A few weeks back, when asked what the biggest issue with his team was, Miami Hurricanes head coach Randy Shannon had a one-word answer; consistency.
After wins over Pittsburgh and Clemson, as well as the loss to Florida State, it was still a fair question. Still is after a lackluster win over Duke and beat down of North Carolina, considering Miami still didn’t put together four solid quarters of football.
The Canes are 5-2 and to date haven’t shown they can stay focused for sixty minutes. A game where offense, defense and special teams all come out and dominate. There have been hints and glimpses, but no complete performance.
With Virginia on deck and based on what took place last weekend, this could finally be the game where it all comes together.
We’ve talked about the emotional week Miami players had between Duke and North Carolina, coming to their own realization that it was on THEM to get this thing on track. Having finally bought into that, the next step is ‘getting it’ regarding the consistency mantra.
You look at Virginia and you see that home or on the road, this really isn’t a good football team. First-year head coach Mike London is trying to revitalize a program that many Wahoo faithful have already dismissed. He’s been on every talk show in state, urging residents of the Commonwealth to back this program. They’re in desperation mode and they’re ready to get dominated. (Especially their run defense.) But the question remains, can Miami bring its “A” game for four quarters?
I don’t want to disrespect Virginia. That really is the worst thing you can do. However, on paper, Miami is a much more talented squad and a team desperately looking for another break out game, fueling their run to Charlotte.
I want to see Jacory Harris play mistake-free football from the start. He found his groove the second half against North Carolina, but it’s time to show everyone the type of quarterback he really is.
I want to see these wideouts pick up where they left off with North Carolina, no longer dropping footballs.
I want to see an offensive line that opens huge gaps for Damien Berry, Lamar Miller and Mike James, fueling a potent ground attack.
I want to see good tight end play, something that’s been lacking outside of the recent play of Asante Cleveland.
I also want to see Mark Whipple calling a game that suits the strengths of J-Harris, instead of one that asks him to do too much.
On defense, continue with the solid tackling. You can’t just expect the turnovers to keep coming. Continue playing aggressive, sticking to fundamentals and making things happen.
Matt Bosher, one of the best in the game, needs to make his kicks. No missed field goals and certainly no more missed extra points. Some point to fatigue, saying that doing all three phases of the game (kickoffs, punting and special teams) have worn Bosher down and it’s hard to disagree. If you want to focus on one failure on the recruiting front, it’s the lack of finding someone to take some of the responsibility off of Bosher’s plate.
Special teams woes need to end and the Canes have to do a better job on kick off returns. Virginia is tops in the ACC and 26th nationwide in returns. Miami ranks 11th in conference and 92nd nationally in kick off coverage. That’s not going to cut it.
Lastly, enough with the penalties already. The Canes are 11th in conference in least penalty yardage and ranks near the bottom in ever national penalty category. Beyond unacceptable.
The win against North Carolina was awesome, but it means little if the Canes experience a letdown in Virginia. Another sloppy game is a huge step back for a team looking to win the Coastal and the conference. It’s about getting better every game from this point on.
The win against UNC was awesome, but a let down against Virginia in the form of a sloppy game is going to put Miami right back where it was before, not very convincing as a potential ACC Champ.
IN OTHER NEWS: On behalf of allCanes Radio, I want to thank Chris Freet, Margaret Belch, Rob Dinning, Scott Zavitz and Bryan Harvey from the Miami Sports Information Department for helping me catch up with Ryan Hill, Malcome Grant and Julian Gamble this past week. If you missed the broadcast, check it out. We also had some AMAZING sound from Vaughn Telemaque, Brandon Harris, LaRon Byrd and DB20 from after the win over the Tar Heels.
Also, don’t forget that you can subscribe to the allCanes Radio feed via iTunes and you can stream the show live (or check the archives) via the allCanes iPhone App.
Kickoff is 12pm ET and for those not going to the game it’s on ESPN HD. Those home watching, hit me up via Facebook or Twitter as I’ll be commenting during the game.
I'm thrilled we are winning. Agree re consistency. I am not sure what this really means against Duke and North Carolina. No doubt the team is building confidence. The interception last week was all on Jacory, short pass easy read. Good news is he bounced back . Bottom line is we will see what this team is made of when and only when we play a good opponent. No doubt the skill is there. I think the chemistry is getting better. Let's GO Canes!
