At 5-5, this team is once again not living up to expectations. It feels different, though.
Record-wise, there’s not much difference from last year. Still, there a feeling; a sense that it’s going to get better. Not sure whether I ever made my preseason prediction public or not, but I thought this team could go 8-4. Of course, that was before NevinGate.
I’m a firm believer in Al Golden and his staff, long term. On the other hand, all has not been perfect in the Gables.
Yes, Al had “head coaching experience” coming in, but there’s a vast difference between Temple and the MAC, and Miami and the ACC. I expected there to be growing pains – and there have been.
I think my point is this. While it’s quite clear to me that Coach Golden is the right guy to get ‘The U’ back to where we all want it to be, that doesn’t make him impervious to criticism. Going for it on fourth down at Virginia Tech. Not accepting a crucial penalty at Florida State. The entire situation surrounding the use of Stephen Morris lately.
Getting Morris playing time and experience if he were a true freshman would make sense, but after last season and now having two years in the system, he’s played enough to know what big time college football is all about.
I get running the option against Duke to make Florida State prepare for it, and I know he only took seven snaps against the Noles, but it still disrupted the timing and rhythm of the offense.
Jacory Harris had the offense running smoothly, which has truly been the case consistently since North Carolina. Morris enters and then Harris comes back with an interception. Now maybe one has nothing to do with the other, but when a player finds his rhythm, why do anything to disrupt it?
Another thing to take into consideration regarding the foreseeable future; things might get a bit worse before they get better. Lack of depth is a legitimate concern and as we saw this past off-season (eight Canes drafted this past spring), how does addition by subtraction work in this case?
Yes, this is going to be a large recruiting haul in February. Still, as much as you want to appreciate the play of freshmen, you don’t want to have to count on them. Miami is going to lose some key guys going into next season, including the most important one on and off the field, Sean Spence.
The fallout from NevinGate might not be catastrophic, but you have to believe there will still be some scholarship reductions, meaning that there’s now increased pressure on this staff to hit with this next recruiting class. Golden and staff might not have a chance to recruit this many players for a while. This class has to count.
Honestly, I’m not sure I want anyone at the helm other than Al right now. While I tend to roll my eyes as some of the things he’s said or done, that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. The bottom line is this – it’s crystal clear that Coach Golden has figured this out and has a game plan in place.
Considering what could be coming down the line, I want him on that wall. Miami needs him on that wall. Still even Coach Golden would tell you that you need to hear the truth, even if the future is a bright one.
IN OTHER NEWS : I’ve started using Tout, a service providing fifteen-second video updates. Twitteresque, but with video and I’ll be “touting” and tweeting from Tampa this weekend, so make sure you’re following the allCanes Radio Tout and Twitter feeds.