Miami's ACC Hopes Remain Strong Despite Saturday's Loss
Oct. 11, 2010
By: Rob Dunning
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – It was their turn wasn’t it? Saturday’s loss to the rival Seminoles is hard to swallow. No one likes losing, especially to their rival on their home field. Unfortunately for `Canes fans, this year was Miami’s turn.
In a series that has favored the road team over the last half-decade, FSU kept the trend going with a convincing win over UM Saturday at Sun Life Stadium. Everything was in place – ranked rivals back on the national stage, great weather, a sell-out crowd and a nation watching on ABC. Just about the perfect setting. Then the game happened and the `Canes just didn’t have it.
Head coach Randy Shannon held himself accountable for the loss Saturday night and again on Sunday.
“It was me,” Shannon said. “I have to stay on top of them to be more consistent, more demanding. We were demanding in practice but we need to do more.”
A loss, whether it is by a point or 28 like it was on Saturday, certainly makes the road ahead tougher for Miami. That road begins this weekend with a trip to Duke – the `Canes fourth road game in its last five contests.
It starts with Duke and goes from there. It’s pretty clear the hardest part of Miami’s schedule is behind it. Of the seven remaining opponents on the Hurricanes’ regular season slate, none are ranked and only one (Virginia Tech) is receiving votes in the latest AP poll.
The `Canes are 3-2 overall and 1-1 in ACC play. It is obviously way too early to get a good grasp on the Coastal Division race. Virginia Tech is the division’s only undefeated team in conference play. Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Miami all have one loss. Fortunately for the `Canes, they control their own destiny with all three of those teams left on the schedule.
“We have a long season to go,” Shannon said. “That [was] one loss in the ACC. We have a lot of ACC games left to go. If we can take care of business and take care of the things we need to get done, we’ll put ourselves in the right situation.”
This team has improved by two games every year under Randy Shannon. If the trend continues, 11 wins would be the 2010 mark. Three wins down, eight to go. Road trips to Duke, Virginia and Georgia Tech and home games against North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia Tech and USF lie ahead. The Coastal Division title and a spot in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte still hangs in the balance.
Despite what transpired on Saturday, the `Canes still have a championship to play for. It might not be the one Miami fans expect every year, but it’s one that is part of the process. National championships will return to Coral Gables. It took Schnellenberger five years and Jimmy Johnson four. It took Nick Saban nine years as a head coach at the BCS level before he won his first title at LSU. Mack Brown lost multiple games his first six years at Texas. Point is – parity is such a part of college football these days that even the game’s top minds didn’t win right away.
Saturday’s loss will linger. Both of UM’s defeats this year will linger. That doesn’t change this program – and more immediately – this season. Eight winnable games remain.
“It was a rough game, but we have to keep our heads up,” senior captain Matt Bosher said following Saturday’s loss. “We have to take pride in what we do here. We have to take pride in the `U’ that we wear on our chest and side of our helmets.
“You can’t lie down for anyone,” Bosher added. “We have a long season left, and a lot of games to play.”
