While many teams open conference play this Saturday, the Miami Hurricanes play their third key ACC game of the young season when traveling to Blacksburg, Virginia for their annual showdown with Virginia Tech. The undefeated Canes are certainly the lead story of the ACC so far this season as the swagger has returned to “The U” thanks to the continued development of the team’s talented young roster. With a win this weekend, Miami can establish itself as the clear frontrunner in the ACC Coastal Division. Win a win this weekend and a win in their next game against Oklahoma, the Canes can establish themselves as a top five team nationally.
If not Virginia Tech, the program that can best derail Miami’s return to glory is coached by a former key component of their past glory, North Carolina. Like Randy Shannon at Miami, coach Butch Davis is in year three of his time in Chapel Hill and he has built a program ready to make some noise this season. Like Miami, North Carolina relies on a talented group of underclassmen, led by QB Tyler Yates who played well last week against East Carolina. Davis is already 2-0 versus Miami and gets the Canes at home on November 14 in a match-up that just may decide the Coastal Division. The Tar Heels open conference play on the road against Georgia Tech this weekend.
As for the Atlantic Division, we will know a great deal more about these teams after this weekend. Although there is only one ACC game scheduled, with Wake Forest traveling to Boston College, the four other Atlantic teams all take on quality non-conference opponents. Florida State hosts South Florida, Clemson hosts TCU, North Carolina State hosts Pittsburgh and Maryland hosts Rutgers as the Atlantic Division has ACC pride on the line this Saturday. A win by Clemson could stamp the tigers as early season division favorites, but we have been down that slippery road before.
The ACC has already had a player set an individual NCAA record as Wolfpack QB Russell Wilson threw his 326th straight pass without an INT to break the record held by recent Kentucky QB Andre Woodson. Wilson pushed his mark to 329 in the game against Gardner-Webb and amazingly has thrown 25 TDs to 1 INT for his young career. Wilson now faces a Pitt team that returned seven of its top eight DBs from last season.
As an avid Notre Dame afficianado (like many others on this blog, I'm sure) nothing hurts me more than to see a "gang" of Miami Hurricanes coming together in unison for a common cause in a stance of solidarity. They were a lot more fun the last several years when their program had reverted to pre-Schnellenberger levels of mediocrity. I still damn Tom Osbourne, Turner Gill and the rest of those Cornhusker yahoos for letting the 'Canes into "our" college football fraternity and spoiling it for everyone else. Ethics and good sportsmanship have never been the same in the game since Miami crashed the party! That being said, their young QB is looking awfully good in showing his future Heismann credentials. Another Hurricane Heismann trophy-winning QB? I think I just made myself sick all over again.
ReplyDeleteThe Canes were/are sitting on a treasure trove of talent and were going to be good even without the complicity of Nebraska. If they can beat Virginia Tech and Oklahoma to go 4-0, then the current group is deserving of praise if not your admiration. Just do not eat anything too spicy during the Miami-Oklahoma game.
ReplyDeleteMr. Notre Dame Afficianado (NDA) obviously still smirks when he thinks of the clever Catholics vs. Convicts title given the famed ND-Miami matchup in 1988. This was an obvious reference to the bad-boy image Miami players had in the Jimmy Johnson era. But speaking of character, Johnson showed big-time guts going for the win at the end rather a potential game-tying extra point. I wonder if Holtz would have shown the same courage. Although ND pulled off what I called an "upset", let's not forget the pre-game fight that erupted in the tunnel. And as Miami QB Steve Walsh famously said, Miami had more Catholics on its team than ND did.
ReplyDeleteBut an even bigger upset in my mind was ND's win over Southern Cal a month later. But let's not go there.
Ah, yes, I now see that Hurricanes AND Trojans run wild in the same asylum (prison, sanitarium, etc.) I guess thugs of a feather flock together, hmmm? Mr. Miami Hurricane Apologist (MHA) seems to think the irascible Johnson deserves credit going for the win instead of the tie in a game where The Cane's national title hopes were on the line, losing to an ND team that was not ranked even in the top 5 at kick-off and started the season out of the top 20. Well, of course Jimbo went for the win, for the less-than-noble reason that a tie most likely would have squashed any chance for a national championship! And I certainly don't blame him.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm confident that Mr. Holtz would have opted for the outright victory in a similar scenario, what with his own rah-rah spirit and character-building integrity.
As far as the other "upset" is concerned, does a matchup of a #2 and a #1 ever provide the stage for an upset? Really? Granted, the Irish were on the road, but after gutsy QB Tony Rice raced up the sideline untouched to break the backs of the Trojans, it really didn't matter who's house they were playing in.
And let's not forget, when Rodney Peete Robinson is calling signals for your team, how much of a favorite can you call yourself? Even if Mr. Peete, indeed, did marry the very beautiful actress Holly Robinson, so he scored a TD there. I hear she calls a mean audible.
Now that we've pulled the wrapper off the "trojan" ...
All seems quiet on the "western" front from our resident USC-Miami fan. Where is this masked man who goes only by the name, "Scottso?" Does mr. split-loyalties crave anonymity? With the reputations of those two programs that he seemingly holds dear to his heart, it's no wonder. Good luck to the Irish this weekend! And may justice prevail...
ReplyDeleteAs an avid ND fan, I think I speak for all Fightin' Irish fans when I say I'm disappointed with the way the season has unfolded so far. Not so much from a won-loss perspective, but from the way they have gotten there. An interesting article appeared in the New York Daily News on Monday, alluding to the 4-1 record and their overall brand of play. The writer questioned whether the bigger subplot here is the heart and will to win of its players in the final moments of the last three victories, or that that the exciting drama indicates an inability to play well enough against seemingly inferior opposition. I, for one, subscribe to the latter. I've always been more of a proponent of "quiet efficiency" than "wild finishes." Coach Charlie should spend a little more time working on efficiency so as not to rely on frantic finishes. Efficiency is a lot more dependable and consistent...and a lot less stressful! Especially with the Trojans coming to town on the 17th. How about it, Charlie?
ReplyDelete