Better know a ’12 opponent: Miami
We’re coming down the home stretch of the opponent previews. Miami is the latest installment.
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Coach: Al Golden (second season at Miami, 6-6; 33-40 in six seasons at Temple and Miami)
2011 record: 6-6 (3-5 ACC, t-4th Coastal), team withdrew from bowl consideration during ongoing NCAA investigation
Looking back: The Al Golden era didn’t necessarily get off to a bang, although it was no fault of his own. The Yahoo! Sports report documenting former booster Nevin Shapiro‘s illicit benefits to Miami players over a long period of time broke right before the season, a difficult backdrop for what was an up-and-down year. With eight players suspended, including quarterback Jacory Harris, Miami lost to Maryland in the opener. With most of the back for Game 2, the ‘Canes beat Ohio State. Those kind of fluctuations would happen all season. Losses to Kansas State and a nail-biter against Virginia Tech dropped the ‘Canes to 2-3. They’d bounce back with wins against North Carolina and No. 22 Georgia Tech but would finish the season with three losses in five games, falling to Virginia, Florida State and, unbelievably, Boston College , to finish the season a mediocre 6-6, only the third time since 1979 the program didn’t finish with a winning record.
2011 stats/rankings:
- Rushing offense: 145.67 ypg (71st nationally, 6th ACC)
- Passing offense: 232.08 ypg (62nd nationally, 8th ACC)
- Total offense: 377.75 ypg (70th nationally, 7th ACC)
- Scoring offense: 26.50 ppg (63rd nationally, 7th ACC)
- Rushing defense: 161.92 ypg (68th nationally, 8th ACC)
- Passing defense: 198.00 ypg (29th nationally, 3rd ACC)
- Total defense: 359.92 ypg (45th nationally, 6th ACC)
- Scoring defense: 20.08 ppg (17th nationally, 3rd ACC)
- Turnover margin: -.33 (t-85th nationally, 9th ACC)
Offensive starters returning/lost: 4/7
Defensive starters returning/lost: 6/5
Losses: QB Jacory Harris (2,486 yards, 20 TD, 9 INT), RB Lamar Miller (2nd ACC, 1,272 yards, 9 TD), WR Travis Benjamin (41 catches, 609 yards, 3 TD, 11.0 punt return avg., 23.7 kick return avg.), WR Tommy Streeter (46 catches, 811 yards, 8 TD), LT Brandon Washington, LG Harland Gunn, C Tyler Horn (2nd ACC), DL Micanor Regis (41 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 2 sacks), DT Adewale Ojomo (19 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks), LB Sean Spence (1st ACC, 106 tackles, 14 TFL, 3 sacks), LB/DE Marcus Robinson (37 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 5 sacks), CB Mike Williams (29 tackles, 2 TFL), S JoJo Nicolas (66 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2 INT)
Returnees: QB Stephen Morris (283 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT), RB Mike James (275 yards, 7 TD), FB Maurice Hagens (6 catches, 57 yards), WR Allen Hurns (31 catches, 415 yards, 4 TD), TE Clive Walford (18 catches, 172 yards, TD), RT Jon Feliciano, RG Brandon Linder, RT Seantrel Henderson, DE Anthony Chickillo (38 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 5 sacks), DT Darius Smith (21 tackles, 3 TFL), LB James Gaines (58 tackles, 3 TFL), LB Denzel Perryman (69 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 1 sack), CB Brandon McGee (38 tackles, 2.5 TFL, INT), S Vaughn Telemaque (59 tackles, INT), PK Jake Wieclaw (11-14 FG), P Dalton Botts (42.7 avg.)
2012 schedule:
- Sept. 1: at Boston College
- Sept. 8: at Kansas State
- Sept. 15: vs. Bethune-Cookman
- Sept. 22: at Georgia Tech
- Sept. 29: vs. N.C. State
- Oct. 6: at Notre Dame
- Oct. 13: vs. North Carolina
- Oct. 20: vs. Florida State
- Nov. 1: vs. Virginia Tech
- Nov. 10: at Virginia
- Nov. 17: vs. South Florida
- Nov. 24: at Duke
Strengths: Talent never seems to be an issue in Miami. The offense lost a ton, but freshman running back Randy Johnson, last year’s Mr. Football in Florida, is one example of the kind of players Golden is bringing in. The defense has several standouts, including Chickillo, Perryman and a group of young, highly-touted prospects who could step in and play immediately (and might need to, given the number of players who departed after last season). That defense had some rough patches last year (see the VT game) but eventually gave up only 20.08 points per game, ranking 17th nationally. The Hurricanes played a 7-6 spring game, suggesting they might be strong on that side of the ball again.
Weaknesses: Or, the offense might be that bad. The Hurricanes lost a ton, including their quarterback (Harris), running back (Miller) and top two receivers (Benjamin, Streeter). The quarterback position still isn’t settled coming out of the spring, with Morris and Memphis transfer Ryan Williams vying for the job. The offensive line isn’t very deep either. Offense has long been a problem at The U. It might continue to hold this team back for the time being. Oh, there’s also that NCAA thing. That’s a significant cloud hanging over the program. It’s hard to say that doesn’t affect anything, and a ruling doesn’t look like it’s coming anytime soon.
