Senior Day

Hello All,

Well, this is kind of strange. We have reached the end of another season, and this one seemed to go by faster than any in history.

It is not time for final reflection yet, as there is still more football to be played.

However, I think it is safe to say that the depression that is my life for 8 months a year with no ‘Canes football has begun to set in.

Win or lose, the ‘Canes give me something to look forward to every week. Watching these kids go out and compete and grow is my favorite thing.

One of my co-workers was talking to me the other day and said “You should be glad you have your thing. You are more passionate about the ‘Canes than anyone in this office is about anything. It keeps you going. I can’t honestly say I have a thing and that is kind of sad.”

She was absolutely right. But before this turns into a cry fest, it is time for final reflection on one group of players.

Saturday is the last home game for a Miami senior class that has actually turned into The U’s best in five years.

Roll Call

Damien Berry, RB – Berry has been my favorite player for 4 years. He initially came in as a safety and played injured his freshman year, making a contribution only on special teams. After a mostly non-descript sophomore season he made the switch to running back, where most thought he would get lost on the depth chart. Instead, Berry became UM’s best runner since a healthy, in-shape Tyrone Moss and will leave as a fan favorite after two seasons of hard-nosed, take no prisoners running.

Graig Cooper, RB – Coop is another personal favorite who was derided by fans for years for no reason. He made plays, ran hard and did the best with what he was given. Sometimes he danced too much, and his speed wasn’t all that was advertised. Still, he was an all everything recruit that stuck by his ‘Cane commitment when everything was going wrong. He played hard despite being surrounded by mediocre talent for two seasons and will end up a Top 5 statistical player in the history of the program that will stick with an NFL team.

Leonard Hankerson, WR – What can I say about Hank that hasn’t already been said this season? The kid was labeled a bust after two seasons. I wrote that “there is no point in having a receiver that cannot catch the ball…move him to linebacker” back when I was writing my column in the school paper. Boy did he prove us all wrong. He committed himself through tireless work in the offseason and has now put together arguably the strongest two year statistical stretch of any receiver in program history. He still drops some easy ones but has become UM’s Go-To Guy in almost every situation and has positioned himself as a high draft pick. He will do great things and will probably be the most missed of all the seniors next season.

Allen Bailey, DL- The Freakshow seems like he just got here from his Island home in Georgia. He lost his freshman year to an ill-advised experiment at Middle Linebacker and was learning on the fly his sophomore year. After being shuttled back and forth between tackle and end for the last two seasons, it seemed like Bailey was always on the verge of a massive breakout where he put together 2 or 3 dominant games in a row. It never happened, and he is one of those guys you wish you could have for a couple more seasons. He is a member of the All Time Freak team for Miami and will be a first round pick based solely on potential. He showed glimpses throughout his career; hopefully some position stability will allow him to reach his Suh-like potential.

Matt Bosher, K/P- Bosh was the toughest kicker I have ever seen. He was also damned good. A little streaky as a placekicker but phenomenal as a punter, Bosher will forever be remembered for his willingness (eagerness?) to not only come up and tackle but also come up and lay the wood; this was important, given our coverage teams’ complete inability to cover kicks lately. My favorite moment will always be when he recovered his own onside kick in the Champs Sports Bowl (which I prefaced by saying “the only way we will recover this is if Bosh gets in there because he’s all we got”) that lead to my brother saying “If we had a sister Bosher could definitely f*ck her right now”. Others include his personal foul penalty for body slamming an FSU kick returner and his going down into the scrum to rip away an onside kick recovery in a doomed comeback attempt against Virginia this year. I never thought I would be this invested in a freakin’ kicker, but this is not a normal kicker.

Colin McCarthy, LB- If you can get past expecting him to be Dan Morgan (just because he is white and plays the same position and wears the same number) then he had a pretty damned good career. Was a little slow and not great in coverage, but the guy was mean and nasty and played with a chip on his shoulder. Also holds the current heavyweight title belt for banging slutty Delta Gammas and D Phi Es. Another likely 3rd-5th round pick that will make an impact somewhere in the league.

Orlando Franklin, T- Franklin was a three year starter at guard and then moved to left tackle. He will be a guard in the NFL, where his size will play well and his semi-slow feet can be hidden. I loved Franklin at guard but have been disappointed this year with his mental game at tackle, as he has repeatedly false started and been called for holding. Franklin will be missed more than some folks think, and he has certainly been a program leader. He will most likely be a mid round pick in the draft and will one day be saying “The U” on Sunday Night Football.

Pat Hill, FB- One of my favorites because of his unselfishness. Was very content with blasting linebackers for three years and clearing the way for other guys to get stats. Hill will be hard to replace, as was evident last year when the running game slumped after he was hurt.

DeMarcus Van Dyke, CB- A great cover corner who almost never got beat but also had NO ball skills. Is in the same camp with Coop when it comes to uncalled for personal attacks by fans. Will not be drafted but his speed will get him a shot and he might be this year’s Sam Shields if he can learn to tackle.

Joel Figeuroa, OL- Good guy, good run blocker, that’s about it. Wish him well.

Ryan Hill, CB- This was the ultimate company man. Moved from DB to WR as a highly touted frosh because we needed bodies. Made some big catches but was too inconsistent, so switched back to DB halfway through his career. Worked for two years and finally got on the field for his senior season, where he won a starting spot and…gasp…made some plays on the ball. Also, as an aside, was a very nice guy and my roommate Graham’s favorite player.

Josh Holmes, DT- Role player who really never lived up to his potential as an inside pass rusher. Most of his time was spent as a body in the rotation, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Kylan Robinson, LB- Came in as a record setting running back but could not gain any traction and was moved to linebacker. Career highlight was starting this year’s season opener. Really, that was about it.

JoJo Nicolas, S- He might be back next year, I am just putting him on here as wishful thinking. Nothing personal, he’s just not good at all and takes minutes from young guys for some reason.

Richard Gordon, TE- Freak show that looks like Tarzan and plays like Jane. Was a good run blocker but looked about as coordinated as a giraffe trying to take a piss while walking on a frozen pond when going out on a pass route.

Jared Campbell, S- Not sure if he is a senior but this was a guy who maxed out his minimal talent (which still didn’t lead to much production) and was a benefit to have on the scout team.

Corey Nelms, DB- Walk on special teams guy who made an impact with some big hits over his career and shows the value of working in conjunction with the track team.


To each of them, I thank you for your time in a transitory phase of the program and wish you the best of luck.

Quick Picks (Doing these early Friday morning):

‘Bama over Auburn
West Virginia over Pitt
Nebraska over Colorado
Oregon over Arizona
Ohio State over Michigan
Michigan State over Penn State
Kansas over Mizzou (Upset Special!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Arkansas over LSU
The SAT over UiF and FSU
Utah over BYU
Wisco over Northwestern
Clemson over The Real USC
Oklahoma over Oklahoma State (BEDLAM!!!!!)
The Meteor over Notre Dame and USC (I can hope, right?)

I Want Blood

Hello All,

I hate Virginia. Why, you might ask? For a few of the following reasons:

1.) The Orange Bowl. Enough said.

2.)They beat Hopkins in lacrosse sometimes.

3.) Their uniforms could be so much cooler than they actually are.

4.) Their "Cavalier" mascot is the worst and I spend half of every game I see him at dreaming up ways in which he might get knocked off hsi horse.

5.) They suck at football and basketball but win titles in non-revenue generating sports and then talk about how awesome their athletics program is.

6.) I really hate their mascot.

7.) Everyone that goes there is a douche.

8.) Those people think they attend an Ivy league school. This is kind of like UNC or UCLA or Madison or any other snobby, huge state school. If you're from the state, you really don't have to be all that great to get in. Not a dummy, but probably not winning awards as a student either. I know people that went to Madison (I went to high school in Wisconsin) that were very smart and could have gotten in a lot of other places (that's for you Doug). I know a lot of dumbasses that went there that wouldn't have gotten in to any good schools out of state but got in to Madison because they had decent numbers and were residents (Doug, I think we both know who I am talking about). And since 90% of these state schools are comprised of in-staters...you can put two and two together. Listen, they're good schools. I went to Miami. Another good school, but not elite. I would never compare Miami to Stanford or Harvard. I am very content that my education was great without that comparison. Why can't these people just be the same way?

9.) Navy and orange reminds me of Gators colors.

10.) The Orange Bowl. Guess it wasn't enough before.

