Tag: manny diaz

GEORGIA BULLDOGS’ $200M INVESTMENT; A NEW REALITY ‘THE U’ CAN’T IGNORE

Posted on by Chris Bello


“The Miami Hurricanes should be the gold standard of college football, not anyone else.”

That’s not a quote from the early 2000’s when ‘The U’ in the midst of a 34-game win streak, four consecutive BCS appearances, two championship game berths and a national title. Nor was the statement uttered by some NFL general manager around the same era, when the University of Miami had 19 first round draft picks over a four-year span, taking over and dominating the league—to the point ‘NFL U’ was a commonplace moniker.

Nope, these were the ramblings of a random poster on a U-themed fan site on a Tuesday afternoon in early October of this year, days after the Hurricanes slipped to 2-3 on the season after a loss to Virginia Tech; the heat getting turned up by a segment of the fan base that expected 15 years of sub-par play corrected five games in, by Miami’s fifth head coach in 14 seasons.

The Canes got a home win a few days later over Coastal Division favorite Virginia; but the difference between 2-3 and .500 football isn’t going to quiet the frustrated critics.

The rest of this particular message board thread—40 pages deep, over a four-day span—hammers first-year head coach Manny Diaz for being in over his head, getting out-coached on a weekly basis, calling for assistants to be fired five games in, while fantasizing about a world where the keys were never turned over to the former defensive coordinator late last December when Mark Richt suddenly called it a career—a wish-list of other big-named, fairy-tale options always rattled off as the disgruntled ones stew.

Logic and reason seemed to have checked out a while ago with these particular “supporters”—zero consideration given to the fact that Miami has been in a 15-year lull entering this season; evidenced by a 35-3 bowl game beat-down in Richt’s final appearance, a 97-70 record dating back to a 40-3 trouncing by LSU in the 2005 Peach Bowl and a 7-9 run since a loss at Pittsburgh in 2017 took all the wind out of a 10-0 start.

Will Diaz succeed or fail as the University of Miami’s 25th head coach? Way too soon to tell. Even the iconic Nick Saban went 7-6 out the gate at Alabama in 2007, with a home loss to Louisiana-Monroe—despite winning a national championship at LSU four years prior. Regardless of opinion, some truth.

Diaz seems as on-brand as anyone that’s ever coached this program—understanding what made Miami great in the past—while hard-wired to try and get to the root of the problem; changing, tweaking and fixing in real time, opposed to letting things play out and reevaluating down the road.

His first move last January; firing the entire offensive staff for underperforming—sparing no one—wanting that side of the ball to be as aggressive and game-dictating as the defense he was the architect of the past three seasons. As for that defense which has dropped off in 2019, while last year’s talent can’t be replaced this fall—now four losses in, Diaz has gotten more hands-on with the defensive coaching as he’s seen enough to know something has gone awry.

“There is a culture that was created here back in 2016 that for some reason we just have not been able to recreate,” Diaz shared the Monday morning after the loss to the Hokies. “It is not a coaching issue. It’s not a scheme issue. This has nothing to do with anyone on our defensive staff. This is simply just there is a lack of connection between the players on our defensive side of the ball.

“We don’t look like we trust each other. We don’t play with the techniques that were coached during the week, and ultimately they need the utmost accountability. That comes from the head coach, which comes from me. That process began last night. We sat and we watched every snap of the game as an entire defense. We talked through all of our mistakes. We owned all of our mistakes collectively as a group and that will be what continues now going forward. We need to get our defense playing like the Miami Hurricanes again because it didn’t look like that on Saturday.

“I’m jumping right in the middle of it. I’m going to make sure we’re all accountable to just do what we’re supposed to be.”

Halfway through a new season—and regime—Diaz is doing all he can right now, which fans must let play out; saving their evaluation for year’s end—and then another a year from now, looking to see that year-one to year-two improvement and how the Hurricanes look this time next fall.

Instead, a group of “fans” attempted to fly a pregame banner prior-to the Virginia game—a low-rent, pro sports fan-type move, thankfully thwarted due to bad weather—calling for Miami to fire athletic director Blake James and his deputy director Jennifer Strawley, while others continue encourage supporters to stop going to games, in some that’ll-show-em-we-mean-business type of protest, which is the crux of this piece.

EMOTION BESTING LOGIC—COMMON SENSE NOWHERE TO BE FOUND

The small-mindedness, entitlement and delusion on display; it’s hit a point where a long overdue reality check is needed. This ongoing approach where so many continue sharing their take on what they think this program should look like—taking out 15 years of embarrassment due to  irrelevance and a lack of consistency by way of coaching turnover; completely rooted in nostalgia and emotion, with zero attempt at any logic or reason.

A month ago ESPN’s Mark Schlabach penned a piece that should’ve been eye-opening and prompting more discussion amongst those who have the audacity to believe Hurricanes football should be the sport’s “gold standard”; “Inside Georgia’s $200 Million Quest To Take Down Alabama”.

Despite the fact the Bulldogs won 24 games over the past two years, played for two SEC Championships—winning one, gifting away another—as well as a national title game appearance; blowing a lead and falling in overtime, Georgia has taken on a “do more” attitude in regards to arming head coach Kirby Smart with everything he needs to gain a competitive against current king-of-the-hill, Saban and his dominant Crimson Tide.

“As Kirby has mentioned a number of times, the difference in a lot of these games is a matter of inches,” Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity shared with Schlabach. “With his goal of doing more, we’re trying to make up whatever that little difference could be.”

(Cue the anti-James rhetoric and rants that Miami should have an athletic director of McGarity’s caliber—while missing the irony that he has a monster budget, big alumni donations and he too hired a forty-something former defensive coordinator with zero head coaching experience, but that’s neither here nor there.)

That “little difference” McGarity speaks of, has resulted in the following for a Bulldogs program that hasn’t won a national championship over the past 39 seasons—and one that just shit the bed to unranked South Carolina at home last weekend; the annual Smart regular season flop against a double-digit underdog:

— $174,000,000 in facility upgrades over the past three years; including a new 165,000 square-foot facility (Butts-Meher Heritage Hall) that made up $80,000,000 of that spend—resulting in a bigger weight room, locker room offices and an improved sports medicine facility. Another $30,000,000 went towards a new 102,000 square-foot multi-use indoor practice facility.

— $63,000,000 went towards a renovation of Stanford Stadium; a revamped recruiting lounge, an enlarged scoreboard and other bells and whistles to dazzle potential Bulldogs on game-day, as well as recruiting trips to Athens where the Georgia has been stockpiling and poaching South Florida talent since the Richt era.

— On the recruiting front, Georgia now spends a cool $1,500,000 more annually than any other FBS program; over $7,000,000 over the past three years. This number now surpasses Alabama—second with a $5,600,000 annual spend, while Tennessee is third, dropping $5,000,000-per-year, yet little to show for it. (For context, the annual recruiting budget under Richt was just under $600,000; a $2,630,000 increase in 2018 for the Dawgs.)

— As for Smart and his staff; a combined annual salary of $13,000,000.

As astronomical and hard-to-fathom as all those numbers might be, the most-important information and footnote is yet to be mentioned—the fact that Georgia has raised over $121,000,000 in barely four years through The Magill Society, which “Serves as the leadership fundraising entity under The Georgia Bulldog Club. This organization is philanthropic in nature with its members invested in the success of Georgia Athletics.”

