OWNED!

Friday night in Atlanta was an abomination.

I wish there was a nicer way to put it, but we all know good and well there isn't. This was a beat down of monumental proportions.

Louisiana State 40, Miami 3.

It was the Hurricanes worst bowl game loss in school history and the first time I' ve seen a Miami bunch quit like this in forever.

It should also signal some big time changes going into 2006. This ship needs to be righted before things get worse; which almost seems impossible to fathom after last night's debacle.

I'm not going to use this article as a forum to call for the firing of this coaching staff. It's not the time, not my place and it's pointless because any changes between now and next season are most likely minimal.

Money is on the line, contracts have been signed and 9-3 seasons are just fine with the administration as long as the ACC dollars keep rolling in and the program keeps its nose clean.

As supporters of the program, all the complaining in the world isn' t going to shake things up. Larry Coker will not be fired before next season. Some disgruntled fans are shouting from the rooftops that Coker should resign. That won' t happen either. There will be coaching staff shake-ups - most likely on the offensive side - but is that enough? Probably not.

Something really stinks in Coral Gables this morning. I personally haven' t been this disappointed in our beloved football program since the 1994 Fiesta Bowl when Miami was skunked by Arizona, 29-0. Miami quit in that game twelve years ago and threw in the towel again last night.

In life, there' s nothing worse than a quitter. Submitting and allowing a hungry opponent to just abuse you. Miami was the whipping post last night. The rallying cry was "uncle" and it started reverberating off the walls of the Georgia Dome early in the third quarter.

This year' s Peach Bowl was truly a tale of two teams – one who wanted it and one who didn' t. On paper, both two-loss teams with a decent amount of raw talent. Sky could' ve been the limit for both if a few bounces went the other way during the regular season. Neither got those breaks, leaving #9 Miami pitted against #10 LSU in the most anticipated non-BCS match up of 2005.

On paper, at least.

In the end, a debacle. Miami no showed and wasn' t just beaten - they were embarrassed. They were ridiculed - on the field and after the game. Announcers Bob Griese and Brad Nessler have covered their share of Miami games over the years. Even the most casual observer could hear these two taken aback at what they were seeing.

Forget terms like "swagger" or "Hurricane Football." Miami was eons from that last night. They were a shell of the team which long time fans saw rise to prominence over twenty years ago - or hell, even three years ago.

The U has teetered with this decline and flirted with mediocrity since Terry Porter's flag hit that Fiesta Bowl turf in January 2003, robbing the Canes of a much needed National Championship. I say much needed as it doesn' t seem another title is on the horizon for a long while now.

Come from behind rallies against Florida and West Virginia in 2003 - not to mention getting spanked by Virginia Tech that season and then no showing against a very average Tennessee team a week later -- helped define the first multiple loss season since 1999.

Beat Florida State twice, lose two games and win the Orange Bowl on the heels of a 34-game win streak and many are quick to turn a blind eye. It was seen as a rare down season and higher expectations were set entering the ACC in 2004.

Still, the writing has been on the wall as far back as that Tennessee loss. When hearing the postgame stat that Miami was held without a touchdown at home for the first time in almost twenty years, that should've been a warning sign. We see now this was the beginning of an ugly trend - not a fluke.

Something was out of whack with the offense. Trading in a Ken Dorsey for a Brock Berlin, it's obvious who the scapegoat would be. Much easier to blame one player than it is a system or entire set of coaches.

A year later, more of the same. Miami 'survives' Florida State in the 2004 opener with an overtime win in a low scoring game and remains undefeated going into late October. Then an uncharacteristic loss at North Carolina, 31-28. As hard as that was to fathom, a week later a loss to lowly Clemson - at home in OT. Like Tennessee in 2003, Miami was lulled to sleep against a lesser opponent in a do or die, bounce back game.

In 2005, we've seen Miami reach a new low - 7 points against Florida State, 10 points against Georgia Tech and 3 points against LSU.

As recent as 41 days ago Miami was 8-1 and ranked #3 in the land. The 27-7 Virginia Tech beat down was fresh in everyone' s mind and many thought this team was 'back.' It looked to be the defining game in The Coker Era. Now the 40-3 Peach Bowl loss surpasses that stellar November win in Blacksburg.

This time the Canes didn't even limp across the finish line. Instead their lifeless bodies were dragged across - battered and bruised, with tails between their legs and in complete disarray. A 1-2 record in its final three games is embarrassing enough. Having two players knocked out and hospitalized in a post game melee in the LSU tunnel? I can' t even say that' s adding insult to injury. That cliché doesn' t capture the true embarrassment of the moment.

I read online this morning that some players were stomping on the Peach Bowl logo pregame and taunting LSU. I saw the "U" logo thrown up by a few Canes as they ran out of the smoke last night and thought to myself, "just back it up tonight, fellas." If you' re going to display that 'swagger' and Miami Mentality that creates this 'us against the world' mindset - you have to back it up. You must play four quarters. You need to muster up more than 3 points on offense.

As for the defense, after a very long season - it finally broke. A second string quarterback dissected this team while a third string tailback named Hester stole the thunder from Miami' s supposed #1 offensive weapon going into Friday night.

Regarding Miami' s Hester, according to reports this morning - word is he' s gone. Outta here. The Devin Hester Experiment last night not only failed - it was an utter disaster. Hester had his two receptions and seven carries - a combined 64 yards. So much for those 20-25 touches which would showcase him as Miami' s Reggie Bush-like threat, exciting him to return in 2006 and be a big time player in big time games.