Anyway, nothing made me happier than the 'Canes running it up on the Wahoos (a stupid nickname) last season. Here's to hoping they do it again. And here's to a blazing fast breakdown:

QB

Well, let's see. Would you rather have Jacory or...wait....looking it up...really?!...I thought they benched this guy two years ago...Marc Verica, PhD? I thought so. EDGE: Miami

RB

Damien Berry looks to extend his streak of 100 yard days to 5. Virginia is averageing about 5 ypc, but this ain't Eastern Michigan or William & Mary. Oh, and here's a fun fact: Virginia's run defense is 79th in the nation.EDGE: Miami

Receivers

Hankerson, Byrd and Benjamin all bounced back with touchdown catches last week for the first time in 2.5 seasons of playing together. Virginia's Kevin Burd is one to watch, as he has made some plays for the 'Hoos. The emergence of Asante Cleveland as a pass catching tight end for the 'Canes can not be discounted. EDGE: Miami

Offensive Line

Have you seen Allen Bailey lately? EDGE: Miami

Defensive Line

Seriously, have you? EDGE: Miami

Linebackers

UVa is giving up a ton of yards as it struggles to go from a 3-4 to a 4-3 scheme. EDGE: Miami

Secondary

Miami's guys, particularly Telemaque, are ballhawking and are 2nd in the nation in interceptions with 14. EDGE: Miami

Special Teams

Miami housed one against UVa last year. Hear that, TB3? Coverage still has to improve, although it was much better last week. EDGE: Miami

Miami should win this one by three scores minimum.

OTHER PICKS

Last Week: 3-3

Season: 34-21 (2-5 in upset specials...2 in a row!)

Clemson over BC

South Carolina (the REAL SC) over Tennessee

Tulsa over Notre Dame

Iowa over Michigan State

Mizzou over Nebraska

UiF over UGA (Cocktail Party!)

Texas over Baylor

Utah over Air Force

USC over Oregon (Upset, but not my upset special)

UPSET SPECIAL

Ole Miss over Auburn

Never underestimate Nutt. Divisional game, at home, an offense quitely averaging 30 points and a the feisty Landshark defense....

Always guard the inbound passer.

Inches

Hello All,

In "Any Given Sunday", Al Pacino's character famously opines:

We’re in hell right now, gentlemen, believe me. And, we can stay here -- get the
sh*t kicked out of us -- or we can fight our way back into the light. We can
climb outta hell one inch at a time...You know, when you get old in life things
get taken from you. I mean that's...part of life. But, you only learn that when
you start losing stuff. You find out life’s this game of inches. So is football.
Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small -- I
mean one-half a step too late, or too early, and you don’t quite make it.
One-half second too slow, too fast, you don’t quite catch it.The inches we need
are everywhere around us.They’re in every break of the game, every minute, every
second. On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear
ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our
fingernails for that inch, because we know when we add up all those inches
that’s gonna make the f*ckin' difference between winning and losing!
Between livin' and dyin'!I’ll tell you this: In any fight, it’s the guy who’s
willing to die who’s gonna win that inch. And I know if I’m gonna have any life
anymore, it’s because I’m still willin' to fight and die for that inch. Because
that’s what livin' is! The six inches in front of your face!

I bring this up for a few reasons. First of all, this is my favorite football movie and this is my favorite scene in the movie. I think it is completely underrated and I have wanted to include this in a blog of mine pretty much since I started writing one. Second of all, the italicized section is particularly poignant when digesting Miami's win over Clemson.

As fans, sometimes we get to live in our own world. We have the luxury of being able to sit down and watch a game as an observer and say things like "Jacory should have thrown that ball to the guy's back shoulder" and tally up errors and dissect and dissect and dissect as the game goes along.

We do not, however, have access to the player's point of view. We are not on the field when the proverbial bullets start flying.

We live in a world of theory. The players live in a world of actuality.

Football is an imperfect sport. After every game, even the best teams come away with a laundry list of things to work on. That's just football. The true test of your grit is if you can adjust when the game starts going in the other direction. When the inches become harder to win or, worse, you start losing them. When you are punched in the mouth a couple of times and have to respond.

Let's not lose sight of what Miami did in this game.

Jacory once again made some bad throws. They sucked. Period. He could have very easily checked out. But he didn't. He kept attacking. He showed a Favre-like resolve in rallying and rallying his team. He threw four touchdowns against a good defense. He scrambled out of a sack on 1st and 20 and turned it in to a 17 yard gain. He checked down to Leonard Hankerson for a key 3rd and 5 conversion late in the 4th quarter that kept the clinching drive going.

He played like a winner. It wasn't pretty. He had to scrap for it. He had to kick and fight and spit and claw his way out of some bad situations, created both by himeself and his offensive line and a good Clemson front four. But he got it done.

Miami also had to overcome a talented team playing in it's own stadium on Homecoming in front of a LOUD crowd. It had to overcome it's third straight road game. Most importantly, it had to overcome the refs. The refs were terrible. Period. I am a lifelong Miami Hurricanes fan. I have seen some TERRIBLE officiating go against us. This might have been the worst, highlighted by the following, which as far as I know is a first in the history of football:

Tommy Streeter is essentially handed the ball by the Clemson return man ona muffed fair catch. Miami has the ball inside Clemson's 30. The refs challenge the play. The call is overturned, citing a rule that states if a fair catch is called and the returner loses possession but the ball does not touch the ground then the returner must be allowed space to recover the ball. Fine. that's a stupid rule, but the rule nonetheless. Here's what got me. The golden rule with challenges is that you cannot use them to assess a penalty or take one away. Not allowed. It was a huge sticking point during the replay debate. The refs called no penalty on the play in question. And yet, somehow, Miami came out of the challenge without the ball AND WITH A 15 YARD PENALTY. On a play that I personally watched Clemson replicate 3 times during the course of the game without being whistled. Annnnd scene.

There were 5 instances wherein Miami got called for a bad penalty/screwed on a replay in this game. 5. It was such a comedy of errors that my buddy Francis texted me "if these good ol' boys are going to be so blatant they might as well just call the penalty on N-word #86". I hate going racial, but I almost have to agree.

And yet, despite that, Miami pressed on. The entire second half was one big momentum shift toward Clemson. And yet, Miami came up with 6 turnovers, none bigger than the forced fumble/fumble recovery by the benched Demarcus Van Dyke. They held strong on a BIG 4th&1 late in the game that should have been a gimme for Clemson. They held strong even though a true freshman right tackle was going against Clemson's Freakshow DeQuan Bowers in his first career start.

They held on, won the inches and won the game. Isn't that really what matters?

It has been said too many times too count about this team that they are too soft mentally and physically. That they are talented but can't go on the road and win a big game. That they are talented but they can't win if they are not one hundred percent on their game. That they shrink from big spots and big moments.

This was a game where Miami played to maybe 80% of their potential. It was on the road. It was against a good team. It was filled with pressure points, those moments when you see how big an inch really is. And Miami knocked it out of the park.

Sure it was ugly. Sure it was at times frustrating. Sure I had to call my dad and make sure his ticker was tickin' the way it should.

But good teams go on the road and win the tough ones. They win ugly. They see the games that everyone deems a "yardstick" game and they win them. Bottom line is that they find a way to get the job done.

Already, Miami fans are saying Clemson was overrated (even though they all predicted Clemson to win the game) and are saying FSU is the real test. It will be the same thing if we beat FSU. Fans have the luxury of sitting on their high horse. They dwell on the negative and don't talk about Sean Spence emerging past DeAndre McDaniel as the top defender in the ACC. Or the d-line continuing to get pressure. Or the run game churning out yards. Or the 6 turnovers.

They also often forget the most important thing: The W.

Miami got The W and Clemson didn't. They got it because they won the inches.

I'll take 10 more just like it.

Miami vs. Clemson Breakdown

Hello All,

This week the 'Canes head up to Death Valley in the third leg of their road odyssey to begin the season; if this is The Odyssey, Jacory Harris is Odysseus. As he goes, so goes the crew. And maybe even we will get lucky and see a vintage Vanessa Williams sex scene during this game...I digress.

So that is your cheesy, Musburger-esque setup and this is your breakdown:

QB

If Jacory limits mistakes he is the better player. Clemson's Kyle Parker, or as he is known in my living room, the poor man's Dan Stein, doesn't have much going for him. It's not like the guy hits 20 bombs a year for the baeball team, plays quarterback on the football team, already has a multi-million dollar job waiting for him upon leaving school and rocks a great faux-mullet. Wait, he does? Anyway, Parker will be dealing with plenty of pressure from Miami's defensive front this game, unlike last season. I also still believe he gets way more credit for last season's win than he deserves. However, with Clemson's DeAndre McDaniel lurking in the secondary, I have no clue who has the upperhand between these two talented players. EDGE: Even

RB

Clemson relies on Jamie Harper (if you ever want to hear a messed up recruiting story, ask me sometime about why Harper is a Tiger and not a 'Cane) and Andre Ellington. Both are big and explosive. Miami will have their hands full with the duo, and that includes as receivers out of the backfield. However, I said the same thing before the Pitt game and look how that turned out. Miami, meanwhile, is establishing Damien Berry as the plowhorse and Lamar Miller as the flash to his smash. EDGE: Clemson

WR

Miami, and it isn't close. Clemson starts a junior who has not done much and a sophomore. They have big play capability but do not come close to resembling Miami's arsenal. EDGE: Miami