This group was formed in 2015 and “recognizes those that make commitments of $25,000 and above” over a five-year period. Over 1,100 new donors have joined this elite club over the past year. A minimum of $25,000 times 1,100 new members in 2018 equals at least $27,500,000 towards Bulldogs “athletics”—the majority of which will obviously be steered towards football, as Athens is the heart of SEC Country.

“That’s allowed us to basically pay for these facilities through our donations,” McGarity said of of the Magill Society. “We haven’t had to take on any long-term debt. Fortunately, we haven’t had to raise ticket prices or donation [requirements to buy tickets] to pay for these facilities. Right now the model we have is allowing us to keep ticket prices as low as we can. That’s been a key thing for these projects to move as quickly as they can. The donors have responded overwhelmingly to support what Kirby wants to do.”

Meanwhile, Miami fans just used GoFundMe to cover the cost of the aforementioned $495 banner intended to take a pre-game shit on the athletic department, believing that boycotting games in already a barely two-thirds full stadium will somehow “send a message”—while Georgia just signed up over a thousand new members ready and willing to pony up at least $25,000 towards their football program.

Stop the incessant bitching for a moment and let all that sink in—as well as questioning the overall sanity and entitlement of any Hurricanes football supporter believing Miami should be riding-high atop the sport, based on these financial facts.

All those years of getting into debates regarding support and fandom with alum of bigger state schools; “I’ll bet you didn’t even go to Miami, did you?’—this is where those arguments officially come to a head; the dollars and cents issue with the majority of a program’s fan base having not attended said university.

Alumni will break out that checkbook—not just for sports, but for the betterment of their beloved school. The affinity for their alma mater isn’t just relegated to on-the-field success—so when you’re talking about state schools with four- of five-times the undergraduates that Miami has and times that over a decade—it’s a huge numbers game, where UM is at a massive disadvantage.

MIAMI THRIVES—EXCEPT COLLEGE TOWN EXPERIENCE

The majority of Miami’s fans are individuals with nothing more than regional ties to a collegiate sports team who are along for the ride when the getting is good, but can easily pull back or bail out when things go south. Upon a crash and burn, or decade-long football program drought, interests and focus fast shift elsewhere, as a city like Miami—making it easy to check out during championship year droughts.

Take those larger state schools in smaller college towns, versus a private university in a suburb of a large, diverse metropolitan city—one with four professional sports franchises and an overflow of opportunities in regards to how one spends their entertainment dollar—and the the distance becomes even greater.

Athens, Tuscaloosa, Clemson, Baton Rouge, Columbus—full-fledged college sports towns. Miami is an events town; proven by the sparse crowds when mid-level conference teams come to town, opposed to the absolute raucous party environment—both on-campus and at Hard Rock—when No. 3 Notre Dame traveled south two years ago to take on an undefeated, seventh-ranked Hurricanes bunch.

Hell, even when Miami fielded its best team in program’s history in 2001—still at the beloved Orange Bowl—the Hurricanes only drew a reported 31,128 for a match-up against Temple—as a game like that isn’t an “event” and there are better things for non-alum football fans to do with their day.

The state school versus private university difference—as well as alumni versus location-based fans—is hardly new news. Nor is the fact that football factories and SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 powerhouses will throw hundreds of millions of dollars worth of support at the cause, in effort to try and build a champion—all of which should serve as a reminder just how incredible and improbably Miami’s success has been.

$200,000,000+ raised in Athens, yet the Hurricanes have won five national titles (and left a few on the field) since the Bulldogs last championship in back in 1980. How? By Miami again creating it’s own special sauce; somehow finding an advantage and figuring out how to do more with less.

It worked in the past and it’s the only answer moving forward—staying on-brand and playing to unique strengths—as the University of Miami will never have a big enough checkbook to play at the high-stakes table—especially without a strong alumni base that speaks with their wallet, not into the ether on message boards, or social media.

This is literally textbook definition of money talking and bullshit walking.

The head coaching position—same as the athletic director gig at the University of Miami—are niche gigs and not for everyone. These are college football and university-related positions, for people who want the small college town experience, of which Miami couldn’t be any further from.

The big city energy and a region full of transplants. A  quaint school with an off-campus stadium, playing second-fiddle to pro sports franchises, eccentric nightlife, beach culture and other spirited events that make up South Florida living—as well as the lack of that large, supportive alumni base—these are all turnoffs to coaches and administrators who have chosen university-driven careers.

Canes fans turn out for big games and good times, but when losses pile up—a mostly non-alum fan base checks out.

Decades back, yes, Miami football was able to reload at the head coaching position after Howard Schnellenberger built a winner, left for the USFL and Jimmy Johnson was able to carry the torch and bring home another championship; the original “NFL U” a moniker for coaches as Johnson wound up in Dallas, Dennis Erickson parlayed his success into the Seattle job and Butch Davis, though title-less, was the architect of the rebuild and was tabbed to do something similar in Cleveland.

Had Schnellenberger, Johnson or Davis planted their flag in Coral Gables and dug in for the long haul, Miami could’ve become a full-blown dynasty, in the traditional sense of the word—especially after Davis’ six-year rebuild and the state of college football at the turn of the century.

Of course none did, because long-term hasn’t ever been the logical plan at a program with UM’s set-up and resources. All used UM as a stepping-stone to bigger paydays and higher profile jobs—while all to a man have said that their time at the University of Miami was the most-special era of their respective careers and all each had their regrets about leaving; the point where they’d have loved a do-over.

Also a stepping-stone opportunity at Miami; the athletic director position—as proven twice over the past decade when Kirby Hocutt parlayed his four years into a better opportunity at Texas Tech and Shawn Eichorst used his even shorter stint to land the Nebraska gig. Neither was a “Miami guy” or on-brand, but both had the up-and-comer designation—which is also the reason UM was merely a pit-stop and both wound up at state schools with bigger budgets and alumni bases.

Prior to Hocutt and Eichorst, the Hurricanes’ longest-tenured athletic director was the late Paul Dee, who spent 13 years in a job he fell into by way of circumstance. Originally hired as Vice President and general counsel back in 1981—Dee was thrust into the AD role when Dave Maggard left the position after two years, finding a golden parachute in a Managing Director of Sports opportunity for the 1996 Summer Olympics, opposed to hanging around to see how a pending Pell Grant scandal was set to play out in Coral Gables.

It was a role Dee held until 2008, preceding Hocutt—making almost three decades since the Hurricanes had a gun-slinging type athletic director in Sam Jankovich—which was a completely different time and brand of college football. In the modern era, all Miami knows is that the past two guys bailed for greener pastures, while James retuned to Coral Gables after seven years at the University of Maine—six as Director of Athletics.

James started his career at Miami in ticket sales and has an affinity for South Florida, hence his return in 2010 and staying put ever since—which for better or worse is an important criteria for the Miami job, as again, it lacks the college town experience which many who work in collegiate athletics look for—limiting the field of candidates.

James was instrumental in bringing Richt back to his alma mater in 2015. Whatever one thinks of the hire in hindsight—Richt proving too tired for the rebuilding task after three years—it was a pivotal move for Miami; the first time UM went after an established head coach, opposed to an up-and-comer type.

