Miami's College Football 2011 Schedule: What to Expect on Saturdays
For those of us who are in football withdrawal with both college football and the NFL having drawn to a close for the season, there are two days in the winter we can look forward to: National Signing Day (which has come and gone) and the day when the schedules are released for the 2011 college football season.
For fans of ACC teams, that day is today.
For Miami Hurricanes fans, many questions were abound regarding the schedule, such as "who will we play the week before we face Ohio State?" and "will we play FSU on Labor Day?". The answers to those questions, respectively, are : nobody, and not even close. Here we go!
Week 1 (Labor Day): At Maryland (8pm on ESPN)
1 of 14MARYLAND? On Labor Day? With many rumors abound regarding who the Canes would play on Labor Day, most Miami fans can safely say they did not expect the Terrapins from the University of Maryland to be the answer. But alas, Coach Al Golden will have his Miami coaching debut in College Park against another coach making his debut with a new team: Randy Edsall, who, coincidentally, was a favorite to take over the job in Coral Gables before Golden was hired.
This game is a rematch of the early November game this past season when, in his first career start, rookie QB Stephen Morris brought the Canes to victory on a 35 yard TD pass to Leonard Hankerson with under a minute to go to make the score 26-20. Assuming Morris gets the start here, it will no doubt be touted as a duel of the promising young QBs, as Maryland's got an up-and-comer themselves in QB Danny O'Brien. If Miami wins this game, it will be big for Coach Golden, as well as the team, who next week have to face...
Week 2: BYE
2 of 14Nobody. For yet another year in a row, Miami has a bye week scheduled in the first month of the season. However, this will be a very helpful bye week, giving the Canes two weeks to prepare for...
Week 3: vs Ohio State
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The Buckeyes of Ohio State University. What would prove to be the game of the year for the Canes is not even a conference opponent. Coach Golden will make his home debut against a team that will undoubtedly be ranked in the top 10 to start the season.
This game is a rematch of last year, when OSU rolled over the Canes 36-24 in a game that was not as close as the score indicated. Miami played sloppily all day. Jacory Harris tossed four costly interceptions, the receivers made numerous drops, and the defense could not contain Terrell Pryor at all. This year, however, there is potential for a whole different story. The game is in Sun Life Stadium, which, though notorious for low attendances, does tend to nearly sell out or completely sell out for big games (like FSU and Oklahoma the last two years). And with Coach Golden making his home debut, there will likely be a big turnout.
The Buckeyes will also be playing without many of their top players; Terrell Pryor, Boom Herron, and Devier Posey, three of their top offensive weapons, have all been suspended for the first five games of the season. If Miami's defense can get going quickly, they have the chance to almost totally shut down the Buckeyes' offense.
If Miami can avoid the costly turnovers and get off to a fast start on both sides of the ball, this game could be a lot closer than many might expect, or maybe Miami might just add a notch to the win column.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Week 4: vs Kansas State
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Miami continues its early season home stand (something we haven't seen in a few years) by hosting the Kansas State Wildcats, in what appears to be the continuation of a series against Big 12 foes (Oklahoma before them and Nebraska, who was in the Big 12 when Miami scheduled them, in a few years). The Wildcats are coming off of a 7-6 year which was capped off with a controversial 36-34 loss to the Syracuse Orange in the inaugural New Era Pinstripe Bowl.
This could be a game where many yards are gained on the ground. K-State is a heavy running team, and they'll be facing a Miami team with the likes of Lamar Miller and Mike James on the roster. K-State, however, will be without stud RB Daniel Thomas, who will be out with a bad case of the graduations. He gained almost 1600 yards and 19 TDs for the Wildcats this past season. However, expect them to continue running the ball against a Miami front 7 that was inconsistent throughout 2010. But if Miami's strong D-line and young LBs can shut down the K-State run game, expect it to be a long day for Wildcat fans.
Week 5: vs Bethune-Cookman
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Miami's obligatory game against an inferior FCS foe comes in week 5, when they suspend their usual series against the Florida A&M Rattlers and instead host local FCS opponent Bethune-Cookman. They will be the second straight "Wildcats" that the Canes will play this season.
There's really not much that needs to be said about this matchup. As far as I can remember, Miami's never lost to an FCS opponent, and I don't expect that to change in 2011.
Week 6: at Virginia Tech
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Miami's three game home stand comes to an end as the Canes travel to Blacksburg to play division rival Virginia Tech, a team that has given the Canes major fits in recent years. The Hokies have dominated this series since the two teams left the Big East for the ACC. And as everybody knows, it is very hard to win in Blacksburg (unless you're James Madison apparently).
The most recent matchup between these two teams, a mid-November clash at Sun Life Stadium this past season, saw a 17-17 tie game at halftime turn into a runaway win for the Hokies, ending any slim hopes Canes fans had of an ACC title game birth. This year's game will be just as tough, if not even tougher, as it will be on the road. The one bright spot is that VT will be without their top three offensive players from 2010: QB Tyrod Taylor and RBs Ryan Williams and Darren Evans. Hokies fans will insist that their replacements, QB Logan Thomas and RB David Wilson, will more than adequately replace them, but with the two players mostly unproven, it's a toss up as to how they will fare this upcoming season.