OL

Both teams have physical lines that are probably better in run blocking than pass blocking. Both have to deal with athletic, versatile defensive lines. EDGE: Even

DL

Miami's front four (which is really more like a front 9) is playing great football right now. They have Allen Bailey (a superfreak) at one end, three complimentary ends that are playing well and 4 solid tackles. Clemson has DeQuan Bowers (a superfreak) at one end, a solid complimentary piece at the other and four solid tackles, lead by Brandon Thompson. The top line of the depth chart is relatively equal, but after that it slides in Miami's favor. EDGE: Miami

LB

Sean Spence will be the best player on the field. Clemson, much like Miami, has an athletic group that struggles with positioning. They are lead by Brandon Maye, who I am pretty sure has been on the team since 1997. All things being equal, Spence gives Miami the leg up. EDGE: Miami

Secondary

If Spence gives Miami the linebacking edge, McDaniel gives Clemson the edge in the secondary single handedly. EDGE: Clemson

Special Teams

Miami has the best return game in the nation and one of the most mediocre coverage games. Clemson lost C.J. Spiller but will have speed back to return kicks. Matt Bosher is great, obviously, and rates Miami the edge in the kicking game. Also, Alex F-ing Uribe will not be screwing up and kicking deep to Spiller instead of squibbing it at the end of the half when the 'Canes have just scored to take momentum back headed into the locker room and in the process giving up a return touchdown to reignite the Tigers because he kicked deep when the call and resulting formation was set up for a F*CKING SQUIB KICK. Not that I'm bitter. EDGE: Miami

So there we have it. This one will come down to the wire. My dad predicted a late drive to come from behind and win for Miami. So we will go with that. Also, since I know you're looking for it with your Apple F function, good luck in Regionals this weekend Steve. Austin is a fine town, try to leave it in one piece.

And now we do some picks:

Texas A&M over Okie State

In the battle of the big programs that couldn't: Think it is possible that the two ADs get together and agree to simultaneously fire both coaches at midfield when it is over? Maybe trade them straight up for each other out of boredom? Maybe implicate them in the BP Screwup and have them brought up on federal charges?

Oklahoma over Texas

Michigan State over Wisconsin

This is what happens when you get ready for your first big road test in conference by playing the likes of Austin Peay and the Girl Scouts of America. Or at least, what I hope happens. Never had anything against Wisconsin until a bunch of their fans mysteriously turned into Ohio State fans the one weekend that OSU played Miami. Yes, OSU, a bitter rival. Well, not really bitter, because in order for it to be bitter Wisconsin might want to, oh, I don't know, win a national title for once in the history of their program. Like the 5 that Miami has won. Since 1984.

Virginia Tech over NC St.

Tech is starting to warm up. There was no way they were going to stay down all season.

Wake Forest over Georgia Tech

MARYland over Duke

Oregon over Stanford

Alabama over Florida

If it weren't a Miami gameday I would be wearing red all day long. In a similar vein, UiF will probably have someone arrested after the game.

Redheads over Blondes

To answer the debate in my favorite Billy Currington song.

Gordon Gekko over Barack Oabama

UPSET SPECIAL

FIU over Pitt

I am going to ride this damn hunch until I am forced to stop. Or next week. Whichever comes first.

Season Record 15-9 (0-3 in Upsets)

Always guard the inbound passer.

Trickle Down Theory

Hello All,

Love that this title makes my blog sound like it could be about something intellectual, like economics.

Instead of watching Entourage tonight (NOTE: Written on Sunday) due to my lack of a television, I am writing a position unit breakdown. LOVE Los Angeles.

I talked last time about teams getting glamour and praise for their receivers and running backs and linebackers but being built around their offensive and defensive lines. When it comes to the d-line, I think about it as a Trickle Down Effect, only this time not undermined by the Bleeding Heart Liberals like Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd (may they both rest well).

Let’s take a look at the standard 4-3 Base Defense that Miami uses. You start with defensive tackle. If your two defensive tackles can tie up the three opposing interior offensive linemen, it frees up the linebackers to operate in space.

It also prevents the guards from being able to double on the defensive ends, which creates either one on one opportunities for the pass rushers (which they have the defense at an advantage, as the end is moving forward while the offensive tackle is sliding and moving backward in pass protection) or a necessity for the offense to keep a tackle or running back in to pick up the pass rusher, taking away a potential receiver.

This inevitably leads to short passes that are easily minimized by the linebackers who are each

free to cover 1/3 of the middle of the field, or long passes against the secondary, which gets a chance to play man without the fear of having to bring a safety up to pick up a linebacker’s assignment.

If an opponent wants to send three wide receivers out, then that means one of the defensive ends is going to be free to apply pressure and force a quick throw. If it sends four receivers out, both defensive ends are in one- on- one situations with eyes on the quarterback. The secondary will be able to prey on forced, hurried throws and will be in better position to smother pass routes, as they have less time to hold their coverage.

Last season, this was not the case. Offensive lines had their way with Miami’s front four due to injuries, a lack of depth and a seeming unwillingness to use any combination pass rush moves.

Since Miami is not fond of sending a large number of blitzes, that meant quarterbacks could sit back all day in the pocket and find a receiver running free in the middle of the field, oftentimes a running back or tight end matched up on a linebacker. In the run game, it meant that Miami’s second level often found itself taking on guards, which is a total mismatch, that resulted in opponents being able to convert 3^rd and Short opportunities.

The end result was that a soft defensive line resulted in linebackers having to execute assignments that were out of their talent level (i.e. covering C.J. Spiller for 30 yards on a wheel route) or just plain unfair (Colin McCarthy having to shed a 300 lb offensive guard to make plays in the run game).

It also made our secondary look more porous than it was (and it wasn’t great to start with) by forcing them to cover for an extended amount of time on every play. After 5 seconds, the offense has the advantage in the pass game. Period.

The solution is multi-tiered. First of all, the front four has to be healthy. Second of all, the hire of Rick Petri will help immensely when it comes to technique. Third of all, the rotation has to be able to go 8+ deep without seeing a dropoff. These are big guys that cannot play every down, with rare exception.

The good news is that Miami looks to have its deepest line since 2001, when we won a National Title. That team was acclaimed for going 9 deep in the front four and making life hell for opposing quarterbacks. This year looks to be a return to those days.

Good defenses usually have great linebackers, no doubt. But to anyone that thinks linebackers can do it without a strong front four, think about this: Ray Lewis had Warren Sapp. Dan Morgan had Damione Lewis and William Joseph. Jon Vilma had Vince Wilfork. The Bermuda Triangle had a bunch of great tackles. Jon Beason, who is great in the league, never lived up to his potential at The U; his best tackles were Baraka Atkins, Bryan Pata and Kareem Brown, all good players but none the type that tied up multiple blockers.

Defensive Line

The Season That Was: The defensive front suffered a ton of injuries. Eric Moncur missed most of the season, as did Marcus Forston. Adewale Ojomo missed the entire season in one of the freakiest occurrences I have ever heard of. At times, Olivier Vernon, Marcus Robinson and others were all injured. As a result of this and what was mentioned before, they ended up losing the battle of the trenches more often than not and were particularly exposed against Virginia Tech and Wisconsin. That being said, the unit showed flashes, particularly against Georgia Tech. Allen Bailey emerged as a star, although we still do not know his best position, and Vernon as a future beast in the making.

What Was Lost: Moncur, an all-time “what could have been” guy. Joe Joseph graduated; he was serviceable but should not be missed.

Roll Call

Tackles

Josh Holmes (Sr.) – Holmes is not a big time difference maker but has his utility in pass rush situations. If all goes according to plan, he will be about the 5^th guy in the tackle pecking order.

Micanor Regis (Jr.) – The unsung hero of this unit who produced when given the chance last year and is a projected starter this year. My favorite stat was that he tied for the team lead with 2 interceptions.

Curtis Porter (So.) – Emerged as a freshman at the end of the season and had a great spring. Is a load and if he can stay in shape will be exactly the type of plugger this team needs in the middle.

Marcus Forston (So.) – Will battle with Porter for one of the two starting spots opposite Regis. Was great as a freshman but looked pretty shaky last year before being injured for the season. Has the potential to be the biggest star on the team and a Jerome Brown type of defensive leader. Coaches will start him at third string in the fall and make him earn his spot.

Jeremy Lewis (So.) – Lewis looked decent down the stretch when paired with Porter last season. He has a great deal of ability but is still learning how to use it. Once, if ever, he harnesses it he will be a freak.

Luther Robinson (R-Fr.) – A lot like Lewis in that he has a lot of potential but has work to do to maximize it. Should not see the field this season.

Jeff Brown (Fr.) – Illinois Wrestling Champ will redshirt to get bigger but could be a possible impact pass rusher in 2011.