Time for a NEW COACH! UNREAL!
17-0 in the fourth!
If Shannon had played the back up qb the ENTIRE Duke game maybe we would have a Real Back up QB! We SHOULD be able to beat this Virgina team with our back ups!
Year 4 under Shannon, how many do we give him? 4 in my onpion! Shannon's UM = 8 or 9 wins at best! Time to start a fire Shannon Website!
Please help us ALLCANES!!
Let's go rebuild the OB so they can take a dump on us there again.
But to all the people that wanted #12 taken out, I guess we just saw why the coaches never did that.
What's that in the background. ANOTHER INTERCEPTION ! ! ! !
24-0 nothing now.
If you will excuse me I am going to go play in traffic.
Wow….what an unbelievable performance being put on by our beloved Canes. I've tried to stay somewhat positive in the wake of that FSU ass shellacking but this is a poorly coached football team that regresses every other week in the form of dropped passes, false starts and missed tackles. An offensive coordinator that can't seem to get it in his f ing head that a crossing pattern here and there would work wonders. While J12 does make some bone headed mistakes the play calling is what absolutely blows my mind. This team isn't ready for an "NFL" offense….if that's what you want to call it. Dial that sh*t down and run some plays that these kids understand and can execute. Everybody is going to jump on the defense getting torched but they aren't getting any help from this moron calling plays and this inept offense. Sick and tired of mediocrity and excuses. Sick and tired of the lack of development. Sick and tired of the piss poor coaching. Cane for life but something has got to give with this program. I have a feeling the proud alumni will be out in full force going forward trying to get the change that is so desperately needed.
It is not consistency….it is not talent….It is quite simply….coaching…
They do a lousy, lousy job, and it needs to change….they don't motivate and they can't seem to impress upon the talent the need to PERFORM in every game….its time to start over from scratch….
No consistency at all it was a good push at the end of the 4th quarter but at the end the Canes couldn't get it done. What will happen to the coaching staff at the end of the season if we're not able to make it to the ACC Championship? By coaching staff i mean the coordinators I believe Shannon won't be fired but will he be forced to shake up the staff? I don't know I'm no expert but I do know that this one hurts especially when I consider myself a die hard Canes fan. TOUGH!
What's next, a beat down from Yale or Harvard. Most embarrassing loss in a LONG time. Come on Virginia is barely a division1 school in football. I started as a Shannon supporter. This team is inept and uninspired at every level. At the end of this year we need to change directions. The coaching staff is going backwards. Buy out Shannons contract and start anew. This team is as fragile as Ive ever seen at Miami.
Consistency… we're doing it wrong.
What a pathetic display today was.
It is time for Mr. Shannon to do! End of story.
So much for consistency….epic fail…
Guess we answered comments today: we are consistently inconsistent. I officially have lost faith in this staff.
-Columbus Cane
AllCanes please understand my rant early during the game! This was supposed to be the year that Randy's PLAYERS, now upper classmen, lead us back to the top! I do like Randy as a man, UM alum and D cordinator. That said I have lost faith in his abilty to lead us back to national prominance. 8 or 9 wins is NOT enough for UM football.
This sucks, I really thought Randy was the guy.
IF YOU DO NOT CALL FOR SHANNON'S HEAD AND IF YOU BLAME THIS ON COKER I SWEAR ON MY GRANDMOTHER'S GRAVE I WILL NEVER PURCHASE FROM THIS STORE AND/OR READ FROM THIS BLOG AGAIN!!!
FIRE RANDY GOD DAMN SHANNON!!!
This is NOT Coker's fault!
Fire this amateur and let's get a head coach (MARK RICHT when he leaves GA) that our boys can get FIRED UP behind!
and by the way: suck a dick, bosher
Take this "U" and shove it!
when you look at the play Jacory was hurt on it sums up everything wrong with Whipples long ball approach. High risk low reward. The play takes alot of time to develop and Harris throws into double coverage, That balls picked off whether he gets hurt or not. Our thoughts are with Jacory.
WEEEEE
SSSSUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with Kevin about the hiring of Mark Richt and the wonders he would do for this program(although that is a long short, considering the parsimonous nature of the administration in terms of coaches' salaries). I am in agreement something has to be done because at this rate we are fast headed towards a 7-6 season.