UM broke out the checkbook and agreed to a reported $4M annual salary—the most it’d ever forked out for a head coach’s salary—only months after Donna Shalala stepped down; the former president the biggest roadblock to Hurricanes athletics since probation in the nineties.

The Richt era saw an increase in salaries for assistants, as well—which opened the door to bring on Diaz as defensive coordinator, after Dave Aranda chose LSU over Miami—while the respect for Richt and his 15 years running a top-notch SEC program helped get UM’s long-discussed indoor practice facility project over the hump; a $1M personal donation from Richt a huge perk that made up for limited alumni support.

WANTING TO WIN, VERSUS BUILDING A WINNER

In the wake of Richt’s abrupt retirement last December, James—and the Board of Trustees—made the move to bring Diaz back from ah 18-day stint as Temple’s head coach—which like the actual hire of the first-time head coach itself, is way too to judge as a win or a loss.

What the disgruntled are quick to call a “lazy” hire, was at worst a low-risk move—with huge consequences—based on some logical variables that too many either ignore or dismiss.

Sure, Miami could’ve conducted a full-blown search—starting January 6th, 2019—as Richt’s post-Christmas, pre-New Years bow-out came in the deadest week of the year. Four weeks prior to National Signing Day, the University of Miami would’ve been seeking for its 25th head coach—which would’ve decimated an already depleted 18-man class, setting the program even further back. With Diaz, there was continuity—as well as an ability to assemble his staff well before UM would’ve hired a new head coach.

Diaz’s hiring also guaranteed the return of would-be outgoing seniors like Shaq Quarterman, Michael Pinckey and Zach McCloud—which would’ve gutted a defense that already lost Jaquan Johnson, Sheldrick Redwine, Michael Jackson, Gerald Willis and Joe Jackson. As bad as things are right now defensively—they’d have been infinitely worse.

Miami’s off-season robbing of the Transfer Portal also wouldn’t have been as effective; Diaz reeling in Tate Martell, KJ Osborn, Bubba Bolden, Trevon Hill and Jaelan Phillips—as well as bringing Jeff Thomas back when he was all but gone to Illinois.

However it plays out with Diaz—as there are no guarantees with just about any head coaching hire—the logic and reason both made sense. Diaz hit the ground running as Miami’s defensive coordinator in 2016, quickly revamping an utter mess left by Al Golden and Mark D’Onofrio; immediately changing the broken scheme and getting guys to buy in day one.

Miami’s D took a huge step forward and by year two, went next-level—much of the success fueled by the on-brand, transcending Turnover Chain—that not only captivated all of college football, but give the Canes an old school, disruptive, aggressive vibe it had lacked since the heyday of the early 2000’s.

An anemic offense held both the 2017 and 2018 squads back—leaving James and the BoT with an understandable belief that half the the program was where it needed to be, so retaining the guy who built that out and trusting that he could find a counterpart to have a similar effect on the offense—was hardly far-fetched.

A reported $1.2M was allocated for Diaz to lure Dan Enos away from Alabama. How that hire ultimately plays out, time will tell—but for the Hurricanes, it was still a get—and the increased salary for assistants was again a good football move showing that Miami’s administration does care about football in this post-Shalala era.

In the end, the University of Miami is fighting this battle with one hand tied behind its back—but isn’t giving up. The way it was able to win and dominate in the past; those avenues are closed—so it’s time to take some less conventional detours in finding news ways to succeed.

Miami won’t soon become a state school with 40K undergrads, producing hundreds of thousands of new alum every decades—so it’s doing the next-best thing; trying to maintain and build off its brand—James with ties to UM’s last rebuild under Davis and Diaz having grown up in South Florida during the Decade of Dominance, with a true understanding of what the Hurricanes tick back-in-the-day.

Seeing what a Georgia is doing in regards to their investment into athletics; demeaning—but equally as liberating, as it frees Miami from feeling like it has to play the game in an orthodox manner in which it will never compete.

Just as it did four decades ago when Schnelly started an against-all-0dds dynasty in 1979, Miami is going to have to stay clever and unconventional in its process—praying for the stars to somehow align, while the football gods shine a little love—as college football is always a better place when the Hurricanes are relevant; playing in disruptive and polarizing fashion.

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.

REVISTING SOME ‘ROOKIE MISTAKES’ FROM MIAMI’S BUTCH DAVIS ERA

Posted on by Chris Bello


Despite knowing the result will usually be a train-wreck, I still find myself perusing Canes-themed message boards during football season—which is always dangerous when Miami is going through another rebuild and the losses are piling up.

Outside of August through December, beyond easy to disconnect—but in-season, a somewhat normal  way to keep up with everything U-related. A handful of logic-driven fans helping the cause and bringing some sanity to what is otherwise has become a college football insane asylum full of the most-disgruntled 1% of every fan base.

Recently, a lot of chatter about Manny Diaz being in over his head; hardly a shocking take after a 3-3 start, complete with a few heartbreaking losses.

The Miami Hurricanes first-year head coach was beloved as a defensive coordinator for three years—some excited when he returned from an 18-day stint as Temple’s head coach, replacing Mark Richt after an out-of-nowhere, late December retirement—others frustrated that the University of Miami didn’t so a full-blown head coaching search; a blind belief that the head coaching gig at UM is more-desirable than it really is.  We’ll see how it all play out..

Regardless, the digs seem to pile up every week—some surprised that a rookie head coach is making some newbie mistakes. Even worse, the revisionist history and short memories that seem to cloud peoples’ vision as to what currently is and what was, back in the day.

Miami safety Jamal Carter was ejected for targeting against Virginia last Friday night; a bullshit play as Carter led with his shoulder, pulled up and hit helmets with Cavaliers’ receiver Hasise Dubois in the end zone late in the third quarter. Carter’s looming presence helped save a touchdown, as Dubois started losing control of the ball before he and Carter collided—but it was a game-defining play as Dubois was the Hoos’ leading receiver (seven receptions for 93 yards) on the night and he never caught another pass after that stick with :58 remaining in the period.

The purpose for bringing this up; Carter not leaving the field and Miami getting hit with a substitution infraction that moved Virginia to a 1st-and-Goal from the four-yard line—which they immediately gave back on a false start; the Canes ultimately forcing a field goal. For some reason, this play was taken to task on the message boards—the egregiousness of it so much, that a few in the thread are “done” with Diaz and “can’t even” anymore.

Whether is was the noise and confusion that led to Carter not leaving the field—HardRock losing its collective shit, reigning down boos and warm half-full beers after the call—or something else; all the shots are fired in Diaz’ s direction by the disgruntled, entitled portion of this fan base; the group that expected to be “back” by now and is blaming the new guy for the 15 years of incompetence that happened before he took over.

DIAZ MAKING ROOKIE MISTAKES; JUST LIKE PAST ROOKIES BEFORE HIM

Below is a clip from 1996; a mid-November home game at where No. 18 Miami took on No. 21 Virginia Tech. It was year two for Butch Davis; who too over a 10-2 squad from 1994 that finished No. 3 after falling to No. 1 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. UM had officially been slapped with probation, but the effects weren’t fully being felt yet year two, nor in this 21st game of Davis’ career as a head coach.