Hester doesn't seem to be taking the bait. Yet another one to file under 'too little, too late.' When Coker spoke after the Virginia game about involving Hester in the offense for the Peach Bowl as a sneak peek for what's to come next season, I was sick. It was a desperate act and that window has now shut. Hester should've been worked into Miami's offense during the 2003 season. He was first showcased on the National stage when he ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown against the rival Florida Gators. Since then, a few stellar moments on special teams - but he was never the threat he could've been in a talented, yet underachieving Miami offense.

The Hurricanes were so desperate to get #4 the ball last night that they bailed out on running back Charlie Jones and any other offensive weapon Miami might' ve had. The offensive game plan might as well have been called "Hester or Bust."

Being that it was definitely a bust, it will most likely will cost heavily criticized offensive coordinator Dan Werner his job and send Hester to the NFL a year early. No first downs in the final forty minutes of play and only 2 yards gained on offense in the second half.

Miami was held scoreless in the second half of all three losses this season. So much for halftime adjustments.

Tight end Greg Olsen didn' t catch one pass against LSU, while fullback Quadtrine Hill ended up being the Canes' leading receiver. In his final game as a Hurricane, senior Sinorice Moss had 2 receptions for 10 yards. Not very Santana-esque, as big brother was an integral part of the 2001 Sugar Bowl win over Florida in his final game for Miami.

Jones got eight measly carries on the night, amassing 50 yards. No other back got any touches outside of Jones or Hester; which again has fans wondering why in the hell Andrew Johnson's redshirt was burned this season.

Behind center, Kyle Wright looked ineffective and lost at times. Short-arming his passes, making poor reads and looking frustrated the better part of the evening. His low point - failing to run for a first down on a 4th and 1 when he had Olsen wide open on a crossing route for a guaranteed 15 yards, at least.

Confused. Lost. Embarrassed. Poorly coached. Quitters. Scared. All can be used to describe Miami last night. It makes me sick. On a 4th and inches, down 10-3 in the second quarter the Hurricanes punted the ball away. Are you kidding me? This is a bowl game. A night to pull out all stops, not get conservative and play the percentages.

Miami' s staff had the stones to go for it on a 4th and goal in Blacksburg - but clams up in a lesser bowl game in Atlanta? Someone please attempt to explain that one.

Miami was trounced by Syracuse, 66-13 on November 28th, 1998. On January 1st, 1994 it was an atrocious 29-0 loss to Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl. You can now add December 30th, 2005 to that embarrassing list of dark days in Hurricane Football history. This one was beyond bad. Pre-game to post-game and everything else in between.

Even after the brawl in the tunnel, Baraka Atkins and Kareem Brown stormed out of a team meeting and refused to return. Safe to say the "is Atkins NFL bound" question has unofficially been answered. Hester, Atkins and Moore all look to be headed out of Miami after this season - and there are even rumblings Brandon Meriweather could be soon to follow.

All of this comes on the heels of wide receiver Aikeem Jolla turning in his transfer request a few weeks back, asking to be let out of his scholarship at Miami.

I quoted Rage Against The Machine a few months back in my pre-Virginia Tech article, stating "It has to start somewhere. It has to start sometime. What better place than here? What better time than now?" I was referring to the Canes taking the power back from the Hokies and reassuming their position in the college football world. The quote still stands, but on New Year's Eve - it has a different twist.

The new regime has to start and needs to start today. If we see some shake-ups with this staff and the direction the program is headed, then maybe a loss like this is a thinly veiled blessing in disguise. I'm still sick over it, but there will be silver lining if some heads roll. I'm sorry if I seem heartless here, but that seems to be the ongoing trend. The Canes played with no heart last night - while this fan base has had it's heart ripped out nine times since the Fiesta Bowl three years ago.

Something's gotta give. What that "something" is - I have no clue sitting here today.

What I do know is I am sick over where this program is as 2005 comes to a close. We're better than this. Miami has the talent to hang with anybody - but underachieved, underperformed and was out coached on way too many occasions the past three seasons. After last night's massacre, these three-loss Canes will be lucky to finish the season #15 and would be extremely fortunate to enter 2006 with anything close to a top ten ranking. If the Virginia Tech win was a huge step forward - the 2005 Peach Bowl was two giant leaps back.

Heads need to roll this off-season. Who, what, when, where and why? All pretty self-explanatory. "The U" nickname looks like nothing more than a clever marketing term instead of a mindset. Espcially when Tigers' linebacker Ali Highsmith held up a postgame sign which read, "I'm glad I'm not U."

Ouch.

Cousin of former Hurricanes Alonzo and Fred Highsmith - Ali signed to play for Miami in 2003 but lacked the grades, sat out a season and then signed with LSU soon after their championship season. Now he's getting the last laugh on the hometown team as Hurricane Football and National Championships are no longer synonymous.

Right now and that 2001 title feels as long ago as 1991.

Next up, Florida State on Labor Day. Nine months can be more than enough time to right this ship if some tough decisions are made. Don't take the easy way out. Right this ship once and for all. Miami took the easy way out promoting from within after Butch Davis left the program in 2001 and Rob Chudzinski left entering the 2004 season.

Miami's administration cannot just put a Band Aid on this bullet wound. Soul search. Truly figure out what's wrong. Make the necessary changes and get Miami back to playing Hurricanes-style Football again. Frustrated juniors are leaving the program. Players walked out of a post bowl game meeting. The team quit on this coaching staff mid-game. Things have gotten very ugly very fast over the past three seasons for the Canes.

Reloading isn't good enough. Time to do some rebuilding. No more excuses. Anything less isn't going to cut it at Miami.