CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -Ohio State and Miami no longer need to pretend otherwise. Marshall and Florida A&M, they were merely warmup acts.
The true early test for the Buckeyes and Hurricanes comes next Saturday - against one another.
Both No. 2 Ohio State and No. 13 Miami opened their season with eerily similar wins Thursday night. Both offenses racked up exactly 45 points, and neither defense allowed a point. Marshall's lone touchdown came on a blocked field goal return, while Florida A&M fell victim to the Hurricanes' first shutout since 2006.
So now, the hype can begin building.
The Hurricanes (1-0) and Buckeyes (1-0) meet Sept. 11 at Columbus, Ohio, the first time they've played since the 2003 Fiesta Bowl where Ohio State denied Miami its second straight national title. And the current sides, although some players were in elementary school when that title game was held, started buzzing about it moments after their respective opening-night routs were in the books.
"It's going to be a more difficult world next week," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said.
Countered Miami coach Randy Shannon, who wants no part of the obvious comparison between this matchup and the one that decided the national title eight seasons ago: "Games are games, and they go and come. You just have to enjoy the times you play in them and keep moving on."
Whether Shannon likes it or not, this one might carry more weight than just any run-of-the-mill non-conference game.
Ohio State is touted by many as a true national championship contender, while Miami thinks its among the teams that could break into that picture by season's end. While there's virtually an entire season left to be played, whatever happens next Saturday might go a long way toward making either the Buckeyes' or Hurricanes' Bowl Championship Series plans a reality.
"You get the feeling that team feels like they're back on the rise like they were in the early 2000s," said Ohio State linebacker Brian Rolle, who returned an interception for a touchdown against Marshall. "We've got to play our brand of football, and at the end of the game next week we'll be able to assess where we are."
Rolle's name likely is familiar to many Hurricanes fans.
He's from Immokalee, Fla., a Collier County town best known for farming and football. Rolle's favorite team growing up was Miami, and he wanted to play for the Hurricanes at one time. And his cousin, Antrel Rolle, was on the field that night in Arizona when Ohio State beat the Hurricanes 31-24 in double-overtime for the national title.
Maybe ironically, Antrel Rolle was the first Miami player to wrap his arms around cornerback Glenn Sharpe in celebration after the Hurricanes thought they stopped Ohio State on fourth down in the first overtime. Then official Terry Porter's yellow penalty flag sailed into the picture after he called Sharpe for pass interference, the championship game continued, and the Buckeyes eventually prevailed.
"I was a little young, but I remember it," Miami defensive lineman Olivier Vernon said. "It's revenge time. Nobody's forgotten about it. I feel like I was playing that game."
Vernon was just 12 when that Fiesta Bowl took place.
Still, he and the rest of today's Hurricanes are convinced they can hang with the team that won the Rose Bowl last season. And the team Miami eased past Thursday night thinks the same.
Florida A&M coach Joe Taylor faced Miami last season as well, and after his Rattlers took their 45-0 loss Thursday, he said the Hurricanes of 2010 are easily better than the team that finished 9-4 a year ago.
"They're a year older, but it's the same guys," Taylor said. "It's experience. (Quarterback) Jacory Harris is a year older and more mature. Their front group, too, and their receiving corps were rated one of the tops in the country. It's legit. Their running backs are fast. We couldn't catch up with them. And the biggest thing is they're showing some experience."
Which they'll need next weekend, when 105,000 or so fans pack Ohio State's fabled home.
"Now's the time to get in that Miami mode," Brian Rolle said. "We know we're going to play a fast, spicy, swagger team."
By Tim Reynolds
Friday, September 3, 2010
Player of the Game : Leonard Hankerson
Leonard Hankerson start off with a strong season performance 6 catches
for 115 yards and 2 TDs ,here a after the game interview..
_______________________________________________________________
HIGHLIGHT thanks to 31 spoonerstreet
for 115 yards and 2 TDs ,here a after the game interview..
