"It's a me, Mario." Or is it Wario? Feels like we are on a merry-go-round where the talent is there, but it's running in circles. The coaching, clock management, and preparation all leave something to be desired. Oregon fans will tell you "I told you so." But here we are. Cristobal is 12-13 at Miami and what started as a 4-0 mirage ended as a 7-6 debacle with some of the most frustrating wins and losses I have seen in 4 decades of following this team. 

Take a knee against GT and you have 8-5. Have some semblance of a 3rd quarter defense against UNC and you have 9-4. Prepare a serviceable QB beyond TVD to play FSU and you have 10-3. Don't get me started on Louisville. And then losing a bowl game to Rutgers? Rutgers? 

Keeping timeouts in the pocket. Managing the game clock like minutes are hours. Is this guy a meathead or does he just need an overwhelming talent advantage to beat lesser teams a la Larry Coker?

Here we are at January 4th 2024 and we don't have a QB for next season that matches the talent returning on the roster. It seems we put all our eggs in the Cam Ward basket that he is taking off to Day 3 of the NFL draft. Supposedly Will Howard was ready to commit at his visit. I don't know if that's true, but we have no margin for error. In modern college football, you are lost without leadership and skill at the QB position. Look no further than FSU for that.

Going to try to keep this more updated as we move into the New Year. Go Canes!

Finally.

The clock read six seconds and the only thing left was to cover the kickoff and celebrate. Seven years of futility and of being dominated by our biggest rival would be over. The special teams did their job. 24-20. Good guys. Heroes of the game: the defense, Malik Rosier, Braxton Berrios, and Darrell Langham.

Now, it’s on to GT. They have not played a murderer’s row of opponents, so their record is a bit misleading. A loss to a bad Tennessee team and then wins over some inferior opponents have bloated their record and stats. They will gain yards on the ground, they will get a pass or two in the open field as well, but ultimately talent and coaching prevail. This is Miami. We are 4-0 at home and have won by double digits vs GT since 2009. Richt owned them at Georgia.

Prediction: 31-17 Miami

August 10th....only 3 weeks to go

The Canes start their year against Marshall on September 1st unranked for the first time to start the season (check me on this) since the suspension years and nameless as Randy Shannon has removed the names from all jerseys for the 2007 season.

Kyle or Kirby?

Javarris or Cooper?

Leggett or Shields?

Calais Campbell, Kenny Phillips, one of the better defenses in college football and......

NO LARRY COKER.  

Clappy may be a great guy, a low-key unassuming Okie, but a great football coach he is not. 

Shannon seemingly has this team disciplined which is something that the last few years have lacked.  

Johnson took no crap and the team excelled.  Erickson took over and spent too much time at the Fox Lounge across from the South Miami Metrorail station allowing the Thug U mentality and stereotype to become a reality.  

Butch came in, cleaned house, and instilled discipline.  Coker took us back to the days of Dennis.  Randy is a throwback to the more disciplinarian and utilitarian style of JJ and Butch. 

Performance on the practice field and in the gym gets you playing time.  End of story.

The Hurricane Nation waits for Marshall and then for Oklahoma and an opportunity for a well-disciplined group of proud, talented young men to play with a chip on their shoulder and back up what the teams of the last two years could not.  Talk the talk, walk the walk.  LET'S GO CANES!

Duke? Are you kidding me?

October 17, 2006

After the FIU debacle and a fight that got a Gameplan-only game onto Sportscenter, the Canes were mercifully not on TV today. I checked the espn.com gamecast and left home feeling as though the game was in hand at 20-2. Of course, I found out that the two points that Duke got were not from a couple of JJ Reddick free throws. We had actually missed a long snap that went 31 yards backward into the end zone. Thanks Brian Monroe and while I'm at it thanks to all of the 13 Canes suspended for this game after justifying their thug against powerhouse Florida International.

I returned home a little while later and checked the gamecast again. Less than a minute to go...20-2 was now 20-15 and Duke had the ball! 8 seconds left, inside the 15, "Duke rushing touchdown." Did we just lose to Duke? Thankfully, no. The game had ended and the mouse had run over the scoring recap for the game. Final score: Floundering Storks 20 Cameron Crazies 15. Time to visit cokermustgo.com!

Louisville 31 Miami 7 -- Coker must go

The game was an embarassment. No killer instinct and no halftime adjustments. The Canes went from what should have been a 17-0 lead...(fumbled on the 8 and field goal off the uprights) to being drubbed 31-7 by Louisville led by a walk-on backup QB and a stable of backup RBs replacing pre-season AA Michael Bush.

First year -- undefeated 12-0 (National Championship) final ranking #1
Second year -- 1 loss 12-1 (BCS Championship "loss" to OSU) #2
Third year (2003) 2 losses 11-2 Beat FSU again in the Orange Bowl #5 (UT, VT)
Fourth year (2004) 3 losses 9-3 Beat Florida in the Peach Bowl #11 (NC, Clemson, VT)
Fifth year (2005) 3 losses again 9-3 Drubbed in the Peach Bowl #17 (FSU, GT, LSU)
Sixth year (2006) 1-2 Losses to a poor FSU team and to LOUISVILLE...currently unranked

This has got to end.

Longhorns, and Tigers, and Bears...

Texas wins the National Championship. The local team, CAL, wins their bowl game. My Canes lay another egg and lose to the Bayou Bengals by a score of 40-3.

Coker fired four coaches and now has an incredibly important recruiting season to procure us a WR or two who can catch and wants to be on the field. Leggett, a top notch prospect two years ago, is afraid of the ball...enough said. Ryan Moore is likely gone, Sinorice Moss is a senior, and Hester has decided to replace his mentor PRIMETIME in the league.

Are Canes fans in for mediocrity? We'll see, but new blood on the coaching staff should be a step in restoring some fire to the program.

Ramblin' Wreck Indeed

Well, football season is practically over and 2005 is coming to a close.

Miami couldn't beat GT and therefore blew their chances to play in the Rose Bowl.

USC came through in another close game against Fresno State who in turn lost to the juggernaut that is University of Nevada-Reno.

Texas took a week off and then put some hurt on Texas A&M. How many teams are called Aggies, anyway?

Kyle Wright looks solid for the next couple of years and Larry Coker has talked about moving Devin Hester back to offense and getting the ball in his hands. 2006 could be the year of the Canes, but then again the Golden Domers will be tough, Texas will be back, and USC is in reload mode like Miami was 15 years ago.

One month until the Gator Bowl and another Cane victory...