Fun fact: (Via Wikipedia) “Miami ended the [1990] season with a 46–3 Cotton Bowl Classic victory over No. 3 Texas in the 1991 Cotton Bowl Classic in which the team was penalized a bowl- and school-record 16 times for 202 yards, including nine unsportsmanlike conduct or personal foul penalties. On one play, Randal Hill scored on a 48-yard touchdown reception and continued to sprint out of the end zone and up the Cotton Bowl tunnel, where he then pretended to shoot at the Longhorns with imaginary pistols. The program was widely criticized for its conduct, with Will McDonough of the Boston Globe likening the Cotton Bowl Classic display to a ‘wilding’ and Bill Walsh calling it “the most disgusting thing [he'd] ever seen in college sports.” After the season, the NCAA responded with the so-called ‘Miami Rule,’ which made it a 15-yard penalty to engage in excessive celebration or flagrant taunting.”
Series with VT: Miami leads 17-12
In the last 10 years:
- 2011: No. 21 Virginia Tech 38, Miami 35, in Blacksburg
- 2010: No. 14 Virginia Tech 31, No. 24 Miami 17, in Miami Gardens
- 2009: No. 11 Virginia Tech 31, No. 9 Miami 7, in Blacksburg
- 2008: Miami 16, Virginia Tech 14, in Miami Gardens
- 2007: No. 10 Virginia Tech 44, Miami 14, in Blacksburg
- 2006: No. 23 Virginia Tech 17, Miami 10, in Miami
- 2005: No. 5 Miami 27, No. 3 Virginia Tech 7, in Blacksburg
- 2004: No. 10 Virginia Tech 16, No. 9 Miami 10, in Miami
- 2003: No. 10 Virginia Tech 31, No. 2 Miami 7, in Blacksburg
- 2002: No. 1 Miami 56, No. 18 Virginia Tech 45, in Miami
Previous entries:
- Georgia Tech — Team overview | Ask a beat writer
- Austin Peay — Team overview | Ask a beat writer
- Pittsburgh — Team overview | Ask a beat writer
- Bowling Green — Team overview | Ask a beat writer
- Cincinnati — Team overview | Ask a beat writer
- North Carolina — Team overview | Ask a beat writer
- Duke — Team overview | Ask a beat writer
- Clemson — Team overview | Ask a beat writer
June 17, 2012 - 12:02 AM
The “Miami Rule” was for renegades at Miami, and given the chance “The U”
will do it again. History has a way of repeating itself.
Let’s Go Hokies !!!
The game in Blacksburg had me asking several fans at Bulls and Bones, “Why didn’t Tech played that way against Clemson?” They dominated Miami on the ground and through the air. I have never seen such a more prolific quarterbacking from anyone at Tech take apart Miami’s defense. Then came the very, very questionable catch Streeter made near the end of 2nd quarter that gave Miami momentum toward halftime and subsequently into the 2nd half. I believe the replay official got that call wrong when the field judge had ruled, correctly, Streeter was out of bound when he caught the ball. What Logan Thomas did to Miami defense will go down in Tech’s lore…a quarterback sneak designed to pick up a 1st down ended up into a touchdown, and every body in Lane going nuts when Enter Sandman blared over the speaker. Great, great game I have seen from Tech.
I don’t like Miami. I don’t like anybody from the lame state of Florida. I like Golden, he seem like a classic guy, wear ties to every game, and just seem to be level-headed. It sucked that he walked right into the poop, to put it down politely, and the brass didn’t bother to inform him after he was hired, “Oh, by the way, coach, the NCAA may be calling us soon, we might get hammered for something that went down before you came here.”
I don’t think there will ever be a SMU-styled death penalty levied against the U.
There’s no place for swag in Miami anymore. You can’t have swag when you stink it up on the field
Some things are just hard to understand with the NCAA, you know? I agreed with the sanctions against Bush and USC. Severe, but apparantley rightly so.
Then we have Cam Newton’s father trying to sell his son to the highest bidder. The player is, by rule, as culpable as the parent even if the player doesn’t know. Does this get the same level of enforcement as USC? No. As near was we can tell there is no enforcement action at all and certainly none that match the rule.
Then there is the U. If true, the allegations made are so far out from under the bell curve of “normal violations” that one has to wonder what, exactly, it takes to get the attention of the Enforcement Committee. The guy who read the punishment out to USC works at the U. Think there is a little favoratism? Maybe?
Then there is Ohio Satate. Their players sell their own property. This is against the rules. Hard for me to understand this too. The coach knows and doesn’t blow the whistle. Coach fired. Players in hot water school in shame. ?????
Then there is the whole thing at Penn State. This school, convinced of its own integrity, shielded a man accussed of the most heinous of crimes. No matter how ugly this situation continues to get the school is in a continuing state of denial that something is institutionally wrong, particularly in its athletic department.
NCAA, you have a problem.
The Hurricanes played a 7-6 spring game, suggesting they might be strong on that side of the ball again.
The ESPN 30 for 30 on “The U” caught us up with Randal “Six Shooter” Hill. Turns out he’s now a federal marshall of some sort, so sleep easy knowing that.
Also, as the great Dave Barry put it in one of his early-90s columns, Miami brings a new meaning to the term “shotgun offense.”