Miami is simply not that good this year compared to the last couple of seasons. Wait a minute...they are still as good except at QB. I have followed Miami for 20 years and Brock Berlin is the worst QB at Miami since Frank Costa 10 years ago. Ryan Clement and Scott Covington didn't have fair shots because the team was in probation but Costa couldn't use that excuse. Berlin is like Costa - he is big and strong and has all kinds of physical talent but he just is not a good decision-maker. The good news is that Costa after losing his starting job to Ryan Collins in '93 came back strong to regain it for the '94 season and played like a Miami QB should. Larry Coker should seriously think about going with Derrick Crudup for the rest of the way. DC is very similar to Ryan Collins in that he is more of a running QB, but not only would it shake things up, but I can't see it really hurting anything. You have to remember that Berlin has 9 TD passes and 12 interceptions - that is unacceptable numbers. Plus, the guy has not improved at all during the course of the season. Miami has a true Freshman in Kyle Wright, who was like the #1 or #2 QB coming out of high school last season (Chris Leak was the other top one). They are redshirting him this season, but I was reading on a Hurricanes BBS that many want him out of there. That is ridiculous to do. So what they want is for Coker to blow his redshirt on 5 games, counting the bowl game? That would be really smart.. We just have to hold on with Berlin/Crudup and hope for the best, but hopefully Wright comes through in spring practice and asserts himself as the starter for the 2004 team. Anyway back to the game....besides Berlin's usually sh!tty play, you also had an O-Line that could not or did not want to block anybody, wideouts that are not gamebreakers like Andre Johnson (but they are young), a Kellen Winslow that was being tackled by only 1 man instead of 2 or 3 like normal, a punter that shanked 2 in a row, and a ST play that absolutely destroyed Miami's confidence. It was late in the first half and Miami trailed 7-0. The Canes had a 4th and 17 and decided to do a field goal. They had tried a field goal earlier but it had gotten blocked. This time they ran a fake and it was done beautifully as Va Tech was not expecting. The holder, Matt Carter, had a man who was all alone in the end zone in backup TE Kevin Everett (the supposed next great TE after Winslow). The ball hit him in the hands and then the big lug dropped it. It was like the Jackie Smith drop in the end zone of Super Bowl XIII. Miami just never recovered from that. You look at the stats and see that Miami outgained Va Tech in total yards 377-213, first downs, and passing yards. But when you have 3 turnovers, 2 of them going for TDs and the other leading to a TD on 2 plays, plus a sure TD on your side that is dropped, it just snowballs into a rout. If the game had been played in the Orange Bowl, Miami might have been able to come back like they did against Florida and West Virginia. But there was no way that was happening in front of the 65,000 plus in Blacksburg who was making as much noise as they could. They definitely played a huge role in this game. But another factor was the fact that Va Tech was coming off that loss to West Virginia. I honestly felt that was the worst thing that could have happened to them because they would come out and play their best game of the season since they felt they were now in a corner. But the bottom line is that no one is going to beat Oklahoma this season. Losing this game just saves Miami the embarrassment of getting their asses kicked in New Orleans. So, even though I was disappointed (it has been a long time since I quit watching a Miami game as I quit watching midway through the 3rd quarter), I knew it was inevitable that they were going to lose this season because of Berlin's suckyitude. However, as a Miami fan, I have become spoiled by the lack of losses, so it feels weird to be talking about a Hurricane loss.
I agree Miami would get beat by OU--there is no way they could move the ball against them. But watch out for S Cal. Those that say OU was a walk in the park to a NC have not seen what is brewing in the west. So Cal has speed to burn on both sides and outstanding line play. OU has only looked unbeatable because no one has pressured White consistently. S Cal against OU is far less of an overmmatch than OSU was for Miami last year--and we know that game could have gone either way based on about 5 plays. The key to beating OU is not complicated, it is making have to throw on the move or throw early--just need the team with the right DL and some good blitz packages mixed in.
Hmmm...six teams after Oklahoma all have one loss with the next four teams after that all having two losses. Wouldn't it be cool if there were some type of tournament at the end of the season where all these really good teams could play each other and determine a college football national championship? I don't think that's ever been tried before in any sport before...
The beauty off all this is that the BCS has just gotten trashed! One loss teams with a legitimate claim to #2 V Tech Miami Florida State Ohio State LSU USC And TCU is still undefeated!
At this point I hope the BCS gets so screwed up that riots occur on multiple campuses (lol mabe that's just an Ohio State thing!) around the country. But I would love 6 teams with one loss or better yet how about 9-10 teams with 2 losses all wanting Oklahoma. I would venture to guess it all shakes itself out: USC - Easiest road to get there but still have UCLA (rivalry) V Tech- Still have Pittsburgh at Pitts Miami- Pitt and Tenn coming up LSU- Florida in SEC championship Florida St- I just don't believe these guys are that good, I think they slip up Ohio State - Unless we greatly improve we can't get past MSU, Purdue and scUM So I would guess USC does get Oklahoma. If USC slips up then I think Va Tech has the next best chance of winning out.
All these teams are overrated IMO. VT can't win on the road. Miami is lucky to only have 1 loss. FSU hasn't beaten anybody. OSU...see Miami. The SEC is down this year, so LSU hasn't convinced me. I think OU and USC are clearly the two best teams in the country. That would be one hell of a game, but part of me hopes the BCS screws it up and the season ends in controversy. One more tiny step towards a PLAYOFF.