The Canes had already fallen at home to No. 3 Florida State, 34-16 back in October—and followed it up with an embarrassing 31-6 home loss to East Carolina the following week; taking a 6-0 lead before the Purple Pirates with on a 31-0 run.

This match-up with Virginia Tech had a BIG EAST title on the line; something the Hokies ultimately locked down after beating Miami, 21-7 in a very winnable football game that got away —due to a second-year head coach looking all the part of an amateur, a few short seasons before he became a Hurricanes legend.

The clip below is shows the entire game, but for the sake of the portion of the story we’re telling, push ahead to late in the second quarter with about two minutes remaining in the half; a 7-7 ballgame. Miami was driving before the half—Ryan Clement under center, still feeling the effects of the same separated shoulder on display two weeks prior for a heroic win at West Virginia, punctuated by a blocked punt by Tremain Mack returned by Nate Brooks for the Canes’ lone touchdown of the night in a 10-7 comeback victory.

A quick synopsis of what took place with :16 remaining in the half (skip ahead in the above video to the 1:07:00 mark; :21 remaining in second quarter):

— 1st-and-10 from the UM 34-yard line, Clement completes a pass to tight end Mondriel Fulcher, taken own at the nine-yard line.

— :08 remaining, no timeouts left, Clement spikes the ball into the ground—looks to the sidelines (where Davis and staff were prepping to send in the field goal unit) and proceeds to lose his shit in front of a national CBS television audience, unhappy with his coach’s decision—commentators calling out Davis for letting his quarterback effectively push him around.

— Once reaching the sideline, Davis sends Clement back out onto the field to go for it—yielding to his quarterback. Virginia Tech called a timeout to get their defense in order; cameras panning back to Davis and Clement on the sidelines in a stare down before Clement converges with Rob Chudzinski and some offensive players for the play call.

— Clement gets off a quick pass to Yatil Green, who falls out at the one-yard line with :03 remaining—Davis deciding to send the field goal unit back on the field, despite field position and a chance to punch it in.

— Another Hokies’ timeout results in another change of heart for Davis, who then sends the offense back out onto the field; Miami lethargic in getting to the line of scrimmage (despite no time outs)—play clock running down to zero, resulting in a delay of game and a five-yard penalty.

— Davis again sends his field goal unit back onto the field for the 22-yard attempt, which Andy Crosland missed wide right by a mile.

— Second half, CBS commentators are still discussing the incompetence just before the half and Davis not having control of the situation.

— Fast-forward to the second half (literally, skip to the 2:16:15 point in video—late fourth quarter); Scott Covington had replaced the injured Clement, who left in the third with an ankle injury. Covington lofted a game-tying, 15-yard touchdown that went through the hands of Magic Benton on the left side of the end zone with just over two minutes remaining in the game.

— One play later, Covington went right to a wide-open Tony Gaiter on second down; the ball hitting him in the hands right at the goal line, which he inexplicably dropped.

Hokies’ head coach Frank Beamer also subbed out freshman cornerback Anthony Midget (who was getting torched by Green, who had nine catches for 152 yards) for safety Torrian Gray (who was assigned Green and locked him down on third down), while subbing back-up safety Keion Carpenter in as well; one of many strategic moves Beamer would make against Miami over an era where Virginia Tech would rattled off five wins in a row.

— Facing a 3rd-and-10, Covington tried to run for it when nobody as open, setting up a 4th-and-5 from the nine-yard line—Covington looking right for Gatier, when Carpenter jumped the inside route at the goal line and returned the interception 100 yards for the score. 21-7, ballgame—Miami driving with 1:54 remaining, getting back in the redzone, before Gray picked Clement off to put this one out to pasture.

DAVIS CLOSED STRONG AT MIAMI, BUT NEED TIME & TWEAKING TO DO SO

For those around in this long gone era; they remember that Davis took over at a time when Miami’s three previous coaches—Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson—all left over the previous dozen years for greener financials pastures; each winning championships and passing the program off to the next guy.

Davis was absolutely under fire from his start in 1995 in Pasadena, until he took down No. 1 Florida State in 2000—a few weeks after losing at Washington with the No. 4 Hurricanes.

From that opening 31-8 loss at UCLA year one, to Miami’s first-ever loss to Virginia Tech a few weeks later in Blacksburg, to the start of a five-game losing streak to Florida State; the Noles rolling in Tallahassee, 41-17—a year after the Canes looked to have taken the power back with a thrilling 34-20 victory at home—Davis was Public Enemy #1; his game day coaching and first-year mistakes lambasted in local newspapers and articles that can barely be found online all these years later, due to where online technology was during his tenure.

Miami won out after that 21-7 loss to the Hokies in 1996; Davis earning back some favor with a respectable 9-3 season and his first bowl victory, taking out Virginia in the now-defunct Carquest Bowl, 31-21.

All that was lost a month into the  1997 campaign after the Canes dropped four in a row to Arizona State, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Florida State; fans flying the infamous champs-to-chumps banner high above the Orange Bowl on September 27th, 1997 for the home loss to the Mountaineers—probably wishing they’d saved their efforts for the following weekend at Doak Campbell, where No. 4 Florida State rolled a then 1-3 Miami squad, 47-0.

Butch Davis is a fan-favorite as the architect of the 2001 Miami Hurricanes, but his early years at UM were rocky.

The Canes would drop two of their last three—Virginia Tech and Syracuse—en route to a 5-6 season; Miami’s worst since 1979. Understandable due to the program being ravaged by probation, but the way some of those games played out; just plain embarrassing—especially considering Davis saying at the pre-Arizona State game team breakfast, that he expected this squad to compete for a national championship, 1-0 at the time with a lone win over Baylor.

Come 1998, Davis’ Miami squad was 2-3 out the gate—dropping an overtime game to the unranked Hokies, as well as a fourth straight to the Noles, before a hard-fought win at No. 13 West Virginia; the Canes finally showing some signs of life and semblance of becoming a decent football team. Miami rattled off three more to get to 7-2 for a defacto BIG EAST title game at Syracuse, where the Orangemen rolled 66-13. A week later, the program-changing upset of No. 2 UCLA at the Orange Bowl in a make-up game, where the Canes held on for a 49-45 win.

The true step forward came in 1999, where a 9-4 Miami squad upset No. 9 Ohio State in the Kickoff Classic, but dropped close games to No. 2 Penn State, No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Virginia Tech. The improvement was there and the talent was returning—though Davis did suffer another blunderous outing between the Nittany Lions and Seminoles showdowns when the 13-ranked Hurricanes blew a 23-3 third quarter lead on the road against East Carolina, falling 27-23.

Davis’ fingerprints were all over University of Miami football after year six was in the books; ending with an 11-1 season and Sugar Bowl rout of No. 7 Florida that was good enough for a No. 2 ranking in 2000—though subbed for a shot to play No. 1 Oklahoma for a national championship; the Hurricanes most-likely dismantling those Sooners with a bevy of offensive talent and a stout-as-hell defense.

Lost in the Davis narrative and all that “The U Part 2” 30-For-30 glory; just how much Davis struggled out the gate as a first-time head coach—one of many moments show in the Virginia Tech clips above.

Davis suffered through four seasons with Bill Miller as his defensive coordinator; fans ready to run the veteran former Oklahoma State defensive coordinator out of Coral Gables by year two—but Davis stuck with him until the end of 1998, after Miller’s defense surrounded 134 points over the final three games of the season (Syracuse, UCLA and a bowl game against NC State).

