The Beast : Carolina … why it’s on my mind

To this day, I’ll never forget the moment.

Night had set in Chapel Hill and I was standing just beyond the open end zone at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Brock Berlin had led the Canes down the field on a sensational drive, tying the game, 28-28.

Miami’s fourth-ranked defense took the field with just under three minutes remaining – a defense that had given up somewhere around 596,040 yards the previous few weeks – and that wasn’t going to change this drive.

Darian Durant led his Tar Heels right towards me and with time running out, they sent Connor Barth out to kick the game-winning field goal. Larry Coker called a time out and at that moment it hit me. A loss to Carolina, which at the time was as big of a gimmie as you were going to get, would signify the end of ‘The Run’.

There would be no national championship or back-to-back-to-back title game berth. (The Canes were one of seven undefeateds in the country at the time.) There would be no BCS games. Miami, as I knew it, would no longer be “Miami”.

The time out was over, Barth nailed his 42-yarder, the third-ranked Canes fell 31-28 and I shuffled back to the locker room with the team and coaching staff, knowing rough days were ahead.

As I changed into my travel gear, I saw the shame on the faces of the Canes around me. Everyone was thinking the same thing; we shouldn’t have lost that game. Welcome to the ACC, I guess. It’s not built with the football power of the SEC, but it wasn’t and still isn’t the Big East. Conference titles were no longer a guarantee, but as I watched the players silently pack their gear, I never knew the fall would be as hard as it was.

I never thought I’d see Coker fired. Not after a 24-0 start, a championship and two straight title game berths.

I never thought I’d see longtime coaching legends Art Kehoe and Don Soldinger on the chopping block as scapegoats.

I never thought Miami would reach a low where the quarterback position was painful to watch and cornerbacks had to become receivers just to fill out the line up.

I also never thought an unranked, 3-4 North Carolina squad would upset a third-ranked Miami team that was 52-5 for the decade, but when Barth’s kick sailed through – that was the precise moment it all started going downhill.

Painful as it was to rehash all that, there’s a point. While that moment against Carolina sucked the wind out of the Canes’ sails, this weekend’s game could have the opposite result. A win this weekend could absolutely turn things around.

Before anyone gets ahead of themselves, no a win over a depleted Tar Heels squad wouldn’t signify that Miami is “back”. I’m sick and tired of that phrase. You want to know when the Canes are “back”? When I’m covering a post-game press conference after a win in a meaningful BCS game. Any win up to that point is just another step in the process and a win this week would be a big step forward.

There are so many sub plots with this game, starting with the fact that Randy Shannon is yet to beat one of his mentors, Butch Davis. There’s also the fact that Miami hasn’t won the Coastal Division since joining the ACC and in order to get one step closer to achieving that goal, UM needs a win over UNC.

Of course there’s also that “avalanche of negativity” I spoke of last week – one that will cripple this program if Miami loses this game in any way except extraordinary fashion.

If there’s ever been a must-win for Randy, his staff and this time, here it is. It’s probably a not a must-win regarding job status from the administration’s standpoint, but regarding public perception, this game means everything. (I don’t even want to think about sports talk radio and the local call in shows come Monday should Miami lose.)

North Carolina is going through some serious turmoil off the field. Aside from a slew of suspensions, quarterback T.J. Yates lost his number one target last week when tight end Zack Pianalto broke his fibula. The Tar Heels have exceeded expectations thus far based on the losses, but they’re prime for a big time loss.

On the other side, Miami is feeling the pressure, 0-3 in their last three against North Carolina – and after a four-touchdown home loss to Florida State – know they must protect this house.

I’m not going to waste anyone’s time making predictions for an unpredictable team but I was surprised to see the Canes a touchdown favorite. I don’t think anyone knows how this one is going to play out, but as fans let’s support this team and root them in. There’s no excuse not to be at this game. 7:30pm kick off on a Saturday night. The weather will be perfect and this team needs you so please represent tomorrow night.

For those looking for a deeper breakdown of North Carolina both on and off the field, check out this week’s edition of allCanes Radio as we sat down with David Glenn, Publisher of ACC Sports Journal. I’ve known David for a long time and there’s no one better at breaking down any program in the ACC – especially UNC, a program he’s been around for decades.

We broadcast live Wednesday from the first annual Hurricanes Basketball Fantasy Camp, put on by the women’s basketball team. I want to thank head coach Katie Meier, her staff and her players for having us at this event (as well as UM’s athletic and SID department, who went above and beyond getting us set up and taken care of).

It was an honor to be at the event, which had close to a hundred members of the community showing off their hoops skills, with the women’s team acting as coaches.

On air we spoke with Coach Meier, all-everything guard Shenise Johnson (so freaking cool and great on the air), Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt (tune in for the new parking rules at Sun Life), Track & Field Director Amy Deem, Assistant Soccer Coach Jeff Freeman, safety Vaughn Telemaque and running back Damien Berry.

We also had a special visit from former Canes hoopster Will Davis and Conrad Timpf, father of the late Brad Timpf. Both Will and Conrad were on to talk about Brad, how much me meant to the community, what he did for education and how four years later his killer is still at large.

The Timpf family has been working with the Broward Education Foundation. For more details, click here.

Lastly, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Facebook for in-game updates tomorrow night. Big one at Sun Life. Be there!

Full game recap coming Sunday.

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