If Miami is to win, they'll need probably the best game of the year from their defensive front 7. Thomas is said to be as athletic as Taylor, and Miami fans know all too well how badly Taylor's destroyed the Canes with his legs the last two matchups. But at the same time Miami can't overlook the receiving duo of seniors Jarrett Boykin and Danny Coale, who quietly combined for almost 1600 yards and 9 TDs. If they have a big day, VT will have a big day.
Week 7: at North Carolina
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As if this road trip wasn't bad enough, the Hurricanes now have to travel to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to face the UNC Tar Heels, another team that has proven problematic for the Canes in recent years, ending Miami's ACC title game hopes in 2009 among other noteworthy games.
However, unlike with VT, Miami will be entering this game on a win streak against the Tar Heels. It's a one game streak, but a streak nonetheless. In possibly Miami's best and most spirited performance of the season, the Canes pounded the Heels 33-10 in Sun Life Stadium, shutting down vaunted UNC quarterback TJ Yates and slicing through a defense that was strong despite all the suspensions. It would prove to be Randy Shannon's only victory with the Canes against former Miami coach Butch Davis.
If Miami wants to win this year, they'll need to remember what happened last year and try to repeat that magic. Since many of the suspended players for the Tar Heels were seniors, they'll be gone this coming season, so the Canes won't need to stress about them too badly. The UNC offense will be without Yates, which is a huge plus for a Canes secondary that has combined for one career start entering 2011. If they can repeat their performance from this past season, they should be able to repeat the result.
Fun fact: this is the last time the Miami Hurricanes leave the state of Florida for a football game.
Week 8: vs Georgia Tech
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Miami returns home to face their third straight ACC Coastal rival, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. This is yet another series where Miami has had issues in recent years. However, Miami has had much more success in recent years. The last time these two teams met at Sun Life Stadium, Jacory Harris had a field day against the Jackets' defense en route to getting some Heisman Trophy consideration (that quickly died out the following week though).
There was also last year, when Miami faced GT on the road, but had no problem with them at all, pounding the Yellow Jackets 35-10 in what would prove to be Miami's last win of the season. Unlike in 2009, when it was a showcase of Miami's aerial attack, this time it was Miami's ground attack that prospered, racking up a whopping 277 yards rushing against the Yellow Jackets.
Like with past years, the key to stopping GT is to shut down their vaunted triple option offense, which led the FBS in rushing this past season with an eye-popping 323 YPG on the ground. They've been able to do it the last two years, and it will get even easier this year, with the departure of QB Joshua Nesbitt and RB Anthony Allen, the two biggest keys in that offense. Leading the offense this year will be speedy QB Tevin Washington, who has not yet proven that he can follow in the footsteps (pun intended) of Nesbitt, who set the ACC record for rushing yards by a QB. Since GT's aerial game is effectively a nonfactor (the top two QBs combined for just over 1000 yards passing on the season), as long as Miami can shut down the run, expect the Canes' win streak of the Ramblin' Wreck to go to three games.
Week 9: vs Virginia (8 pm on ESPN)
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Miami's second game of the season that is already scheduled to be nationally televised is also their second game of the season to not be played on Saturday. This time, the Cavaliers of the University of Virginia will get a chance to skip class on Thursday to play the Hurricanes in Sun Life Stadium.
I think we all remember the fiasco that occurred last time Miami played UVA. En route to a 24-19 loss at the hands of the Cavalier, Jacory Harris went down with a cuncussion on a brutal hit. After Spencer Whipple came in and threw 2 second quarter picks, he was benched at halftime in favor of unproven freshman Stephen Morris, who nearly brought the team back from a 24-0 fourth quarter deficit thanks to spectular play that won the hearts of Canes fans everywhere.
This time, however, I'm sure we're all hoping for a repeat of the 2009 game, when the Canes racked up 52 points on UVA in the first home game against the Cavaliers since getting embarrassed on national television in the last game at the historic Orange Bowl. This year, the Canes have a new reason to want the blood of the Cavaliers. And assuming Miami plays well in every aspect of the game, there's no reason to expect a score similar to last year, and plenty of reasons to expect a score similar to two years ago.
By the way, has anyone else noticed a trend of brewing hatred between the city of Miami and teams named the Cavaliers?
Week 10: vs Duke
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Ah Duke. The historic "Little Sister of the Poor" in the ACC come calling this year trying to find that elusive second victory ever over the Hurricanes (the first one isn't coming to mind at the moment). Miami (and, well, almost every other BCS team that Duke has played) has dominated the series against the Blue Devils. If I sound like I'm mocking them too much, maybe it's because I'm a bit disgruntled after Duke beat Miami in basketball last night.
Last year Miami struggled against Duke, but still managed to beat them 28-13 in Wallace Wade Stadium. Actually, Miami hasn't really had many all around solid performances against the Blue Devils as of late, as it took a 21 point 4th quarter for the Canes to pull away from the Devils in Sun Life Stadium in 2009.