Ends

Allen Bailey (Sr.) – The star of the line will be a starter at end, but I think he is better as a tackle. He physically overpowers linemen. When he pushed them off the line at end, he is pushing them in to space. When he pushes them off the line at tackle, he is mucking up the entire offense, similar to Ndamukong Suh at Nebraska last season. And rest assured, Bailey has the ability to be every bit as dominant as Suh. Most likely plays end on balanced downs and slides in to tackle on passing downs before getting drafted as the prototypical 3-4 defensive end. Anyone that can rip off a 4.7 Forty at 290 lbs and Vert 38” with 6% body fat is going to be drafted very high.

Steven Wesley (Sr.) – Nothing spectacular, but makes more plays than people realize at end. Will be in the rotation and would not surprise anyone by winning a starting spot. One of my favorite looks is when the staff puts Wesley and Bailey inside and two speed rushers at end on passing downs.

Adewale Ojomo (Jr.) – Has the potential to be the best end on the team and a starter every week if he can stay on the field. Showed amazing promise as a redshirt frosh in 2008 but missed last season with a broken jaw. His weight is back up and his intensity will be greater than ever. This kid plays with a mean streak reminiscent of Rusty Medearis and the old school ‘Cane linemen.

Marcus Robinson (Jr.) – The best speed rusher on the team will look to start for his third straight season. Great first step similar to Dwight Freeney but needs to develop some moves, as he gets held a lot and rarely gets it called (he can thank the U in his helmet for that). Will flourish as a 3-4 linebacker in the NFL.

Andrew Smith (Jr.) – A lot like Wesley: all steak, no sizzle. Makes the plays in front of him and not much else. Solid rotation guy.

Olivier Vernon (So.) – Intensity that rivals Ojomo’s was on diplay last season. Vernon is fast, quick and agile and loves to hit the opponent in the mouth. Draws your eye every time he is on the field. Along with either Ojomo or Robinson will serve as perhaps the best set of backup ends in the nation and will see heavy playing time if healthy.

Dyron Dye (R-Fr.) – Dye looks to weigh about 260 lbs right now with plenty of room for more on his frame; he actually is beginning to look like a combination of Bailey and The Predator. Will most likely only see mop up duty this year but is a future linchpin of the group.

David Perry (Fr.) – The next freak in line. At 6’7”, 220 lbs he has a lot of room to grow without sacrificing superior athleticism. Will redshirt (if qualified) and is a couple of years away from playing, but could be a great one with his long arms and natural ability.

There you have it. Of the 15 players listed, 11 have a chance to make an impact this season, with the core group of 9 all being extremely talented. If they play tougher this season, so will the rest of the defense. And with Whipple’s offense sure to put up points in Year 2, a scary Miami defense is the LAST thing opponents want to see.

Always guard the inbound passer.

Happy New Year

Hello All,

Well, unfortunately, it is time to wrap up the 2009 Hurricane football season.

I took two hundred pages of notes this season, or roughly 4000 times more than two season ago. It was at times frustrating, as evidenced by the three cracks that I inflicted on my Blackberry screen (I get a little worked up) throughout the season. However, more of the time, it was uplifting. It marked another step in the right direction and gave me a lot of hope for bigger and better things next season.

Here are my season ending awards:

Most Valuable Player Award: Jacory

Let's just say that, good or bad, this team went as Jacory went. When he was good, this team was unstoppable. When he was bad, so was the team. Sometimes this all happened in one game. He did, however, grab this team and make it his own, which is what an MVP does. Runner Up: Jason Fox

Defensive Player of the Year: Brandon Harris

Sharpton surged late, and McCarthy and Bailey had big years as well. But Harris rarely got beat, rarely took a dumb penalty and eveolved as the season went on in to a very good cover corner. Additionally, he wasn't afraid to come up and thump someone, as evidenced by his three forced fumbles. And he made the one play of the season that made scream so loud I woke my neighbors (the strip sack of Landry Jones in the OU game). Seriously. They came over and asked if we were ok. I wish I were kidding. Runner Up: Bailey

Player Responsible for the Most Excalamtion Points (!!!!!!!!!!!!!): Jimmy Graham

This guy could literally shit himself on the field and I would have thought it was awesome. As I have said, this guy was my favorite basketball player for years because of his heart and tenacity. He played football the same way. If he had ever dunked a touchdown pass, I might literally have died of a rush of blood to the head. Runner Up: Thearon Collier

Rookie of the Year: Mike James

Filled every role we asked him to this season. Gets bonus points for starting at fullback and kick returner...let me know of another guy in America currently filling that role. Runner Up: Olivier Vernon

Best Hair-Do: Olivier Vernon

The Mohawk. 'Nuff said. Runner Up: Jacory

Looked Best in His Uniform: Ray Ray Armstrong

Just looked like a machine sent back through time to destroy receivers going over the middle. Leads me to believe that every single defensive player on the roster should be required to wear the dark visor. Can we make this happen? Give me one good reason why we can't. Runner Up: Graig Cooper

Most Overlooked by the Fans: Graig Cooper

You wouldn't think this, but Cooper actually had a BIG TIME season. He was great in blitz pick-up, a solid receiver and a hard runner. He eliminated the dancing in the backfield and stopped tackling himself. He was the most reliable big play threat and probably the most inappropriately maligned player on the roster. Godspeed in your recovery from injury Cooooooooooop. Runner Up: Jared Campbell

Winston Wolf Award: Damien Berry

He didn't care what happened before he came in or what happened after. He took care of his business and solved problems. A perfect sledgehammer running back. Runner Up: None.

SIDENOTE: The other day Bill turns to me and says "Why the hell didn't Tiger Woods just call the Wolf?" Fanatastic question.

Tom Robinson Most Sympathetic Figure Award: Eric Moncur

This guy went balls to the wall all the time, and as a result he couldn't stay healthy. A shame, because this was a great kid with a lot of talent and a truly inspiraional story.Runner Up: Javarris James

Best Moment: Aldarious Johnson's catch on 4th and 16 against Wake Forest

The three plays before this were terrible and mind-boggling. The throw on this play looked high. Johnson looked double...nay, triple... covered. And yet, he still made the play. And the rest is history. Runner Up: Jacory Harris Throw/Travis Benjamin Catch late against FSU

Best Game: Miami beats Florida State 38-34

If I have to explain this, you are a moron. Runner Up: Miami loses to Clemson in OT

And there you have it. My stomach will never be the same (pretty sure I now have an ulcer...Go 'Canes!), and neither will my phone. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Thanks for the memories!

I Am 10,000 Feet Above Chapel Hill...

Hello All,

Really, this week’s game does not need much of a lead-in…but here it goes anyway!

Miami finds itself in a familiar spot. Last season, Miami was 7-3 after losing a couple of close ones and a not-so-close one early. They needed 2 wins to go to the ACC Title Game. They promptly lost both of the games and ended up playing in the Emerald Bowl, which carries so little significance that I literally just had to look up the name of the game because I had forgotten it. And this is coming from the guy who remembers that Kyle Cobia was an 82 for speed on NCAA College Football 2003.

Anyway, Miami heads in to this one 7-2, needing to win out to make a respectable bowl game (I am PRAYING for a Miami vs. Notre Dame Gator Bowl matchup…long shot, but I can dream, no?) and set themselves up well for next season. And let’s be real…who the hell knows what to expect from Miami? Or North Carolina? Or any team in this freakin’ conference???

I always compare this point in a team’s season to the fantastic sequence in Almost Famous (one of the top ten movies of all time, by the way) when Stillwater’s plane is about to crash.

Everyone on the plane decides to blurt out their deepest, darkest secret…they only have a few minutes left to live, so why the hell not? It is messy at best. By the way, put this blog down and go watch the freakin’ movie if you haven’t seen it. Seriously.

The manager hit a guy with his car.

The drummer is gay.

And the real bombshell…the lead singer banged the guitarist/superstar’s wife back in the day.

And then, the plane rights itself and everyone lives. The look on everyone’s face is priceless. Everything is in the open, and now they have to live with it. They have to adjust.

Miami had their “Oh Shit, We’re About to Die” moment when they lost a game they should’ve won against Clemson (taking them out of both conference title and BCS pictures) and then trailed by two scores late against Wake Forest.

Everyone just prepared for a second straight loss and pretty much had moved on. But then, Miami won. The plane righted itself.

So now, the question is what happens next? That’s one of the best parts of the movie, but also the point where the movie analogy completely stops working…it is left up to the viewer to decide what happens to the characters. Personally, I think that Stillwater bounces back with a strong second album, called something like “Death by Airplane”. They become huge stars and the rest is history. Kind of like Nirvana. However, there is also the possibility that Russell Hammond leaves the band after the post-Cover of Rolling Stone honeymoon ends and he realizes his wife banged his lead singer; Hammond becomes a later version of Eric Clapton…supremely talented, cannot stay with one band to save his life.

So there are the options. Last week against Virginia, the ‘Canes looked like the win against Wake combined with the shorter practices combined with Randy Shannon going Michael Corleone on a team that had pissed him off one time too many had them playing the type of football elite teams play late in the season.