_______________________________________________________________
HIGHLIGHT thanks to 31 spoonerstreet
Friday, May 7, 2010
Back in Business
The question of the day is ,who is Nevin Shapiro and how close is he to The U ?
Did the UM president accept money from this guy ?
Is he or was he a big time booster for UM ?
Why was he calling Randy Shannon ,luckily Randy would not return his calls.
Read more about why he's in trouble.....
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2010/04/19/daily40.html
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Signing Day Perspective
'Canes Fans Need Some Signing Day Perspective
With a class of 28, there's room for both coveted recruits and projects alike
By JANIE CAMPBELL
Updated 12:21 PM EST, Thu, Feb 4, 2010
Yesterday, an offensive tackle from Minnesota who took a last-minute recruiting visit to Miami but remained a long shot for the 'Canes picked USC on live television. It sent Miami fans -- already flustered by a perceived lack of star power in the 2010 class -- over the edge.
Their reaction on the day is shortsighted; Seantrel Henderson just wasn't interested, and it shouldn't be considered an embarrassment when it was never more than a slight chance.
But more importantly than that, fans bemoaning the fact the classisn't highly ranked by ESPN and Scout and Rivals (13th, 24th, and 17th in the nation, respectively) or that Miami can't "finish" fail to remember that that getting kids that everyone else wants in a big signing day splash is not as important as getting kids that work in Miami's system.
That's not to say Randy Shannon didn't bring in kids that everyone else wanted, though, because he did -- he just wrapped them up in advance of signing day, and that handy work is being held against him because Wednesday was anti-climactic. Miami got three kids from nationally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas, kids that know how to work hard and win and naturally had offers from other top schools. He pulled two -- including the Gainesville Sun's player of the year, offered by Urban Meyer -- right out from Florida's nose. He got the state of Georgia's offensive player of the year over FSU and Penn State.
Miami was truly desperate for depth at offensive line, tight end, and linebacker, and now they are not. There were no defections, no drama. If Storm Johnson and Eduardo Clements and Brandon Linder and Malcolm Bunche had announced their intentions to attend Miami yesterday, fans would have considered it a huge success. Instead, two are already enrolled early in Coral Gables and prepping for spring practice; the other two pledged months ago and never waivered. How quickly people forget.
And how quickly they forget that Shannon did bring in a huge top-ranked class two years ago, netting a large number of skill positions that weren't necessary this time around.
And even more quickly -- and more irrationally -- they forget that Miami has gone for classes stocked with five-star recruits, and has failed on the field.
Miami lost to LSU 40-3 in 2005 with a roster full of five-star players.
Miami went 6-6 in 2005 with a roster full of five-star players.
The 14-year first-round draft record petered out after a period of highly-ranked classes.
There's nothing wrong with five-star kids on the whole, of course, it's that recruiting based solely on star rankings as Larry Coker did is a road to disaster, and Miami is not a place where that works. It never has. At Miami, there's a half-full stadium and lesser, though nice, facilities, and functioning in that takes kids more hungry than in need of coddling. In fact, it often takes under-rated two-and-three-star kids who care desperately to come, have incredible work ethic, and don't need all the attention on the Internet. Ask Jimmy Johnson. Ask Ed Reed, or Russell Maryland, or Santana Moss. That's what Shannon was after, and that's what he got. And by those terms, the day should be considered a successs.
Ultimately, we'll know how the class pans out in a couple years. But to panic now, with the ink barely dry, is to do 28 good kids and one exhausted coaching staff a huge disservice. After the last two classes, Shannon should get the benefit of the doubt -- and the chance to fill holes on his team instead of satisfy some secondary need for meaningless rankings glory.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
| Miami College Football Team Eligibility |
| Eligibility Tracker | Year: Team: |
| Projected Graduation Year of Players and Committed Recruits. * = Used Redshirt | |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
1st Timers
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments
Blog Top Sites