Greg Schiano got on board in 1999, bringing an attacking defense more in line with vintage Miami teams and over the next two years the Canes morphed back into a more familiar version of themselves; so good, Schiano parlayed it into a head coaching gig at Rutgers.

Still, it took time and Davis had to suffer through his first three years before the ship began to get righted—probation definitely to blame in 1997—but nothing more than rookie mistakes and uncharted waters his first two seasons trying to learn on the job.

Year one for Diaz is nothing more than a dress rehearsal; learning on the job like so many before him. Next season, a step forward—where things start to take hole and the Canes take a slight step forward.

By year three, almost fully his team and another step forward is expected, while year four the excuses end and Miami has to start looking like a much better version of itself; similar to what Davis did to help his Canes take that step forward in 1999—recruiting having taken hold, coordinator changes made and ‘The U’ making the much-anticipated leap from pretender to contender.

Until then, rookie mistakes will continue—just as they did early on  for one of the greatest this program has ever seen.

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.

MIAMI HURRICANES PREP FOR VIRGINIA UNDER ESPN’S FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Posted on by Chris Bello


The Miami Hurricanes are gearing up for what was tabbed the ACC’s Coastal Division game of the season as the No. 20 Virginia Cavaliers head south for a Friday night showdown at HardRock.

On paper the game has obviously lost some luster as the Canes are 0-2 in the conference, while the Cavaliers are 2-0 and 4-1 overall; a road loss at Notre Dame the lone blemish of the season. Miami’s five-game journey, a little rockier path en route to 2-3. A season opening loss against Florida was followed up by a conference road stumble at North Carolina.

The Canes rebounded with an expected home route of Bethune-Cookman before winding up in a slug-fest with Central Michigan, only to show up lethargic and ill-prepared for last weekend’s showdown with Virginia Tech—despite a bye week—Miami in an early 28-0 hole after things quickly unraveled for quarterback Jarren Williams.

Turnover-free for four games, the redshirt freshman was responsible for three interceptions just over 11 minutes into the game. N’Kosi Perry entered late in the first quarter and wound up throwing for 422 yards and four touchdowns; Miami tying things up 35-35 in the final minutes, before the defense broke (again), the Hokies took the lead and Perry was unable to re-tie things back up, forcing overtime.

CONTROVERSY AVERTED, DUE TO (UN)TIMELY INJURY

Where it appeared momentarily that Manny Diaz might have a quarterback controversy on his hands—the first-year head coach got bailed out when it was reported that Williams’ was nursing a sore shoulder that kept him out of practice early this week, paving the way for Perry to get the nod—where Sunday’s presser gave the indication both would get reps this week, competing for the gig.

While a mid-season game of quarterback musical chairs is never optimum, the move could prove to be a blessing in disguise for this struggling Miami bunch that could ill afford more of the same.

Williams got the nod in fall camp, Diaz and offensive coordinator Dan Enos feeling that No. 15 gave Miami “the greatest upside due to his passing ability, his instincts and his determination”. All that to say, five games in it felt like Williams was still learning on the job; “instincts” not yet where they needed to be. Miami had final drive opportunities against both Florida and North Carolina, with Williams unable to close out in either—understandable in his first two starts, with a dumpster fire of an offensive line—but still, he didn’t get the job done.

Against Central Michigan, a pedestrian outing where it felt as if Enos was using Williams in more of a game manager-type role, instead of aggressively trying to get the ball in the hands of playmakers—whereas a 28-0 deficit put Miami in a position where it needed to let Perry open things up. Down four scores; it certainly limited the Hurricanes’ efforts to run the football—DeeJay Dallas with four yards on five carries, before tearing off a 62-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, which made up for 2/3 of UM’s total ground output on the afternoon. Cam Harris only got two touches for a combined 19 yards—while Perry had 47 pass attempts in just over three quarters.

Lack of balance aside, Perry’s presence resulted in big-time days for Brevin Jordan—seven receptions for 136 yards and a score—as well as Jeff Thomas; seemingly underused or buried with Williams under center. Thomas had six receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns; finally making some moves that reminiscent of the playmaker he was for the Hurricanes from 2017 through 2018. Dee Wiggins was also a crunch-time go-to target with four receptions for 64 yards on the day, with a few clutch first down pick-ups.

With Virginia on the horizon, Miami sitting at 2-3 and Perry unexpectedly winding up in the starting role—the redshirt sophomore is getting a rare shot at a do-over and a small window that could yield huge results, should he properly take advantage of it.

PERRY GETTING RARE SECOND CHANCE AT A FIRST IMPRESSION

Perry’s history has been on display for the past year. After not overtaking senior Malik Rosier for the starting job in 2018, Perry took over for a sluggish Rosier in the first quarter against Florida International and had a solid enough outing—224 yards, three touchdowns and an interception—for Mark Richt to toss him the keys the following week against North Carolina; where little was needed in a game Miami’s defense forced six turnovers and returned three for touchdowns.

The Canes got in a 27-7 hole against Florida State the following weekend at home, but Perry overcame a slow start and helped rally the Hurricanes to a 28-27 win; throwing for 204 yards and four touchdowns. The following weekend in Charlottesville, the wheels fell off.

Much like Williams’ meltdown by way of three interceptions against Virginia Tech, Perry coughed up two even uglier, head-scratching picks on the road against Virginia last October—Richt reinserting Rosier much like Diaz and Enos quickly yielded to Perry last weekend against the Hokies—starting the downslide for Miami’s 2018 season. The other factor; Perry’s social media gaffe days later—flashing wads of cash on a on off-week road trip home to Ocala.

In the grand scheme of things, hardly egregious, but on the heels of getting benched for poor play—as well as a Miami program that recently spent time in the NCAA’s crosshairs—it was an immature and boneheaded look, for a kid that finally got the shot he’d been vying for. From that point on, it was wheels-off-mode for the Canes; Rosier starting and looking beyond average in a road loss at Boston College—Perry never getting a shot to compete.

In a home loss against Duke the following weekend, Rosier got the first three unproductive quarters, with Perry inserted early in the fourth with Miami trailing—in too little, too late fashion. Two three-and-outs followed before Perry drove Miami 59 yards, looking for a touchdown and two-point conversion for overtime—but much like the stalled comeback against Virginia Tech, Perry and the Canes’ offense couldn’t punch it in.

Perry got the start the following week, throwing for a respectable 171 yards and two touchdowns at Virginia Tech—the Hokies turning it over three times, while the Canes protected the football and got a 51-yard punt return from Thomas to close the door mid-third quarter. Against Pittsburgh the following week, Perry was 6-of-24 for 52 yards, while Travis Homer carried the load with  168-yard, one touchdown performance—a little redemption game for the Panthers spoiling the Canes’ perfect regular season in 2017.

Social media stupidity reared its ugly head again as an old video from September resurfaced; a sexually-explicit Snapchat video from Perry’s account making the rounds—losing him a chance to start the Pinstripe Bowl against Wisconsin, and while not suspended—much like the Boston College loss, Richt hung in there with Rosier before the Badgers piled-on late and rolled the Canes.

