Wednesday October 21, 2009

Miami Preview

Miami Preview
Miami enters Saturday’s home game against Clemson with a 5-1 record overall and a 2-1 mark in the ACC. The Hurricanes are ranked eighth in this week’s AP poll, ninth in the Coaches’ poll and 10th in the first BCS poll.

Randy Shannon entered the season on the hot seat after going 5-7 and 7-6 in his first two seasons. He was facing an extremely difficult September schedule that included road trips to Florida State and Virginia Tech and home contests against Georgia Tech and Oklahoma. Outside of the bad performance in Blacksburg, the Canes have played as well as any team in America.

They opened their season with an impressive 38-34 win in Tallahassee when Jacory Harris passed for 386 yards.

Defense was the story of Miami’s 33-17 win over Georgia Tech. The Canes held Tech to just 228 yards of total offense.

Miami’s only loss was an embarrassing performance where the Canes were dominated 31-7 by Virginia Tech. The Hurricanes managed just 209 total yards and Harris completed just nine of 25 passes.

The pivotal win for the Hurricanes came in a 21-20 victory over Oklahoma when Javarris James rushed for 150 yards against a very good defense and the Canes shocked the country by going 3-1 through that stretch.

Since the Oklahoma game, Miami has taken care of two out of conference, in-state opponents with a 48-16 win over Florida A&M and a 27-7 victory at Central Florida.

Miami is seventh in the league in scoring offense with an average of 29.0 points per game. The Hurricanes are sixth in the ACC in total offense with 385.7 yards per contest. The Canes are eighth in the conference in rushing offense with 126.3 yards a game.

James (6-0, 208, Sr) is sixth in the ACC in rushing with an average of 60.3 yards per game on the ground. The South Florida native has 362 yards and four scores this season. Damien Berry is the second leading rusher on the team with 222 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Craig Cooper (6-0, 205, Jr) is listed as the second team back and has rushed for 200 yards so far this season but he has been injured once again this year.

Miami is fifth in the league in passing averaging 259.4 yards per game. Harris (6-3, 190, So) is fourth in the ACC in passing yards with a 253 yards per game average. He has looked very poised in the pocket in this season that has seen him complete 105 of his 162 passes for 1,518 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The Canes’ wide receiver corps is deep and talented. Harris has spread the ball around to a bunch of receivers this season but Leonard Hankerson (6-3, 215, Jr) leads the team in receiving yards with 293 yards on 15 catches. Travis Benjamin (5-10, 175, So) is terrific in the open field. He also has 15 receptions for 280 yards. LaRon Byrd (6-4, 215, So) is the leader in terms of receptions with 18. Tommy Streeter (6-5, 209, Fr), and Aldarius Johnson are talented wide outs as well.

The Canes have a couple of big time tight ends in Dedrick Epps (6-4, 253, Sr) who has 11 catches and two touchdowns and former Miami basketball player Jimmy Graham (6-8, 260, Sr) who has three touchdowns on his five receptions.

The Hurricanes have allowed 16 sacks this season which is seventh in the league. They had three returning starters on their offensive line from a year ago including left tackle Jason Fox (6-7, 314, Sr), left guard Orlando Franklin (6-7, 318, Jr) and center A.J. Trump (6-3, 300, Sr).

Miami likes to run the football then hurt defenses with the play action passing game. The Hurricanes use a lot of maximum protection to give Harris time to throw the ball vertically. They are also one of the best screen offenses in the country.

Miami is sixth in the league in scoring defense giving up 20.8 points per game. The Hurricanes are fourth in the ACC in total defense allowing 305.7 yards per contest. The Canes are seventh in the conference in rushing defense allowing 133.5 yards per game. The Hurricanes are deep and talented up front defensively despite missing starting defensive tackle Marcus Fortson. Marcus Robinson (6-1, 237, So), Steven Wesley (6-3, 250, Jr) Andrew Smith (6-2, 245, So) and Eric Moncur (6-2, 250, Sr) give the Canes four solid defensive ends. The Hurricanes are tied for seventh in the ACC in sacks with 12 on the year.

The linebacker corps is lead by Sean Spence (6-0, 212, So) but Colin McCarthy (6-3, 242, Jr) is the leading tackler this season. Miami gets back its best defensive back with Randy Phillips (6-1, 210, Sr) returns to the lineup after missing the last three games with a shoulder injury. The Canes are fifth in the league in pass defense giving up 172.2 yards per game.

Matt Bosher (6-0, 205, Jr) handles the punting and place kicking duties. The Hurricanes are six of eight on field goal attempts on the season and are 10th in the ACC in net punting with a 34.2 yard net average.

Miami is third in the league in kickoff returns averaging 25.2 yards per return. They are eighth in the conference in punt returns with a 8.4 yard averages. The Canes are seventh in the conference in kickoff coverage.

Clemson faces a big challenge against a top-10 opponent on the road Saturday but the Tigers could look at this game as a big opportunity. The key to the defense is to limit the running game and force Miami to be one-dimensional. Harris can be effective if he has all day. Offensively, the Tigers need to be able to convert third downs and stay on the field. Red zone opportunities will be another key. Also, Clemson cannot lose the special teams battle and win Saturday.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, Delores Weaver, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, John Petrey, Chalmers Carr, Drayton Melton, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Ann Fallaw, Bob Pollock, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs, Mike Kingsmore.