So have they taken that next step to become an elite team, or are we merely right back to where we were last season? Virginia is tough to guage a team by, especially because they are not very good. North Carolina, on the other hand, is playing well as of late and has a MENACING front seven (more on this in a bit). And here’s where it gets confusing…Virginia whooped UNC!

To say that Miami owes Butch Davis a beating is an understatement. I still remember that Butch bailed on the ‘Canes 2 WEEKS before National Signing Day in 2001. 2 FUCKING WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After he said he was coming back. Well, needless to say, I do not hold him very highly. In fact, I’m not a big Butch fan. I was 13 at the time and knew he had done something completely wrong.

Davis also indirectly triggered the collapse of the Miami program; Ken Dorsey, Ed Reed and Joaquin Gonzalez marched in to Paul Dee’s office the next day and demanded that Dee hire Coker, then the offensive coordinator, instead of making the offer to Dave Wanndstedt. I do not know which is worse…that we ended up with Coker or that the other option was Wanndstedt. Sure, we won the title and actually went back-to-back…but I could’ve coached that damn team and won a title. As we all know, the long term effects of this hire would be felt, and I cannot help but think that things would have played out differently had Butch not left us dangling in the wind like he did.

Wow, what was I talking about? Oh, right, UNC. Their front seven is crazy good. Look at some numbers: they rank 3rd in the nation with 61 tackles for loss, 5th in Pass D, 8th in Run D and 5th in Total D. Gulp.

Now, it is also prescient to keep in mind that Miami beat Oklahoma and should’ve beat Clemson, both of whom came in with vaunted front sevens. However, this game is at 3:30 (a bad timeslot for the ‘Canes this season) and on the road. And Butch has owned the ‘Canes since returning to UNC. This just reeks of a setup. I guess this is why they don’t play the games on paper, however. And I guess we will see if Miami is a flameout or a team with some staying power.

BREAKDOWN:

Quarterback: T.J. Yates has been a game manager that has struggled with interceptions. He played poorly against Duke, well against Virginia Tech and poorly against FSU his last three times out. Poorly against Duke? Allen Bailey is licking his chops…Doc Walker would say something like “Allen Bailey is a straight up BAWLA…a CYBORG, ladies and gentleman…T.J., you on ya own SOULJA, ‘cus the TERMINATA sees you and he is LOCKED IN…HOLLA BACK!” Meanwhile, Jacory is Jacory. He will throw a bad interception or two, will make a “Holy Shit, did he just do that?” play or two, and somewhere in the middle throw for a couple scores and manage the offense. EDGE: Miami

Running Back: UNC lost leading rusher Shaun Draughn for the season, but last week Ryan Houston carried 37 times for 140+ yards. Here’s hoping he is tired. Miami’s stable looked deep last week, and if Javarris James is healthy to boot, then Miami should be able to establish some semblance of a running game to set up the playaction. Remember, it was James that went off against Oklahoma’s front seven. EDGE: Even

Receiver: This is Carolina’s team weakness after losing Hakeem Nicks and Brandon Tate. Greg Little has been solid and nothing more (although he is a matchup problem), while big play guys Erik Highsmith and Jehranie Boyd haven’t gotten the ball much. Meanwhile, Miami’s Leonard Hankerson is having a big year, and it seems like every week someone new is his leading sidekick. EDGE: Miami

Offensive Line: Both offensive lines have been solid, although I think Miami’s is going to have their hands more full. I can’t call it either way, to be honest. EDGE: Even

Defensive Live: Well, UNC has probably one of the top 4 or 5 lines in the nation. Robert Quinn is an All- American at end, and Marvin Austin is a WEREWOLF at tackle. Oh, and Quinton Coples has 6 sacks. Just putting that out there. Meanwhile, Miami’s line has not consistently gotten to the passer…EDGE: Carolina

Linebackers: Which puts their linebackers in a hole trying to cover way too much ground for too long a time instead of roaming free and hunting the ball…EDGE: Carolina

Secondary: Which leaves their corners either isolated on go-routes against bigger receivers for too long or behind the play after the receiver runs a route in to the middle, where they know linebackers can’t cover them. EDGE: Carolina

(Of course, all this is moot if the defensive line is getting pressure like they were last week OR if Carolina does the “we’ll just run all game and try to wear them out” thing, which hasn’t worked well except for when Virginia Tech did it, which was a disaster.)

Special Teams: The great equalizer in a close game. A part of me is happy that UVa got those two blocks. Now, Coach Pannuzzio has gotten his ass handed to him by Shannon and there will be greater emphasis on this unit this week, which is good because UNC excels in Special Teams. In addition to Bruce Carter blocking kicks, watch out for D’Anoris Searcy in the return game. And hope that Miami gives Bosher enough time to punt, covers his kickoffs well and Thearon Collier or someone can break off a big return. EDGE: Carolina

GUEST PICKER

This week, Francis is back by popular demand to pick the ESPN “Game of the Week” between Notre Dame and Pitt.

"Hello there all of you out there in Stein-Blog-Nation-Land, Dan asked me to do the guest pick for this week. As usual I will oblige him.


Dan asked me to do the pick for the Notre Dame-Pitt matchup. After around just 3 minutes of research I realized that this was going to be difficult to do from a football stand point. This game is kind of like an Athletics-Royals game in the last week of August. It just doesn't matter. For instance, Notre Dame just flushed their season down the toilet by losing to Navy. Charlie Weis will most undoubtedly lose his job because of this, and rightfully so. Pitt on the other hand is playing non-conference in this game and their hopes of a BCS bowl lie in the Big East, and more than likely the December 5th matchup with Cincinnati.



Then it hit me.

ESPN's college football studio crew consists of a one Lou Holtz, and a Mark May. Lou, as you all know, once coached at Notre Dame and gave up 4th and 43. Mark May is a total asshole, who also went to Pittsburgh. One can only envision the tedious banter and fake trash talking between these two the whole day. Not that I would miss their insightful analysis, but fake banter and chummy attitudes make me want to drive up to Bristol and cut some brake lines (and for the record I would actually do this, but I'm broke and Connecticut is a good 1500 miles from my house).


So I flipped on the television and within 15 minutes of flipping to ESPN I heard that classically awful drum fill from the beginning of Saturday Night Football (which by the way was clearly created on a computer, and not an actual human marching band) and my worst fears were realized. Pitt-Notre Dame is the marquee matchup. Even the marketing taglines could see this game is about nothing. "Every team has a coach to play for" flew over b-roll Jimmy Clausen tape. Umm, no, that was last week against Navy, now your coach is the lamest duck in sports, thank you.


So I leave it to you Steininites, whom do you want to win? Lou Holtz or Mark May? If Lou Holtz wins then we get to hear him talk about the Notre Dame spirit, and then probably compare Mark May to apple farming, and then get side tracked about how he almost caught this raccoon this one time at Arkansas and how it saved their football season. If Mark May wins, we will most assuredly have to look at his stupid, gloating face as if Jesus was a Pitt alumnus (whooooo class of '78!). He will then probably talk about the non-football aspects of the victory, completely irrelevant things like how crappy Notre Dame's academics are, and how difficult MTH 083 was at Pitt. No one is a less gracious loser than Marky Mark.


In fact, it probably doesn't matter because after all that ESPN will be back at fellating Tim Tebow or some hilarious SEC matchup. Just remember, Go Gators, and if you're not first, you're last."

Well, I guess he isn't picking a winner. Really, it doesn't matter. Well done Francis, and please, no one cut their brake lines (wink wink).

MY PICKS: Last week I went 6-1. That’s right. I’m a BAAAAAD man. AND I predicted Navy to beat Notre Dame. Well, it is sad that a 6-1 spot only brings me to 32-34 (1-7)... but I can feel a storm brewing….

Rutgers over USF: Rutgers at home on Thursday night. This won’t come back to haunt me…

Cincy over WVU: I am convinced Cincy could plug Billy Stein in at quarterback and win.

Georgia Tech over Duke: Convincingly. They will not let this one get away.

Wisconsin over Michigan: Easy

Ole Miss over Tennessee: And, like Billy said, Greg Hardy got hurt. Also, I changed this pick after the Great Knoxville Heist of 2009.

Wake over Florida State: I think it is hilarious that people think that Bobby Bowden is suddenly lost on a football field. He has been acting that way in pressers for years, people. When he is in the game, he knows the score. He knows the situation. There are reasons to get rid of him, but the transcript from some press conference that DOESN’T involve Bowden going off on black people like Jimmy the Greek is not among those reasons.

Ohio State over Iowa: And Iowa makes its annual run to the Sun Bowl.

Cal over Arizona State

TCU over Utah

UPSET SPECIAL: Stanford over USC

I just have a feeling. And no, not the annoying kind like the Black Eyed Peas.

Always guard the inbound passer.

Al Groh Sleeps With the Fishes

Hello All,

This was a big weekend for Stein on the Sidelines, and you will see why as you read this.