CONSISTENCY-STARVED CANES BEST SUITED FOR PERRY TO TAKE REIGNS

The point of the Perry-fueled history lesson; a reminder that No. 5 had his shot last year, after failing to win the starting job—only to piss it away—yet is now in a similar position to the one he faced last year, begging the question, will the talented-yet-erratic quarterback prove his maturity and make the most of this second chance?

Every supporter of The U better hope so—as there is no worse case scenario than an average Perry outing against the Cavaliers, putting he and Williams back in competition next week leading up to a home showdown with Georgia Tech.

Six games in after Friday night, Miami needs to lock into their guy. It was the ultimately goal during fall ball; that either Williams, Perry or transfer Tate Martell would look head-and-shoulders above the competition; winning the starting job convincingly—opposed to the manner it was won in; Williams potentially having more “upside” when named QB1. Not to mention the shit-show that last season turned into when Perry couldn’t fully supplant Rosier and No. 12 couldn’t even game-manage enough to justify his presence.

There is no better scenario for Miami—seven regular seasons remaining, starting with Virginia—that Perry finding his groove and locking down the starting job for the rest of 2019. The Hurricanes need consistency at quarterback, as well as the shot in the arm Perry’s experience can bring, in comparison to learn-on-the-job Williams. No. 15 was serviceable four games in, but wasn’t clutch—nor did he deliver the type of big plays that seem to have a way of waking Miami up, or changing the game.

The defense played that role the past two seasons; finding ways to create turnovers or to get big stops when needed—but without the leadership of guys like Jaquan Johnson, Sheldrick Redwine and Gerald Willis, that side of the ball is too green to take games over the way it used to in recent years.

Dallas has delivered; willing himself to some big runs early this season—but a running back can only do so much when the passing game isn’t consistent and Miami is rolling a depleted defense back on the field after yet another three-and-out. Perry needs to prove he’s the missing link on this offense.

The flip side to Perry’s eccentric play and being the opposite of a game manager; preparing for the mistakes that are due to follow. Against Virginia Tech last weekend, an end zone interception on fourth down, after Miami failed to get in on four passing plays from the four-yard line.

Even more egregious, a would-be pick-six midway through the third quarter when facing a 3rd-and 20 after the Canes just pulled to within 14 points; Perry saved by a late hit and personal foul that without would’ve pushed the Hokies lead to, 35-14—courtesy of  an interception even more damaging than the early ones thrown by Williams.

Perry will be good for some thrilling connections with the likes of Jordan, Thomas and Wiggins—but any struggles to read the Cavaliers’ defense and what Bronco Mendenhall throws at him Friday night; could result in the type of outing No. 5 had at Scott Stadium a year ago.

ENOS CAN SHOW VALUE BY HELPING PERRY MATURE ON FIELD

Of course last year Miami’s quarterbacks were coached up by Jon Richt, opposed to Enos, praised for being a “quarterback whisperer” for his efforts with Tua Tagovailoa—as well as the rebirth of Jalen Hurts—with the Crimson Tide last season.

A big reason Diaz chose Enos as his offensive coordinator; half because of play calling, half due to his ability to coach-up quarterbacks. Perry didn’t have an Enos-figure last fall and it showed. Now nine months into working with the former Alabama co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, how much better can Perry be in the moment? The effects of that maturation process will be on display Friday night.

With three losses in early October, it’s must-win territory for a Miami team that for all intents and purposes, been a sloppy, undisciplined, struggling mess. The porous offensive line has given up 25 sacks over five games, while the Hurricanes have been penalized 50 times for an ungodly 453 yards; many of which have come at the most-inopportune times, ultimately changing the outcome of the ballgame.

Emotionally, it’s hard not to believe the overall vibe and output of this team would be much different had the Canes survived that opener against the Gators, opposed to making a few more mistakes than the equally-as-sloppy Florida. A road game at North Carolina might not have started out as flat, while a 4-0 squad rolling into Virginia Tech week would’ve had a different energy than a 2-2 bunch. Just as success breeds success, failure breeds failure and Miami is knee-deep in a negative loop it badly needs to break out of.

A quarterback change and a more-experienced gunslinger who can deliver the ball to playmakers; it’s not as night and day a difference as 5-0 versus 2-3—but it’s something these Hurricanes can build off of; showing up prepared for the first night home game of the season.

Virginia knocked off Pittsburgh in the opener, rallied late to beat Florida State in Tallahassee and faded down the stretch at Notre Dame—while rolling William & Mary and needing a strong second half against Old Dominion to stave off an upset. In short; the Cavaliers haven’t proven much five games in—winning the games they should’ve, while losing by double-digits in one where they were underdogs.

Both the Hurricanes and Cavaliers were picked atop the ACC Coastal Division, depending on the publication—and despite Miami failing to live up to the hype, the three-loss home team is still slightly favored going into this evening.

Based on Virginia giving Miami fits over the years in situations just like this, the Hoos are a safe pick—and a double-digit victory wouldn’t be a surprise; especially if the Hurricanes get off to yet another slow start, which has happened often in this rivalry—both home and away.

Still, Miami earned some preseason hype for a reason. No, these Hurricanes aren’t a contender in the national sense, nor are they in regards to conference, as Clemson remains head and shoulders above the rest—but there’s enough meat on the bone for The U to hang with anybody in the lesser Coastal Division; even Virginia.

Night game at HardRock, shot in the arm from Perry getting the nod, bad taste all around from last year’s season-derailing loss—as well as law of averages; Miami due to have something finally go their way—picking the Canes to eke one out here, somehow, playing a little bit better as a whole due to the mid-season shake-up—with the defense getting a boost from a turnover, or two.

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Miami 24, Virginia 19

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.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.

MIAMI HURRICANES FALL TO VIRGINIA TECH AFTER LATE RALLY

Posted on by Chris Bello

Despite racking up it’s third loss of the season by early October, you can say this about the Miami Hurricanes under first-year head coach Manny Diaz—there are some fighters on this team and this bunch doesn’t quit. Backs-to-the-wall, these Canes go down swinging and are in it until the clock hits zero; a refreshing change after so many years of wilting in the face of adversity.

Unfortunately, that’s about the only positive to dwell on after falling behind to Virginia Tech, 28-0 early in the second quarter; the Canes tying the game late, only to watch the Hokies march down the field for a game-winning score—similar to how things played out against the Gators and Tar Heels in other soul-crushing losses.

What can’t be said about this poorly-coached bunch; that it plays smart, shows up prepared, hits the ground running or is learning to eliminate crucial-moment mistakes as the season nears the halfway point; all this setbacks the difference between sitting pretty at 5-0, or a retched 2-3 start to this new era of UM football.

Diaz and staff had another bye week to prepare and get this team focused, yet Miami suffered another painfully slow start and disastrous first quarter—much like an early September showdown in Chapel Hill; on the heels of the Canes’ first bye, where the road favorite was in a 17-3 hole in a matter of minutes, again waking up late and ultimately falling short.

For those paying attention, Miami was outscored 45-3 in the first quarter of both post-bye games thus far in 2019—yet scrapped back to take fourth quarter leads, only to see the defense fail in game-defining moments.

At North Carolina, blown coverage on 4th-and-17 led to a game winning touchdown by a freshman quarterback making his second career start. Against Virginia Tech, a back-up quarterback making his first career start, led a five-play, 63-yard touchdown drive—burning the Hurricanes’ defense on a play that worked twice before, with Miami unable to adjust and shut it down.

