizona Wildcats came up a yard short (literally) at Hawaii last Saturday night.

There was also a mild upset when North Carolina—with Mack Brown back in charge—took down South Carolina in Charlotte. The Tar Heels were a 2-9 program in 2018, losing seven of their final eight, leading to the release of seventh-year head coach Larry Fedora. While the game was sloppy and UNC almost gave it away late to the Gamecocks, it should have Diaz and Miami on high alert that the Heels aren’t going to roll over next weekend.

North Carolina has always played Miami tough in Chapel Hill and with Brown injecting some life and passion into his UNC squad, further proof that there will be no conference gimmes this fall.

“THE BIG THREE” NEED TO TAKE INVENTORY WHEN REBUILDING

There’s no doubt it’s understandably hard for Miami, Florida and Florida State to accept their current places in the college football landscape—having all been on top in the past, while the state itself once represented championship football at it’s highest level; the three programs with a combined 11 national titles the past 37 seasons, having left a few championships on the field, as well.

That being said, a true assessment of where one’s at, as well as a a logical estimate of where there sport currently resides—and what it will take to be a contender again—are all critical if the Canes, Gators or Noles are going to take their programs next-level anytime soon.

Florida survived it’s opener against Miami, but has work to do—while the Canes, even in defeat, showed they’re not the same lifeless, underachieving program they were last season under Mark Richt.

As for Florida State, last year’s 5-7 run—the Noles’ first losing season since 1976— might just prove to the tip of a shit iceberg. Where Mullen and Diaz look to have their respective programs on comeback tracks, of sorts—Taggart won’t soon shake off a blown 18-point lead, a proud defense that surrender 621 yards, as well as a second half shutout for new offensive coordinator Kendal Bries; though to be FSU’s biggest off-season pick-up.

All in all, Week One for college football proved to be a good one to witness from the sidelines as there were enough cautionary tales to last any potential contender an entire season.

In short; buckle in tight as college football looks to be a bumpy ride for many this fall.


Chris Bello has been covering University of Miami athletics since the mid-nineties. Getting his start with CanesTime, he eventually launched allCanesBlog—which led to a featured columnist stint with BleacherReport. He’s since rolled out the unfiltered, ItsAUThing.com where he’ll use his spare time to put decades of U-related knowledge to use for those who care to read. When he’s not writing about ‘The U’, Bello earns a living helping icon Bill Murray build a lifestyle apparel brand. Hit him on Twitter for all things U-related @ItsAUThingBLOG.