But allow me to begin by saying I cannot stand Virginia. I have had dreams for roughly two years about smacking Virginia so hard that they had to fire their coach. Seriously. That exact scenario. Why am I dreaming about this? Well, good question. Anyway, there was no way we could have won this game by enough points. Miami could beat Virginia 220-0 (the actual score of a game between Georgia Tech and Cumberland College about 100 years ago…look it up) and I would still want more.

You see, I consider the Orange Bowl a major part of my development as a person. It was the site of some of the ‘Canes greatest triumphs and most devastating defeats, which by extension made it the sight of some of my greatest triumphs and most devastating defeats.

When Miami and Virginia played the final game there, I knew that we were a bad team. I wasn’t naïve. But still, I thought that the Old Girl had at least one more magic night in store for me, one more look back in time. I actually wrote an article about the game after I got back that night that won an award for best sports article of any college student at any college newspaper in Florida for the year 2007. Needless to say, I had a deep connection with that place.

Well, Virginia essentially shit on Her when she was on her death bed. They beat the ‘Canes 48-0 that night, which is bad enough, but they did it in almost mean-spirited fashion, running up the score on a bad team under a first year head coach. For this, I will never forgive them. And that is why I didn’t drink on game day this year. I had a feeling this was going to be a slaughter.

And I wanted to be aware of every single crushing inch. I wanted to see Virginia hurt. I wanted to see Al Groh run out of town, floated out on a fishing boat in to the middle of the lake and then shot in the back of the head (just wait, there will be at least one more Godfather II reference…PS, I mean this in a very non-literal sense, I would not ACTUALLY like to see him shot, maybe just pushed overboard, just to make this analogy work…as far as you know).

I made the trip to Miami just so I could watch it happen in person. Let’s just say that Randy did a pretty damn good job of appeasing me.

1st QTR

• As if to prove that, yes, he is the most badass man on the field at all times, Damien Berry, our new star running back, just ran down the field and destroyed the Cavalier return man on the opening kickoff. I love it.
• Jared Campbell makes two big plays back to back, nearly getting a Pick 6, and the ‘Canes force a punt. Yes, THAT Jared Campbell. Formerly known as the "Corpse Known as Jared Campbell", now known as a solid run-supporting safety on a good football team.
• Miami drives down the field but stalls out thanks to a penalty (WHAT?! Miami got called for a penalty? Get outta town!) and kicks a field goal. Solid start. (3-0 UM)
• Jacory throws a bad pick on Miami’s next possession, throwing it directly to Virginia’s best player. You know, I’m not even mad. I’ve come to terms with it. Once or twice a game, Jacory will still do something foolish. It’s just how it is. I love him at quarterback, for a lot of reasons. I guess this is the tradeoff for actually having a quarterback I like on AND off the field for once.
• Virginia kicks a field goal. (3-3)
• Miami then follows with a 3 and Out (Whipple seems to be trying to wear them down in the first quarter with the run)…and then the punt is blocked, giving Virginia a short field and eventually a touchdown. Deep breaths. (10-3 UVa)
• Jacory comes out and throws a deep ball to LaRon Byrd, and then on the next play hits Hank for a 35 yard touchdown. Annnnd this is why Hank is scary for defenses. He is 6’3”, 220 lbs (at least) and fast enough to make things happen after the catch. Figure the typical ACC corner is like 5’10”, 185 lbs. I don’t even have to say the rest. (10-10)
• …gasping for air…gasping for air…I will spare you the CAPS LOCK and exclamation points, but Thearon Collier just made the play of the year on a punt return. My dad and I just had a full out, genitals on genitals hug in the middle of a crowded stadium...and no one noticed. You know, just your every day “evade two tacklers on the far left sideline, retreat 11 yards as you cross the field, pick up three crushing blocks as you cut it up the right sideline and follow your armada in for a touchdown” number. I haven’t heard a stadium rock like that since Devin Hester against Duke in 2005 (Don't believe me?). The best part? Brandon Harris, his teammate and best friend for years, tackling him in the end zone during the celebration after Virginia couldn’t. Second best part? The blocking. Third best part? The play took 16 seconds. Fourth best? Doc Walker on the call, which is always a must listen. HOLLA BACK!!!!!!!!! (17-10 UM)

2nd QTR

• Now, Miami smells blood. The defense comes out guns blazin’, and Randy Shannon takes a brilliant timeout (as pointed out by Darrin Smith postgame) that forces UVa to punt in to the massive wind with :02 seconds left in the quarter instead of into the wind after the TV timeout. The result? A shanked punt and great field positions, which sets up a big play to Travis Benjamin and a touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham on a play that me, my dad, my buddy Chris and pretty much everyone but Al Groh predicted. (24-10 UM)
• SIDENOTE: I get the whole “timeouts at the end of the halves” thing. But really, it only applies when it hurts you. Randy is not great with time management, which I recognize. However, just because a timeout is called outside of the final five minutes of a half does not make it a bad timeout. They are there to be used, and I would rather use them to make sure everyone is on the same page before a big third down or to get the formation right early than save them for when they MIGHT be needed. I cannot think of many times this season when we have needed a timeout and not been able to call one (minus the Clemson game, you probably can’t either). Also, thanks to this timeout (which turned out to be genius), I got to listen to the mulleted, drunk, sleeveless, sunburned loudmouth (wait, is this Gainesville?) 3 rows back bitch at the top of his lungs about how we suck. Again. It kills me how I didn’t hear him cheer once when something good happened (like, say, a 35 yard touchdown reception or ridiculous punt return) but every time a mistake was made (how dare we not be PERFECT?!) he couldn’t wait to jump on it. Love it.
• On Miami’s next drive, Coop rips off a pretty 15 yard run to set the ‘Canes up well, but they cannot convert 4th down (a call I loved, by the way).
• Before halftime, Steven Wesley makes a big sack (the d-line is getting a lot of pressure, which is amazing, considering the ENITRE defense hinges on pressure from the front 4). However, Miami is forced to punt on their next drive, which is blocked and returned for a touchdown. Well, so much for all that momentum. Is there a more crushing play than a blocked punt score? Is there? I cannot think of one. The entire point of punting is to surrender a chance to score in order to gain field positions. YOU ARE SURRENDERING. And Miami can’t even do that right? This is a trigger for gray hair I think. (24-17 UM)

Second Half

• After a prolonged opening drive, Berry walks in to the end zone. (31-17 UM)
• Miami quickly gets the ball back, and Berry rips off a 15 yard run.
• Lee Chambers has a big series, leading to the biggest play of the half…
• Jacory is sacked and Virginia’s player tries to rip his head off. On the ground, the ball comes out, and in trying to grab it, the Virginia player (who outweighs Jacory by about 100 pounds) hits Jacory in the face. This looks worse than it probably was. However, Jacory didn’t like it (who would?) and started pushing the guy after the play. Well, Orlando Franklin and Jason Fox see that their quarterback is about to make a bad decision and take it upon themselves to break it up/make sure the ‘Hoos think twice before ever going near their quarterback again. The ensuing pushing and shoving looks for a split second like the FIU brawl all over again before everyone is broken up. The refs then take five full minutes to call the facemask personal foul on UVa, in the process turning an entire stadium against them and waking everyone up from the 3rd quarter alcohol lull. Jacory is mad because he got hit in the face, Randy is mad at the refs, and the rest of the team is mad because Jacory and Randy are mad. Think this isn’t important? Well, before this, Randy was putting the team in to “sit on the lead” mode. After? He responded like Michael Corleone when Diane Keaton tells him about her abortion. Cold. Calculated. Merciless.
• I don’t remember when the fourth quarter started, but the rest of the game was nothing short of a bloodbath.
• Berry scores another TD. (38-17 UM)
• Cooper rips off a 70 yard run, Epps smashes his way to the 4 after catching a pass in the flat, and Coop cashes it in. (45-17 UM)
• Marcus Robinson gets a sack, which brings up this great stat: UVa up to that point was 0-10 on 3rd Down.
• Micanor Regis gets his team leading first interception (yes, he DOES play defensive tackle) as Andrew Smith, Olivier Vernon and Jeremy Lewis play a little game of “meet me at the quarterback”.
• Miami caps it all off by THROWING for a touchdown to Kendall Thompkins. (52-17 UM) YES! YES! A thousand times yes!

Postgame

• I don’t even have to say it. This was an epic beat down that really should have been more like 66-3. And you know what, my only regret is that it wasn’t. I hope Randy said something to Al after the game like “Hey, feel free to apply for my open Special Teams Coordinator position” or “I know it was you Alfred…” or “Go Fuck Yourself” after the game. Also, this is why we love Jacory: "They think just because I'm skinny I won't retaliate,'' Harris said after the game. ``I just told [the offensive line], I'm glad you got my back, didn't leave me out there alone. Sometimes, you're just doing everything for show. But what you really want is for somebody to come grab you and hold you back.'' Hey, at least he's honest.