TURNOVERS CHANGED; ON WRONG SIDE OF MARGIN WITH FIVE GIVEAWAYS

Insult to injury again came in the form of untimely mental mistakes, boneheaded penalties or game-defining special teams gaffes—all at the least opportune times. Just like the loss at North Carolina, Miami’s showboaty bling stayed locked away in its case all evening against Virginia Tech—but unlike the Canes protecting the football in Chapel Hill, they gifted the Hokies five turnovers; four in the first quarter, alone.

Jarren Williams—praised pre-game by ESPN commentators for not turning the football over once in his first four outings—threw an interception on his first attempt from scrimmage. Then another. And another. Seven attempts on the day, three picks later and the r-freshman’s day was over by the 3:55 mark in the first quarter.

In Williams’ defense, not everything was his fault. That initial third down attempt to Mike Harley was a little behind the receiver, but a clear-cut pass interference call was flat-out ignored as the ball ricocheted into the air for Jermaine Waller to haul-in.

On the ensuing drive, Williams didn’t step into his throw and hung it up there for Dee Wiggins in the end zone; the sophomore receiver doing little to fight for the ball as the defacto defender, allowing Caleb Farley to pick off the pass with relative ease. The following possession saw Williams targeting Brian Hightower; another floater that Waller nabbed for his second takeaway on the day—Hightower somewhat lackadaisical in his pursuit of the ball, as well as any effort to chase down the defender; Waller picking up 23 yards on his return.

Williams and the receiving corps hardly deserve all the blame for the early hole, as the Hurricanes defense looked nothing like the we’ll-get-that-shit-back unit it was the past few years when the offense struggled.

The mobile and fearless Hendon Hooker—again in his first career start, replacing the statuesque Ryan Willis—led an eight-play, 48-yard scoring drive after Williams’ first cough-up.

Hooker passed once on the drive, handed off to Deshawn Clease three times and kept it as many times for himself—scampering in from 12 yards out on 3rd-and-6 for the score. Credit to head coach Justin Fuente for easing the newbie into the game; establishing a run and letting the quarterback get conformable with his feet before calling on him to get it done through the air.

The Canes defense forced a three-and-out after Williams’ end zone pick, but couldn’t hold after the errant pass to Hightower in Miami territory; starting field position—the UM 23-yard line. After a run by Keshawn King netted three yards, a brilliant call where tight end Dalton Keene lined up right, appeared to be a blocker, only to peel left as the majority of the Miami defense bit right, thinking run—leaving Keene to rumble 20 yards for the score.

Even worse, this same play would burn Miami with 1:25 remaining in a 35-35 ball game where a crucial third down stop was imperative. Instead, the Canes defense bit again and Keene caught the exact same pass, around the same exact spot—getting stopped at the three-yard line this time, before Deshawn McClease punched in what proved to be the game-winner.

In between Keene’s two pivotal moments, N’Kosi Perry did his best to rally the offense, in spite of the hole Williams put the Hurricanes in—turning in a valiant 422-yard, four-touchdown performance.

PERRY GETS HIS SHOT WHEN WILLIAMS’ CLEAN STREAK GOT DIRTY

Entering the game, Miami having already spotted Virginia Tech a cool 14 points—Perry hit Harley in space, only to see the receiver fumble; the Hokies recovering on the UM 20-yard line—Hooker again shaking-and-baking on 3rd-and-6, running for 15 yards and setting James Mitchell up to pound it in from a yard out. Down 21-0, just like that.

Three consecutive passing attempts with Perry—and zero effort to run the football—resulted in a three-and-out and another defensive letdown as the Hurricanes let the Hokies march down the field 80 yards on 12 plays.

Miami surrendered a 26-yard run to McClease on a 3rd-and-10 from the Virginia Tech 20-yard line—a gut-punch with an opportunity to stop the bleeding. Hooker picked up another third down with his legs and found Keane for a first down touchdown from the UM 17-yard line, pushing the lead to, 28-0 with 9:30 remaining in the first half.

A nine-play, 71-yard drive—highlighted by a 51-yard snag by Brevin Jordan—came up four yards shy of a score; offensive coordinator Dan Enos again abandoning the run and calling four consecutive passing plays (two to a well-covered Jordan) before Perry rolled right and stuck it in Farley’s bread basket on fourth down, unable to find an open receiver.

Miami did get their lucky bounce before halftime when a fourth down, 38-yard Hail Mary attempt fell into the hands of Mark Pope, off the Will Mallory deflection—a sign of life for the snakebitten Hurricanes, cutting the deficit to, 28-7.

The third quarter couldn’t have been scripted much better as the defense forced a three-and-out, followed by an eight-play, 88-yard drive where Perry found Jordan a 28-yard pick-up on 3rd-and-10, while working Jeff Thomas into the mix with a 18-yard connection. A rare pass interference call on the Hokies set the Canes up at the six-yard like, where Perry and Jordan hooked up again, cutting the deficit to 14.

Both offenses cooled for back-to-back possessions, before Miami’s defense flinched first. Facing a 3rd-and-2 from the VT 28-yard line, the Hurricanes thought run—safety Bubba Bolden caught in no man’s land—allowed Hooker to drop one over the shoulder of a sprinting Mitchell, who galloped 67 yards to the five-yard line before Hooker hit Keene—inexplicably open, yet again—extending the lead back to 14.

It was a kick in the teeth similar to the season opening, late fourth quarter, 65-yard pass from Feleipe Franks to receiver Josh Hammond, setting Florida up for the eventual game-winning score. Only this time there was ample time for Miami to keep chipping away—12:14, to be exact—and by the 3:16 mark, the Canes finished their own improbable 21-0 run to tie the ballgame, 35-35.

Perry kept finding Jordan and Thomas, while also working Harley, KJ Osborn and Dee Wiggins into the fold—Wiggins with a 22-yard pick-up on 3rd-and-12 and Osborn with an 11-yard grab on 4th-and-5 before capping the drive with a 13-yard strike to Thomas.

After a quick three-and-out by the defense, a 26-yard completion to Thomas got the action going, an 11-yard reception by Jordan had Perry and the Canes just outside the red zone and on 3rd-and-11, a 25-yard shot to Thomas for his second touchdown on the day. Another three-and-out and after a seven-yard run by Perry—the play of the game as Dallas broke two tackles and absolutely willed himself to pay dirt—bolting 62 yards for a touchdown, minutes after laying out and stretching for a two-point conversion after the Thomas score.

In a moment where everything was going right—true to form for the Hurricanes, something had to go wrong.

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN; FOURTH QUARTER MISCUES DOOM THE CANES

It happened against Florida in a few big moments; Thomas muffing a punt. A first down on a fake field goal called back for offensive holding, leading to a 27-yard, game-tying whiff by the cursed Bubba Baxa. The Franks-to-Hammond game-breaker; not to mention the Hurricanes pissing away 30 yards of field possession—trailing the Gators by four—thanks to Al Blades Jr. tossing up double middle fingers, followed by an illegal block; from the UF 25-yard line and field goal range to the UM 45-yard line in one tick of the clock.

Chapel Hill, was defined by 4th-and-17—as well as special teams disasters; a missed PAT that forced a failed two-point attempt and a forced game-tying field goal from 49 yards out, instead of a tied ball game and overtime.

