Halfway Point

Hello All,

So, strangely, we are halfway through this football season.

I don't think anyone can honestly say they are not at least a little disappointed with the Miami Hurricanes football team.

The 4-2 record isn't what does it for me. I knew coming in that going 2-2 through the four game murderer's row we faced was a possibility. What has gotten me is the way in which we lost the two and won a couple of others.

It is very apparent that the talent on this team is great.

However, it seems as though every game features a comedy of errors concerning drive killing penalties, dropped passes, missed tackles, turnovers and other fundamental breakdowns. A 31-3 win at Pitt could very well have been a 52-3 win at Pitt. A loss at Ohio State should have been a win. A blowout at the hands of Florida State lead to a sluggish first half against Duke.

All in all, this team shows signs of greatness every week but seems intent on proving that the only team that can beat the Hurricanes is the Hurricanes.

The one thing that cannot be said about this team is that they are not battlers. While their body language might not show it all the time, it is my opinion that they fight their ass off every game.

Jacory Harris is the best representation of this team. He is a very talented individual whose calm persona is seen by many as TOO calm. He seems disengaged, and yet plays through more pain every week than anyone else in the nation. He throws beautiful passes followed by interceptions, and yet always comes back swingin'.

This team has a lot to prove if they want to convince people they have improved from last season's roller coaster. Last season we were in the same position. Suffer a loss but still control your own destiny. Win out and go to the ACC Title Game. The mission is laid out before them. Last season they folded under the weight.

The true measure of whether they have made progress is how they respond the rest of this season.

It will start this week with UNC. If Miami can't manage to pull their crap together and straighten things out, the arguments of Randy Shannon supporters such as myself will be much harder to make.