Other Games I Watched

• Wake Forest vs. Georgia Tech: And just when you think Wake couldn’t be any more annoying, they anally rape us by choking away this game.
• LSU vs. Alabama: Whatever.
• Navy vs. Notre Dame: YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Didn’t actually watch the Cal game, but here’s to a speedy recovery for Jahvid Best, one of the most electrifying players I have ever seen.
• FSU vs. Clemson: Same to Ponder

Best Game: Miami vs. Virginia. Nothing is better than that.

Best Uniform: UCLA (our first two time winner!)

Game Ball Goes To: C.J. Spiller

Worst Uniform: Arizona State

Trojan Enz © Boner of the Week Award: Wake Forest, for wasting a Turnover on Downs with a minute left when they only needed to go about 30 yards for the game winning field goal. Unbelievable.

Non-BCS Name You Should Know: The entire Navy roster, my new second favorite team. The streak is over! Free at last, free at last! Lord have mercy, I'm free at last!

Always guard the inbound passer.

How Do You Like Me Now?

Hello All,

Well, my hands have finally stopped shaking for long enough to sit down and type up my recount of the Miami- Oklahoma matchup, alternately the most frustrating and gratifying win I can remember.

Now I know what you are telling yourself.

“There’s no chance he is going to do another running diary for this game.”

And you could not be further from the truth ladies and gentlemen.

PRE GAME

Comin’ to you live from the Stein family football cave, eagerly anticipating the fourth leg of Miami’s gauntlet to open the stadium.

ABC shoots it down to Joe Robbie…errrrr Pro Player…errrrr Dolphin…errrrrrr Landshark Stadium, where we are greeted by Kirk Herbstreit and Brent Musbrger. YES! The last good two man booth in college football! We are off to a great start.

Let’s just say that this game is not setting up well for Miami. In what promises to be a physical game, Miami’s starting fullback (Pat Hill), starting defensive end (Olivier Vernon) and two starting safeties (Randy Phillips and JoJo Nicolas) are all scratches. Actually, the Nicolas thing might be good. Is that mean? Or is it just sad? Anyway, all of a sudden our lead blocker in the running game, only reliable defensive back and yet another defensive linemen are gone.

Down on the field, Miami is in the Orange over White. Phew.

My dad and I decide that we want Jimmy Graham to catch the first touchdown. Not only would it get him over the hump after last week’s performance, but it would get the stadium rockin’.

I motion to nickname Landry Jones “The ‘Stache”. Done and done.

1st QTR

• God damn it, it appears “The ‘Stache” has been thought of. Scratch that idea.
• Miami wins the toss and chooses to receive. This is perfect. Set the tone early. Get a score right out of the gates. Love the aggression.
• And we get right in to our typical gameplan, facing a 3rd and Medium early…and Randy Shannon calls for a timeout. Awesome. 1:32 in to the game and we are down a timeout. I mean, it’s only EVERY game that we end up needing one more timeout than we have down the stretch. I am sure that won’t come back to bite us in the ass.
• Jacory hits seldom used Tervarris Johnson for a first down out of the timeout. Again, this is why Mark Whipple is awesome. Johnson, in his previous three years, was essentially a wasted scholarship, listed at different times as the 4th string cornerback, nickelback, safety, tight end and now fullback. And he just got the offense started in the Oklahoma game. Love it.
• Harris follows up by throwing a bad interception. It looks like Leonard Hankerson broke off his flare route; Jacory threw it anyway, trusting that Hankerson WOULD NOT break off his route.
• The defense, after having the tempo dictated to it last weekend in Blacksburg, will surely come out blitzing and forcing the issue. Wait, they’re not? They’re doing the same thing as last weekend? Dan is getting angry…
• And Oklahoma marches down the field and scores a touchdown, beating Sam Shields something like 57 times on the drive. (7-0 OU)
• Question: If Miami knows that Sam Shields is a liability in coverage and is willing to deal with his growing pains as he learns the position, why not just put Brandon McGee and Jamal Reid out there? Why play a senior over freshmen when you’re going to get beat anyway. Nothing against Shields, because I admire him for taking one for the team and switching sides of the ball as a senior. Hell, I think it is a testament to his work ethic that he has earned a starting spot already. But this is four straight games that he’s been terrible in.
• Miami gets the ball back, and Jacory throws another bad interception. This would be slightly less aggravating if it was not on a jump ball in the middle of the field to Travis Benjamin (all 5’10” of him). WTF?!
• Marcus Robinson comes through with a sack after abusing his blocker. Meanwhile, Ray Ray Armstrong has looked great so far at safety. The kid has a nose for the ball, to be sure. He has not been tested in coverage yet, but he has done everything asked of him to this point. My point about playing the freshmen in the secondary just got made for me, and I thank you.
• And Shields just got beat again. Sam Shields is the football equivalent of the Washington Generals.
• DeMarcus Van Dyke gets called for borderline pass interference. This is not going well. It is a small miracle that the quarter ends with Miami only down a touchdown.

2nd QTR
• As if on cue, Oklahoma comes out of the quarter break and fakes a field goal. My dad knew it was coming. I knew it was coming. Musburger knew it was coming. And still, the Sooners got 2 ½ yards when they needed 2. Although, I would say that they referee spotted the ball a little charitably; either way, 1st Down Sooners.
• Sam Shields gets called for a ticky tacky facemask penalty…at this point, Miami has been called for a facemask and a pass interference, and twice has jumped offside. In a game against a great team, you just cannot help them by bailing them out with penalties. Just can’t do it (wow, did John Madden just take over this blog for that bullet point?)
• Miami holds and forces a field goal. (10-0 OU)
• Graig Cooper busts a big return, which then gets called back for clipping.
• Jacory hooks up on 2 straight plays to Aldarious Johnson, who is back in the rotation and providing Miami with another reliable third down option.
• After peppering Oklahoma along the sidelines and spreading them out, Baby J breaks a 50 yard run up the gut. HUGE momentum play.
• Jacory hits Jimmy Graham over the middle. TOUCHDOWN ‘CANES!!! Sometimes, my dad and I are prophetic. Not often. But sometimes. (10-7 OU)
• Miami comes down on kick coverage and traps Oklahoma inside its own 10…only to have to re-kick because of an offside penalty. That’s right, offside. On the kickoff. This is starting to get beyond frustrating. What’s a good word? “Infuriating”? That seems a little overdone. Either way, it feels like someone has electrodes attached to my gonads, and every time Miami does something good they send a shock through the wires. I am almost pre-conditioned to expect a flag on every big play for Miami. I am the most pitiful Pavlovian Dog you can imagine.
• Oklahoma goes 3 & Out after the re-kick.
• Miami follows suit
• Miami holds on D again, but Shannon does not use his timeouts on defense, instead being content to go in to the half down three. Yep, just got shocked again. Right in the gonads.

HALFTIME
• Well, the D has played solid ball, despite the penalties. My question is why don’t we ever blitz? Think about it. The whole defense is predicated on speed. Lovett is afraid to blitz because he doesn’t want our corners on an island. The problem is that because he never sends a blitz, the opposing quarterback just sits back and picks apart the coverage anyway. At least if we blitz we force the issue and a quick throw, especially against a statue like Landry Jones. Furthermore, as witnessed in the Georgia Tech game, this defense feeds off of big plays. All they need is one or two big hits to get rolling. Even if the blitz is not one hundred percent effective, it will still get the fire going inside of our defense. They will loosen up and start playing fast instead of tentatively. Am I the only one who knows this? It just can’t be. BRING THE NOISE!!!!!
• An underrated drink combo: Jack and Sprite. Don’t think, just do it. And then call me tomorrow and thank me.
• My mother: “Why aren’t all the old players on the sideline anymore?” A great question. For years, this weekly homecoming defined the Miami program. And now, it seems like the players on the sideline are few and far between. Yet another example of why this program is not where it used to be.

