Miami

 I don't know how you people do it. Every two years, I stay home and watch a game on television. Yes, it is always Miami and this biannual break is usually accompanied by a win, but that is not why I made the opening statement. It is damn hard to watch your favorite team play when you are limited to what the people in a studio let you see. We have no idea who is on the field and leaving the scrum. We can not see why our defensive staff is playing Parcheesi for the first 25 seconds between plays before they decide to substitute and get us not one but two illegal substitution infractions. We have zero idea what is happening outside of the ridiculously tight view of the line. Downfield route trees and evaluating a qb by what he should see is not a possibility. We are treated to ad nauseam shots of both head coaches pacing, gesticulating, headset ripping and generally looking pre-colonoscopy for almost 4 hours.  Penalties are litigated solely by the announce team - who must have been treated to the standard Cristobal recruiting evening complete with South Beach talent and yacht deck tequila shots the night before - they were so green & orange enamored. So, if the color idiot decides there is nothing to see here, we move on and egregious calls are summarily dismissed. If I had to do this torture every week, I can see why some let their fandom flag. 

Unfortunately in the year of our lord 2024, Miami has a better football team than our beloved school. But, it did feel like we got under their skin more than a little which resulted in their no class head coach deciding to call a trick play to get his rental qb a touchdown and then went for 2. Up by more than three scores and less than 3 minutes to play, his entire starting unit was still on the field facing 3rd and 4th team Noles and he is doing everything he can to run up the score and impress the recruits still reeling from partying with the TV team the night before. Why was Mario so on edge? Well, the Noles had won three in a row, and his offense that had been playing paddycake with the rest of the country could not complete a pass longer than 8 yards. Kudos to the Nole secondary and especially AZ for locking down. Our biggest enemy on defense continues to be ourself, as our DC has absolutely no idea how to coach a zone defense and yet insists on employing said zone on almost every third and long ever.  I understand that I am acting like the Captain of the Titanic giving a promotion while the ship tilts sideways, how about the play of Omar Graham? We heard postgame that he was seriously hurt early in the season, so they shut him down until he was healthy. Well, if that is a well Omar, then he and Nicholson give us real hope in a beleaguered unit going forward. He was the best player on the field for much of the game. 

However, some may have noticed that the Canes did run for nine thousand yards yesterday. That seems to be an issue. Almost all of those miles were right up the middle. Many of the big blasts were when our starting tackles were on the bench. Odell's insistence on playing Kelly is embarrassing at this point, and it speaks to I guess what we don't have on the bench and our lack of a thumper at MLB. Two years ago, we ran counter roughly 60 times in Miami Gardens and emasculated the UM sideline. They knew we were doing it, and they could not stop it. Yikes, that feels bad when it comes back around. The good news is that most of the Miami team are one year rentals or seniors, so a majority of these dudes will not be in Doak next year. The bad news is the immensely talented 17 year olds on the sideline that smell like Cuban perfume and expensive Mexican shots are now joining the wrong team. 

I read a bunch of vitriol last night post game about the offense, the coaching staff and everything associated with that side of the ball. (Yet another reason why I would rather be in person as I generally avoid that garbage while traveling). I disagree with most of that rathole language. Much like post Clemson, Saturday night gave me hope. I like both our young qb's and just like Brock in his first two games, the improvement from game one to two for Luke was moon steps. His demeanor was better, his footwork was light years better, and his ability to feel the pocket was borderline veteran. Now that one drive where he was in a spin cycle and came out like a  dizzy bat contestant is not repeatable, but the competitiveness is. The throws before wr breaks are encouraging and the arm talent is real. Also loved to see all the true freshman finally taking snaps from the seniors. McCoy made every catch and carried a team of green people to a first down. Moore had a chance to make a very tough grab, and even BJ Gibson was targeted. Love it. This will all pay off for a head coach that also made some possibly unnoticed big changes this week. Finally acknowledging that his offensive line is battling like the French in any World War, the game plan was radically adjusted. Slants were back in style like wide leg jeans, cropped jackets and long tight skirts (daughter in LA!). Quarterbacks were rolling out and running naked boots like it was actually part of the offense. Receivers were blocking for their mates on bubble screens. Hey, with a competent OL, we might score 20 again kids. It's true. You have to believe!

Absolutely nobody not coaching or playing for FSU on Saturday night thought this team with this offense was going to win without Miami imploding with turnovers or special teams miracles. But, the defense played very hard and the offense is executing the youth movement we have to have to turn this crapshow around for 2025. As much as anything, that effort, no one quitting on their teammates or coaches and roster management speaks to a head coach that still has his heart and fingers on the program. Watching on tv did not change my mind that all this can and will turn around. The blog is short not because we lost, but I don't feel empowered to have seen anything more than I was allowed with my pixelated box; so my observations are undoubtedly yours as well unless you were in South Florida and you can chime in with your unique commentary. Fortunately for me, I am off the couch for the next two years of games and that starts back at Doak this weekend. See you then!