Game Six : Miami 27, Central Florida 7
A much more spirited affair than last season's 20-14 Canes victory in Miami, but again Central Florida treated this Sunshine State match up as if it were a BCS game.Almost 50,000 screaming fans at Bright House Stadium; the largest crowd in its short history. An explosive energy on campus as this fan base knows the days of big time programs coming to Orlando will remain few and far between. (Especially with a now 0-for-21 record against top 25 teams.) This was a do or die type game for the Knights and their fans. For the Canes, it was simply game six on the schedule. Some faux hype would have to be implemented to avoid the let down.
Credit to Randy Shannon and staff, Miami was ready. It wasn't the blowout many overzealous fans were calling for, but it was a convincing 27-7 victory where the outcome was never truly in doubt. That's not to say things didn't almost get a little hairy midway through the third quarter.
After finding itself in a fourth and long situation, Miami muffed a snap before an attempted punt, setting Central Florida up at the Canes two-yard line. Attempting to cut into UM's then 17-7 lead, UCF inexplicably attempted to run an option, losing four yards. After an incompletion on second down, Miami made the game-changing third down play which brought the contest back down to earth.
Instead of pulling to within three, the Canes blitzed quarterback Brett Hodges and forced an interception by Colin McCarthy. Miami then drove 52 yards on eight plays for a back-breaking field goal and 20-7 lead. From there, no looking back. By the time the fourth quarter kicked off, fourth string running back Damien Berry was in the game.
Jacory Harris, 20-of-26 on the night for 293 yards and a touchdown, didn't attempt a pass after the 12:42 mark in the fourth quarter. The game's final sixteen offensive plays were all on the ground.
Miami didn't set the world on fire Saturday night, but in a game like this it didn't need to. Contrary to the belief of some, this was indeed a pitfall game. Had the Canes not buckled down and remained focused, this contest could've absolutely gotten away from them.
The Knights brought as much thunder as possible. Harris was sacked six times and Central Florida was hitting hard on every play. They were out to prove a point; they simply didn't have the personnel to pull off the upset - even with the Canes as banged up as they were.
Midway through October, it's all about staying the course. Win games. Find a way. Remain focused. Look around college football on any given Saturday and you'll find teams who didn't get that memo. No. 4 Virginia Tech saw their title dreams go down the drain with a 28-23 loss at No. 19 Georgia Tech. Still alive in the ACC, the Hokies are dead as a title contender with two regular season losses.
No. 1 Florida got all it could handle from unranked Arkansas, needing some lucky bounces and a late field goal to eke out a three-point win. No. 6 USC was taken to the wire by No. 25 Notre Dame. No. 7 Ohio State faceplanted at unranked Purdue. No. 15. Nebraska was throttled by unranked Texas Tech. No. 17 Kansas lost to unranked Colorado.
When you see the Hokies and Buckeyes choking away their golden opportunities, it helps you put a 27-7 victory in perspective. The Canes are now 5-1 entering next weekend's home showdown with Clemson, are back in the ACC mix and when the polls are released later today Miami will be sitting on a No. 7 or No. 8 ranking.
Not bad considering this team started the season unranked and picked fourth in the Coastal division.
One game at a time. Cliche as it sounds, it really is the only option as this unexpected seasons rolls on. Miami survived the "murderer's row" schedule out the gate and has avoided any letdowns after a brutal opening four-game stretch. Six games into 2009, can you really ask for anything more? Especially based on expectations?
This next month is all about the ACC. Clemson, @Wake Forest, Virginia and @North Carolina. All winnable on paper, but so were many other games in the 19-19 stretch Miami endured between 2006 and 2008.
A very defining stretch of football is on the horizon. Buckle down for Clemson at 3:30pm ET next Saturday and let's get this thing to 6-1.
posted by allCanes.com at
8:30 AM
13 Comments:
I just have one question/comment about all the season ending injuries. I know its football and players will get hurt, but we seemingly have major injuries every year which seem to derail us. Is this just unfortunate luck or a sign that we need a better strength and conditioning coach or program?
Man, all the UM former greats that play in the NFL like our strength coach. "I feel it is what it is"
Hey...i know it's still early on in the season but WTF?? is goin on with this B.C.S. polls? they got miami at 10? are you kidding me? i mean i am very happy that were ranked in the BCS top ten but when you put the likes of cincinatti and tcu ahead of us regarding our schedule man they ain't giving us any respect..not surprising however considering the fact but wow this is ridiculous!!But hey as long as we continue to play one game at a time they have no choice but to put miami in the top 5 or even the a.c.c.c.g
GO CANES!!!!
well in years past we had no depth so injuries were devastating...this year however we're two and three deep at every position so we can handle the blow.