3rd QTR
• Corey Nelms, a walk on, comes out and lays the wood on the opening kickoff. Where the hell did that come from?
• Brandon Harris comes off the edge on a cornerback blitz and blindsides the quarterback, forcing a fumble that Miami recovers. This play was like Madden ’05 (the last one I played consistently), when you were about to hit stick someone and the screen slowed down and the controller started thumping like a heart beat. You knew something awesome was about to happen. Landry Jones looked like he had almost stopped playing. My dad thought there must have been a whistle blown because Brandon Harris was moving so much faster than everyone else. And all this on the first play of the half, when Lovett did the unthinkable and called a blitz. Shocking.
• Miami goes for the jugular on the first play, throwing to Dedrick Epps in the end zone for a touchdown on the first play. And we all thought tight end would be this team’s weakest position. I am not even going to bother with all of the caps and exclamation points, because I think it is obvious that three plays in to the second half the ‘Canes just went up on Oklahoma. (14-10 UM)
• Eric Moncur and Allen Bailey, the two best linemen do far this year for UM, make big plays to set up a 3& Out..but wait, flag down…and its pass interference on Sean Spence. Worst call yet, which is saying something. More on all this later.
• Oklahoma is melting down. They just called for personal fouls on back to back plays. And one of their running backs is trying to bait Moncur (a 25 year old, 260 pound defensive end for Carol City) in to a fight. YES!!!!!!!!!
• Oklahoma is really starting to play some dirty football. My dad quips “Our defensive linemen need to protect their lower extremities, huh?” Line of the night, easily.
• Jacory gets the ball and throws deep…he has Travis Benjamin…touchdown ‘Canes! (21-10 UM)
• Ramon Buchannon flattens the Sooner kick returner on the ensuing kickoff…where the hell did this kick coverage come from???
• At the end of a play, Oklahoma’s 330+ lb offensive lineman spears Ray Ray Armstrong from behind, clearly after the whistle. No call. In my life, I have been angrier about refereeing once before. And that was when it cost Miami a National Title. Seriously, this is pathetic. Armstrong is hurt on the play, and the refs call NOTHING. It’s like Bob Stoops told his linemen “sweep the leg”. And the refs were in the huddle. And vowed to say nothing about it. It reminds me of the scene in “The Express” (yes, I saw it, and enjoyed it…don’t you judge me) when The Texas players start punching Ernie Davis after a play and they call Davis’s team for a personal foul when they come to break it up. Just absolutely terrible. (That's right, two movie references in one bullet point)
• On a bright note, Sean Spence is having himself a bounce back game. The kid is everywhere. Good to see him back doin’ his thing.
• You’ll never believe this, but the refs just screwed Miami on a roughing the kicker penalty. Joe Joseph busted through the line and almost blocked the punt. He dove off to the side, specifically to avoid the punter (which is impressive considering he is 315 lbs). The punter comes down and lands on top of Joseph’s back (NOT A PENALTY; officially, not a penalty, according to the rule book) and then flops to sell it. Herbstreit even calls the kid out for laughing about it on the sideline (my man crush on Herbie continues to grow). The refs not only throw the flag, but assess 15 yards instead of 5 for just running in to the kicker; earlier in the game, they gave us 5 instead of 15 when Ray Ray collided with the punter while he was IN THE AIR. The result is a first down deep in Miami territory for the Sooners. We all know how this ends…
• Touchdown Sooners…and a balatant holding penalty goes uncalled. Go figure. (21-17 UM)
• Joseph is getting yelled at by everyone on the sideline. Honestly. Not warranted. He did exactly what he was supposed to and got called for a BS penalty. Not his fault. The alternative is to try and not block the kick. Which definitely would get him yelled at. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
• Miami and Oklahoma trade 3 & Outs. Eric Moncur comes up big again.
• The longest 3rd quarter ever concludes.

4th QTR
• Joseph gets his redemption, knifing through the Sooner line and planting the running back in the backfield to force a Sooner punt.
• Jacory makes a clutch 3rd down throw to Aldarious
• Baby J breaks off a 20 yard run
• Thearon Collier almost catches the dagger, a bomb that he laid out for full-extension and came just short on.
• Miami punts, and the Sooner return man fields it on the 1…here come the ‘Canes…and the return goes out to midfield after a blatant block in the back on Sam Shields springs the returner. This is turning in to a comedy of officiating errors.
• Marcus Forston just jumped offside for the third time. Someone needs to recommend decaf to the big man.
• The D comes up huge and forces a field goal. (21-20 UM)
• Jacory converts a 3rd and Long to Aldarious on a fake pitch play that was executed perfectly. Whipple called the pitch out of that exact formation shift three times in the first 3 quarters, all to set up the fake when it mattered. Textbook.
• Miami gets the ball back and is in 3rd and Long. This is the play of the game. Timeout is taken.
• Coming out of the timeout, Jacory completes to Epps for the 1st down. That should be the ballgame… Oklahoma is out of timeouts, Miami just needs to bleed clock…
• Baby J rips off a 14 yard run. Ballgame. MIAMI WINS! 3-1!!!!!!!!

The Morning After
• Gameball goes to: Javarris James
• I don’t really know what to say. I am still giddy. The defense came up huge, the offense made plays when it mattered, and the team overcame an awful start and terrible officiating to win. What more can you ask for?
• It was all worth it for Randy Shannon’s reaction. I thought he might cry afterward. I had never seen him happy before, but after this game he looked like a little kid. And why not? This is a legitimate signature win, beating a Top 10, national title contender from out of conference in primetime on national television. That is what Miami football is all about, and he knows it better than anyone else.
• There are obvious flaws, particularly pass coverage. But the ‘Canes will be favored in every game from here on out and should have learned its lesson about hype in Blacksburg. 11-1 is entirely possible (although still not likely) and that would put the ‘Canes firmly in the National Title conversation (if everything bounces their way). And all this a year ahead of schedule, with a treacherously thin offensive line and a banged up defensive unit. This feels pretty damned good. This was all about redemption. Miami redeeming last week’s performance. Miami getting revenge for the last matchup with Oklahoma. Shannon getting revenge against all of his naysayers (who you will find in droves after a loss and barely find at all after this kind of win). And most of all, loyal fans being redeemed after following this team through the valley of the last 4 seasons. This song was just too sweet.

Other Games I Watched
• Louisiana Tech vs. Hawaii: It would be easy for me to make a joke about Hawaii’s head coach and his homophobic comments before the season. Especially at a University formerly nicknamed the Rainbow Warriors. But I’m not going to. Stein on the Sidelines is classier than that. Anyway, Louisiana Tech smacked them and looked great doing it in their old school red, white and blue uniforms.
• West Virginia vs. Colorado: When I’m right, I’m very right. My dad and I had important stuff to discuss during this game, namely the Tyler Hansbrough cell phone commercial. So let me get this straight: Little girl posts sign for lost dog. Nameless guy takes a picture, which he sends in a mass text to all his friends. Hansbrough gets text and does the same. Hansbrough’s friend finds dog and texts him back. Hansbrough goes and collects the dog, and then brings it back to the little girl. Meanwhile, the original unnamed guy receives no credit while Hansbrough receives ALL the credit. And this is acceptable? Yet another reason to hate Tyler Hansbrough- he is a Glory Hog.
• Pitt vs. Louiville: This was when we found out that LaGarrette Blount is going to be reinstated at Oregon. What, is he seeing a Buddhist?
• Wisconsin vs. Minnesota: Why are they playing in October for The Axe? And why is Eric Decker still seeing single coverage?
• Dartmouth vs. Penn: This is the first leg of VS’s great doubleheader, followed by William & Mary vs. Villanova.
• Virginia vs. UNC: Sorry Steph.
• FSU vs. BC: The Mark Herzlich story is great, and I love the move by Gameday to go there this week. That being said, wouldn’t it be nice if FSU won a game every now and then?
• Washington vs. Notre Dame: ND scored on a 4th & Goal conversion that shouldn’t have been. In what is apparently the world’s darkest stadium. As much as I hate them, there is no denying that Golden Tate and Kyle Rudolph are studs. Also there was a great moment on the sideline, wherein NBC’s bimbo sideline reporter was trying to demonstrate what a turf toe is. The camera, mid-sentence, panned away from her back to the game that was between plays….and the bimbo, apparently angry, craned her neck to get back in to the shot and interrupted the guys in the booth that had started speaking again. High comedy. They missed the start of the play because of her temper tantrum. Seriously. I guess maybe you had to see it. (Snarl)
• LSU vs. UGA: Choke
• Penn State vs. Illinois: We landed on this game randomly at one point, and this was the literal conversation
-Dad: Who gives a s#$t?
-Stein on the Sidelines:

Best Game: Miami vs. Oklahoma. For everything I said above.

Best Uniform: Iowa. They always look great in the black over gold.

Game Ball Goes To: Toby Gerhart, Stanford. Pretty sure I misspelled his name at some point on this blog, but I don’t care, because this kid can play and has made Stanford in to a contender. Plus, he plays baseball too. And that always wins you points with Stein on the Sidelines.

Worst Uniform: Kentucky’s monochromatic royal blue with sparkly helmet paint. Here’s lookin’ at you, Ty.

Trojan Enz © Boner of the Week Award: The referees, and not just in the Miami game. There was the Notre Dame no-call on 4th & Goal, a terrible excessive celebration call in the Georgia game, and just an overall emasculation of the game throughout this season.

Brian Rolle “Should’ve Been a ‘Cane” Award: Corey Liuget, Illinois. This kid is a stud that can play defensive end or tackle, much like Allen Bailey. He went to Illinois because he liked the coaches and wanted to get out of Miami. How is that workin’ out? On top of that, Miami needs as many quality linemen as they can get, and this kid is being wasted at Illinois.

Non-BCS Name You Should Know: Damaris Johnson, Tulsa. This kid can flat out play receiver. Watched him early this season and he was the one kid that you had to watch no matter what he was doing on the field. Just electric.

Always guard the inbound passer.