Miami mostly just needs to play typical Miami football to notch another win. But they do need to watch out for Duke's talented aerial attack, which ranked 22nd in the FBS last year and returns all three of their key members, QB Sean Renfree and WRs Conner Vernon and Donovan Warner, two of the best receivers in the ACC, who combined for 1700 yards receiving in 2010. If Miami's inexperienced CB group doesn't really get going by then, Renfree could have a big day, and this game could end up a lot closer than Canes fans would like.
Week 11: at Florida State
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The other really big game of the year (besides Ohio State) comes in mid November when the Canes travel up I-95 and west on I-10 to Tallahassee to face their arch rivals, the Florida State Seminoles. As anyone who's a fan of either team knows, there's a lot of hatred between the two schools.
There will be no lack of bad blood in Tallahassee this season. The last time these two teams faced off, the Seminoles embarrassed the Hurricanes 45-17 in the first sold out Canes game in the history of Sun Life Stadium. I myself still have bad memories of the FSU crowd (which embarrassingly made up about a quarter of the total crowd) doing the Tomahawk Chop every waking minute of the game.
This game will be no easier than the one last year. Canes fans better hope that the recent streak of road teams winning in this rivalry continues, because the last thing Miami fans want is a losing streak against their arch rivals. The Seminoles will still have many of their top weapons from this season, with the only notable offensive weapon lost being QB Christian Ponder. One big key is that, while EJ Manuel has had plenty of experience thanks to multiple injuries by Ponder, he has yet to play a game in this rivalry. If Miami can intimidate him and force him into making multiple mistakes, the Canes can keep the Seminoles offense off the field and out of the endzone. If they can't, he's got potential to have a big day against Miami's inexperienced secondary, which could prove disastrous for them.
Week 12: at South Florida
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Remaining in the state of Florida (like I said, no more trips out of state after the UNC game), Miami travels up I-75 along Alligator Alley to Tampa, Florida to face the USF Bulls from the Big East. USF is a school still trying to get its name mentioned alongside the big 3 Florida schools (UM, UF, and FSU). They've gotten more attention as of late, but are still not really in the conversation just yet.
Depending on your view of Randy Shannon, the 23-20 overtime loss to South Florida this past November, the first loss against the Bulls ever, may prove to be a blessing in disguise, as it was the straw that broke the camel's back, resulting in the coach being fired. The game, which was played in front of an embarrassing crowd of 15,000 people at Sun Life Stadium (admittedly, the numbers are skewed thanks to a small turnout at the student section because of Thanksgiving break), could've been won in regulation if not for a late interception by Jacory Harris when the team was just outside of Matt Bosher's FG range.
This year, the Bulls keep most of their talent, including promising young QB BJ Daniels, though they are losing their top RB and WR. As such, if Miami can get the ball rolling early on defense and turn this into a low scoring bout, it looks promising for a Miami team that is always a threat to get in the endzone with players like Miller and Benjamin. I don't expect consecutive losses to the Bulls, as I'm sure Coach Golden will have the team fired up moreso than Coach Shannon did in this matchup last year.
Week 13: vs Boston College
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And Miami officially wraps up the 2011 regular season at home against the Boston College Eagles. This has been an ACC rivalry that has been strangely absent, with the two teams meeting only twice since joining the ACC, in 2006 and 2007. Depending on how Miami plays against their other ACC foes and how the rest of the ACC Coastal shapes up, this came could possibly be the deciding factor as to whether or not the Canes go to the ACC title game.
The last time these two teams matched up, in 2007, Boston College beat the Canes 28-14 in Chestnut Hill. It was the game that dropped the Canes to 5-7 and caused them to miss out on a bowl game for the first time since the sanction years of the 1990s.
This will no doubt be a low scoring bout, as both teams were quite good on the season at keeping other teams out of the endzone, combining to allow just 40.2 PPG. The Eagles only scored above 25 points twice in 2010, against Weber State and Kent State. Miami scored above 25 points in all seven of their wins. This could prove to be the deal breaker in this matchup. But the Canes need to watch out for RB Montrel Harris, who had a big year in 2010, proving to be the main source of offense for an otherwise defense driven team. If Miami's front 7 proves to be as inconsistent in 2011 as they were in 2010, the Eagles could potentially sneak up on the Canes and steal one.
Retrospect
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7 home games, 5 road games. Sounds like a pretty favorable schedule to make a run at an ACC title game berth, which would be the first for Miami. But with a tough road schedule against five teams that went to bowls in 2010 and are expected to be in bowls in 2011, that could potentially trip up the Canes somewhere down the line.
How do I see this season going overall? Well, with an extremely favorable home schedule, a 6-1 or 7-0 home record is very much attainable, depending on the outcome of the Ohio State game. As for the road schedule, I think we'll trip up at least once against VT and FSU, but pull out wins against USF and UNC. That means that, overall, I think a reasonable record for the Canes in 2011 would be either 9-3 or 10-2. And thanks to a weakened ACC Coastal that sees VT and Gt depleted offensively, UNC depleted defensively, and UVA and Duke far away from being truly competitive, a record like that, pending how VT responds to their losses on offense, could be all the Canes need to compete in the ACC title game for the first time ever.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