I don't think I understand the BCS rankings that came out. Does strength of schedule not mean anything? I just can't agree with those picks. USC, losing to an unranked team and are at #7. Oh well, happy to be a Cane fan right now. This season has started much better than anticipated. Enjoying this great start to the season. Now lets take the rest of the ACC games we have and finish strong against USF.
FCUK the bcs! Win out! Play in a bcs game, win that and get ready for next season...its scary how nasty THE U will be next year!
Hey AllCanes, any thoughts on the injuries stacking up? Would figure you'd want to weigh in on that. I understand they played 4 insanely tough games right off the bat, but what of the conditioning? Just curious on your thoughts.
It was a fun game to attend. The Canes controlled the game from start to end, just couldn't blow out UCF... A LOT of Canes fans in the house... http://www.twitpic.com/m0dge
Hey allCanes, any thoughts on the injuries stacking up? Would figure you'd want to weigh in on that. I understand they played 4 insanely tough games right off the bat, but what of the conditioning? Just curious on your thoughts.
I'm really not an authority to chime in on strength and conditioning. I think Andreu Swasey is an easy target for the haters or fans looking for someone to blame.
Swasey hasn't had the overall talent to work with the past few years. When he had the talent at Miami, those teams earlier this decade were spot on and all that NFL talent still comes back to Coral Gables to work with him... so something needs to be said for that.
As for these current injuries... I don't see how that's put on the S&C program. Marcus Forston has been banged up since before the season... Jordan Futch tore an ACL... Aldarius Johnson pulls a groin.. another guy lands on a shoulder wrong.
If anything, the biggest issue I see with the S&C program is the fact that the lack of depth has freshman playing out the gate before they're fully developed and have had a few years training at The U and putting on that 'man weight'. Guys like Forston and Spence were thrown into the fire... same way an Armstrong or Vernon is this year.
In programs who continue to reload, there is enough depth to allow kids to workout and train in the S&C program for a few years before being depended on to fill such a huge role for a team.
Chris,
Good call on the game. I was expecting a blow-out, but your prediction of a 14-point win was much closer to reality then mine.
Ultimately, this was a good win and I am really looking forward to mixing it up against some ACC foes in the coming weeks. It is about time we really asserted ourselves in this conference, and this year we have the personnel to do it.
Let's Go Canes!
I won't comment much on the BCS at this point since we need to just focus on the next team we play, but I will say that it's funny how ESPN practically complained about USC being only #7. They said "surprised" but it was understood that they were really bitching and moaning and want USC #4. Who has USC really beaten? Ohio State? ND? Please. Yet somehow the ESPN juggernaut is backing and lobbying for USC to move up. It's just not right in my opinion.
Secondly, the other thing I will say is we're the number 9 team in the AP, yet all we get is a 20 second highlight clip at the end of an hour-long segment, with an in-passing kind of feel. They spent 40 minutes talking about Florida, Alabama, Texas and then a #7, yes #7, USC team. I know I sound like a punk, but we should get a LITTLE more air time than that.
Other than that, a nice win (had to listen to it on QAM). Let's start to focus on a very dangerous and game Clemson team. I'm glad it's at home. Let's smack them down and knock them out early.
-Columbus Cane
I went to the game in Orlando, and I have to say UCF has a very emotional alcohol induced fan base. The stadium had no clue as to the scope of this game, meaning the outside of the stadium was anarchy. Parking was a nightmare spurred on by the fact that 30,000 UCF fans were there without tickets.
I agree the crucial point in the game was the defensive stand in the 3rd quarter. With the loss to Gtech by Vtech The race in the ACC will be very interesting and I am excited for the rest of the season.
Bring on the Tigers!!
Due to family, i follow Clemson quite closely, and i just dont think they have the talent to top Miami. They dont have the playmakers we have on offense. Their offense goes as far as Jacoby Ford and CJ Spiller. They have an inexperienced QB who we should be able to confuse all game long.
The only thing that bothers me about Clemson is their defense. We need to put up points early. We also need to establish the run. We did it against OU, there is no reason we cant do it here. Clemson is no OU, in any area of the game.
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