Music to listen to: Just Another Day by Jon Secada
Trust me, I wanted to go with some Luke but I’m trying to keep the Blog PG-13 and if I went with some of my favorite 2 Live Crew classics, I would be heading straight to the rated R section. Plus, I want to have the music choice be someone who actually went to the school and graduated if possible. So sorry to many of the artists we know and love from the city of Miami. Furthermore, I have no shame in being a Jon Secada fan. His music touches your soul.
When people think of the Miami football program, the first images are usually of a team filled with pro potential, excellent coaching and a level of arrogance that actually makes it possible to pull off the idea of calling yourself “The U” with a straight face. Heck, arguably the most entertaining sports documentary of the past five years was the ESPN 30 for 30 show about the Miami program from the 1980’s to the early 1990’s.
However, those days are over and what’s left is a program with a new coach, concerns at quarterback and muted expectations within a conference where its biggest rival has surpassed it nationally.
Last Season: The Hurricanes finished last year with a record of 7-6, including losses to conference foes Florida State, Virginia Tech and Virginia as well at Ohio State and South Florida. The season ended on a down note with a disappointing loss to Notre Dame in the Sun Bowl.
Offense: Miami returns four offensive linemen but are but the running back depth is thin despite the high potential of Lamar Miller. The receivers are solid as well with Travis Benjamin, LaRon Bryd and Aldarious Johnson.
The questions are at quarterback. Jacory Harris has gone from highly touted prep star to the face of the new resurgence of Miami football to potentially not starting in his senior year with a new coaching staff. Harris has every physical talent you could ask for from a quarterback to height, size, arm strength, mobility, etc. However, he makes too many mental mistakes to be trusted in the long term. His replacement, Stephen Morris, has potential as well but is less experienced and make mental mistakes of his own. The starting position is still open as of now.
Defense: When Miami was at its best as a program during championship years, the defense was actually more dominant than the star offensive unit that most people remember.
While its asking too much to expect Ray Lewis, Bennie Blades, Ed Reed and Warren Sapp to walk through the doors of Coral Gables in 2011, the unit still has talent led by outside linebacker Sean Spence. The defensive ends are excellent as well the secondary but the interior line has been disappointing recently. The Hurricanes really need defensive tackle Marcus Forston to have a big year.
Coaching: Miami is an odd place when it comes to being an elite national program. The talent base to recruit is there because if Miami is able to get the best players from the state of Florida and than pick and choose from other states, the school should have a top-20 roster nationally. The program also has a name. Love it or dislike it, Miami or “The U” is one of the most recognizable names in college football. However, when it comes to resources such as home stadium and practice facilities, fan base, which can be as fickle as anything else in that city, and things of that nature, Miami is average at best.
What this all means is that new head coach Al Golden has the chance to do a very good job at Miami but there are obstacles that he will have to face.
However, if you can win at Temple, you have the skill set to do well at Miami.
Schedule:
9/5 at Maryland
9/17 vs. Ohio State
9/24 vs. Kansas State
10/1 vs. Bethune Cookman
10/8 at VirginiaTech
10/15 at North Carolina
10/22 vs. Georgia Tech
10/27 vs. Virginia
11/5 vs. Duke
11/12 at Florida State
11/19 at USF
11/25 vs. Boston College
The Hurricanes can be 4-0 heading into their contest at Virginia Tech in what will most likely be the deciding contest for the ACC Coastal division. That could require a win over Ohio State but no one knows the state of the Buckeyes after this offseason. Even after that, the only game where the Hurricanes will most likely be an underdog is at Florida State. Ten wins isn’t impossible for Miami this season.
Best case: A victory over Ohio State gives the Hurricanes momentum to score an upset at Virginia Tech and makes the Hurricanes undefeated heading into a matchup at Florida State. Miami drops this contest but gains revenge in the ACC Title Game against the Seminoles to gain a slot in the BCS.
Worst Case: The quarterbacks continue to disappoint and the Hurricanes get humbled at home by Ohio State. Another big defeat happens at Virginia Tech and Miami suffers growing pains under Golden throughout the season, finishing with a 6-6 record.
Alumni Crush:
Miami, the city, has enough “talent” to compete with any location nationally. I’m sure plenty of the co-eds at the school can do the same but for the alumna, I’m going to take Suzy Kolber. She’s a veteran in sports broadcasting and I’ve been a fan of hers for years.
As for the ladies and non-traditional sports fans, I’m going to take Dwayne Johnson. Full disclosure, I’m not gay but even I can understand and acknowledge that The Rock is a good looking dude. Plus, he’s a nice guy, actually played football at Miami and is one of the top pro wrestlers of the past 20 years. What’s not to like?
Favorite football alum: Much love to the Rock but he’s in tough competition when you look at all of the great players that have come through that school. I mentioned Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Bennie Blades earlier but I could have gone with Michael Irvin, Frank Gore, Andre Johnson, Devin Hester, Jeremy Shockey, Jerome Brown (RIP), Jim Kelly, Cortez Kennedy, Edgerrin James, Sean Taylor (RIP) and a bunch of others that I’m forgetting.
I’m going to take Sapp as my favorite. I’m partial to defensive linemen because that’s what I played and he was one of the best interior ones that I ever saw and tried to play like him when I was younger.
Uniform Grade:
When you have good colors to work with, it helps in a big way. Orange and green are an excellent start. I would prefer to see more orange and less green, especially the green pants, which still don’t look right for older fans such as myself. I would suggest messing with the helmet but that’s never going to happen. Grade: B
Final Thoughts: I think that Al Golden is an upgrade over Randy Shannon but it will take time for the transition to be complete.
If Miami had a competent quarterback, I would make a case for them to be a darkhorse ACC championship team. However, you just know that Harris or Morris will have a three-interception game somewhere like North Carolina or at home to Georgia Tech which will cost the Hurricanes a game.
Prediction: 8-4
The Sports Inquirer 
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