In the wake of Dallas’ brilliant run, another immature moment from a team that’s been penalized 50 times for 403 yards, with five games in the books—and celebration penalty that added 15 yards to the kickoff; but before that would happen, another momentum swing as Baxa’s PAT hit the goal post, Miami whiffing with a chance to take it’s first lead of the game.

Baxa’s 71-yard kickoff was touchback-bound without the penalty, but with it—Virginia Tech ran it back to their own 37-yard line, Hooker hitting Damon Hazelton for a 29-yard pick-up immediately; able to play aggressive with a tied ballgame, opposed to trailing by one, where a field goal wins it; the Hokies bleeding the clock to keep the Canes’ offense at bay. Three plays later; back to the well with Keene and the same misdirection Miami fell for earlier—McClease rolling in from three yards out with 1:30 on the clock.

Perry pushed the Canes down field with more fire than he did last fall in a similar situation against Duke; hitting Wiggins for gains of 20 and 12 yards, as well as a 16-yard connection with Osborn that got Miami to the 10-yard line with :05 left on the clock. A 1st-and-Goal attempt to Jordan went off his hands—which looked to the the ballgame, before a review gave the Hurricanes :01 and new life.

This time Perry looked down Thomas from the get-go, trying to squeeze the ball into double coverage—not putting enough on it; the pass batted down by the defender covering Dallas on a delayed release.

Had Perry not rushed the the throw—he had time in the pocket—Dallas could’ve caught the ball around the nine-yard line, with a full head of steam and one man to beat. To the left, Perry also had Osborn peeling off around the five yard line and one-on-one coverage. Thomas was literally the worst option on the play, but Perry was hellbent on forcing it to his go-to. It never got there. Ballgame.

All that’s left now is the aftermath; a third loss racked up by the first week of October, an 0-2 start in the ACC and some drama and division come Sunday in regards to a quarterback competition or controversy, depending on the vantage point.

QUARTERBACK COMPETITION OR CONTOVERSY? DEPENDS WHO YOU ASK

ESPN commentator Dusty Dvoracek took umbrage with Diaz and Enos yanking Williams late in the first quarter; a nation that if Williams was “their guy”—they needed to let the quarterback work through the adversity, giving him a chance to make a comeback.

Devil’s advocate to Dvoracek’s take; Miami’s quarterback battle in fall almost had #15  getting the nod by default. Neither Williams, Perry or Ohio State transfer Tate Martell were head and shoulders above the rest. According to Diaz, the Hurricanes felt they could win with all three guys, but Williams won out every so slightly due to, “the greatest upside due to his passing ability, his instincts and his determination”.

There was no right or wrong in regards to making the switch at the time. With a neck-and-neck quarterback battle dating back to spring—with Martell converting to receiver in fall—the Hurricanes are in a 1a and 1b situations in regards to starter. Should the Williams experiment tank, Perry is in need of some valuable minutes and this was a logical way to get him some.

It was also a situation the r-sophomore has been in before; trailing Florida State, 27-7 last October and rallying Miami to a 28-27 victory. Low-risk to ask Perry to mount a comeback against Virginia Tech—yet that’s almost exactly what he did.

There’s a deeper dive regarding this current quarterback competition—or controversy, depending the vantage point—but that’s for another time.

For now, it’s a 2-3 start to a new season—three losses in heartbreaking fashion, had Miami simply gotten out of its own way and played smarter football at the beginning, middle and end of each game. Little time to lick wounds here as Virginia treks south on Friday night for arguably the Coastal Division game-of-the-year.

Until then, back to work and hopefully learning from a slew of mistakes.

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.

MANNY DIAZ SHOW : BYE WEEK PRE-VIRGINIA TECH BREAKDOWN

Posted on by Chris Bello


While it’s easy to get frustrated with the advent of social media or college football message boards and all the harm that wave of technology has brought to the sport—there are some modern-day benefits as well; starting with videos like these.

Where fans used to be limited to morning-after newspaper quotes from a post-game presser, or at best—critics giving their Monday morning take on the big game, via sports talk radio—we’re now in an era where videos of a head coach breaking down film and offering up and in-depth study of a game is easily accessible for those who want it.

The embedded clip below is another 21-minute deep-dive between Miami head coach Manny Diaz and long time voices of the Hurricanes; Don Bailey Jr. and Joe Zagacki. Where the latter two can go full-blown homerism, these in-depth segments aren’t capable of being fluff pieces—as it’s an assessment of the X’s and O’s; what went right, what went wrong—and the why.

Understandably this fan base remains frustrated by two early losses, as well as a close call against the likes of Central Michigan that shouldn’t have happened.  All that to say, fans that continue with a micro view of this program and where Diaz is working to take things (especially based on what he inherited)—whereas the first-year head coach continues to operate and lead at a macro level; trying to build a broken Miami program into an eventual contender again.

This video won’t suddenly make 2-2 feel any better—but Diaz’s assessment of what is, what should be and where he wants to take this—as well as his week-in, week-out approach of dealing with the 2019 version of the Hurricanes—it should at least bring some comfort that Miami appears to be in the best hands its been in coaching-wise since the Butch Davis era.

With the Canes coming off another bye week, there was no game to break down from last weekend—so this fifth episode of the Manny Diaz Show is more of an overview piece—what’s been and what’s on deck.

A few standouts from this piece:

When asked about the insertion of players who have been injured or ineligible—Nesta Silvera and Bubba Bolden, as well as others—Diaz explains how both can be immediate-impact, while having an overall positive effect on the defense, all together.

“As we continue to develop our depth and get more guys in the game, everyone can play with more intensity. Why? Because they’re playing fewer snaps,” Diaz explained.

“And that’s really what the best teams have—where you can really turn that knob up to 11, because you know that if you empty your tank—you should come out and there should not be a drop-off, where we can get another guy in.”

On paper, many will say “of course”—but in reality how many fans bitch incessantly about Miami’s “talent” without comprehending the lack of a contender-level two-deep—as well as what that means for starters who are understandable winded late game because a lack of quality, capable back-ups?

Look back at last year’s bowl game against Wisconsin and how sorely the defensive line missed the presence of Gerald Willis in that game? Despite some solid players on that line, Miami was a completely different front seven due to one key guy being sidelined? Silvera is Willis’ replacement and four games into the 2019 season, the sophomore hasn’t played one snap.

Same to be said about Bolden in the secondary—the weakest link in Miami’s defense due to the graduation of Sheldrick Redwine, Jaquan Johnson and Michael Jackson after last season.

If the Canes are that reliant on transfers like Bolden—or even Willis and Jackson were the past few years and Trevon Hill this year—radars should go off in regards to how far UM is off depth-wise—yet some refuse to look at a bigger picture, rattling off names of starters as the reason Miami should be better.

The first 15 minutes is Diaz’s breakdown of all things going into Virginia Tech after the bye week, while the final eight features Diaz and Bailey Jr. going over specific plays over the past four games, with a focus on Miami’s run defense.

Honestly, if you don’t have time for the whole thing, at least make time to watch from the 15:00 mark on. Fans love harping on social media about losses being unacceptable and what not, without a fair assessment of what played out, as well as a slowed down look at every aspect of the play—the good, the bad and the ugly.