Alright guys - we are about 3 months away from Florida State @ Miami on Labor Day night.
It's 'bout time to start talking college football.
So, break down your team and their chances (you think) in 2006.
I'll start.
Here is Miami's schedule
Sept. 4 (Mon.) Florida State
Sept. 9 Florida A&M
Sept. 16 at Louisville
Sept. 23 Open
Sept. 30 Houston
Oct. 7 North Carolina
Oct. 14 Florida International
Oct. 21 at Duke
Oct. 28 at Georgia Tech
Nov. 4 Virginia Tech
Nov. 11 at Maryland
Nov. 18 at Virginia
Nov. 23 (Thurs.) Boston College
Last year we went 9-3 - basically a horrible year (this seems to be the case the last 2-3 years).
So, in an effort to keep his job, head coach Larry Coker basically claned house in the off-season. All but 3 or 4 assistants were canned. Some of the guys brough in have head coaching experience in D-1A. So, in my mind, it remains to be seen if they can work together as assistants.
As far as the players go, we return about 6 starters on defense (the DL rotated so much last year it's hard to remember who started). The big losses on D were our starting corner's - Kelley Jennings (1st round pick) and Marcus Maxey (drafted sometime later).
We return 6 starters on offense. We lost 4/5's of the starting OL - which is probably a good thing based on how they played last year.
Big losses were Eric Winston (tackle) and Sinorice Moss (WR). Still in question is if and how well Tyrone Moss (starting RB) will play in 2006. He tore his ACL late in the year and (from reports) was headed pro.
I'm skeptical that he'll even be 75% because it was a late season injury (late October).
Key returners on Offense - Kyle Wright (QB) has a full season under his belt. Made some really bad decisions at times last year. Made some really good ones. Looks to have the tools - I wonder about the leadership capabilities.
Also Greg Olson (TE) - might be the best in the country.
Question marks on Offense - well, the Oline obviously. They stunk up the joint last year - so I really don't think they can be any worse in '06, but most of the new starters will have little game experience. An OL that can give Wright time and holes for the stable of RB's is key this year I think.
Who will step up at WR???? We've got 2 supposedly highly touted WR's in Ryan Moore and Lance Leggett. Both haven't produced - someone needs to. I honestly think that some of the freshman we brought in could be playmakers (Sam Shields and maybe George Robinson if they move him from RB).
Who will step up at RB if Ty Moss can't go??? Charlie Jones played well after Moss got hurt - for 2 out of 4 games. He's a grinder. Andrew Johnson seems to have the burst that UM RB's are known for but has had an ACL tear (2 years ago). We got 3 pretty good recruits (the best is still in prep school) in Javarrious James (Edgerrin's cousin), Kylan Robinson and Craig Cooper. They might get some playing time, but the position is backlogged at this point.
All in all, a helluva lot of question marks. I'm worried about the O.
Key returners on Defense are Baraka Atkins at DL, Jon Beason at WLB, Kenny Phillips at FS, and Brandon Merriweather at SS.
The rest of the DL has played quite a bit. One of the most talented is Kareem Brown at DT - played HUGE against VaTech. But, can't seem to stay motivated for more than one game a season.
Questions: corner back. We are thin - plain and simple. Glen Sharpe is coming off an ACL tear 2 years ago and may start. The other guys that may are Bruce Johnson and Randy Phillips. Sharpe has the skills - but hasn't played in a while. The rest of the CB's don't excite me. We may see frosh Ryan Hill get alot of playing time.
Who will step up with JBeason at LB??? We have a backlogged position here. Got alot of players but I'm not sure who can step up and make plays besides Beason.
So - the D will hopefully be pretty good - not too worried. Lots of guys have played significant minutes. I just wonder about the CB's - the safety's might be the best in the country.
Breakin' down the schedule:
Yeah, it's pretty weak overall - but no off week after Oct. 1st.
We continue this retarded Labor Day matchup with the Noles. I think this is the last year (thank God!).
FSU lost alot of players. Their D was decimated by the draft - 4 went in the 1st round. Both teams should be evenly matched and with this being the first game, it should be awful to watch.
At Louisville on 9/16 will be tough. Good offense with M. Bush at RB and Brohm at QB (although he might be injured). This could be a repeat of 2003 where it took 44 points to win.
Bye week and then Houston at home. No clue about them. They gave us a good game a few years ago because we didn't care.
North Carolina at home. Should beat them, but who knows. I still remember the 2004 loss like it was yesterday.
Fla International and then Duke - wins.
At Ga Tech. I was at this game in 2004 - beat the crap outta them. Then, they came down to the OB last year and beat us because we didn't give 2 sh*ts. They had some big losses - PJ Daniels and the LB (Henderson??). But, they have WR Calvin Johnson - might be the best in the country. Antrele Rolle held him in check in 2004 (3 catches and no TD's) but he made some big time plays last year. He's key to stopping their offense. If we can do that, I think the O is adequate to beat them by a TD or so. If not - we lose. Our O can't keep up with anyone.
VaTech at home. They lost their QB and best defensive player (Jimmy Williams). Lots of questions up in BlacksTurd.
Too early for me to call because I have no clue who will be starting for them. These games have been blow-outs recently though.
At Maryland and Virginia back to back. I see these as trap games. Both teams lost good players last year and will probably have a few losses by that point. We've typically lost to a team like that the last few years (UNC in '04 and GaTech in '05).
BC at home Thanksgiving day. There might be 5000 people at this game. We were retarded for playing this game on Thanksgiving - but the athletic dept. is bleeding money so they signed this game (and FSU on Labor Day) because the networks wanted it. BC had some big losses (Kiwinika - or however it's spelled). But, see above - ripe for a letdown at this point in the season.
As I see it - we've got the talent to go undefeated with this schedule. The only thing tough seems to be the timing - no open dates from Sept. 30th onward.
But, this is a Larry Coker coached team so I could easily see 3 losses again (some Cane fans are predicting 4 or 5 - I don't see that).
We'll get one big win for sure - either FSU, Louisville or VaTech. We'll likely suffer one letdown game - UVa, Maryland, or BC.
My prediction - loss to Louisville and Boston College and go to the ACC title game.
It's 'bout time to start talking college football.
So, break down your team and their chances (you think) in 2006.
I'll start.
Here is Miami's schedule
Sept. 4 (Mon.) Florida State
Sept. 9 Florida A&M
Sept. 16 at Louisville
Sept. 23 Open
Sept. 30 Houston
Oct. 7 North Carolina
Oct. 14 Florida International
Oct. 21 at Duke
Oct. 28 at Georgia Tech
Nov. 4 Virginia Tech
Nov. 11 at Maryland
Nov. 18 at Virginia
Nov. 23 (Thurs.) Boston College
Last year we went 9-3 - basically a horrible year (this seems to be the case the last 2-3 years).
So, in an effort to keep his job, head coach Larry Coker basically claned house in the off-season. All but 3 or 4 assistants were canned. Some of the guys brough in have head coaching experience in D-1A. So, in my mind, it remains to be seen if they can work together as assistants.
As far as the players go, we return about 6 starters on defense (the DL rotated so much last year it's hard to remember who started). The big losses on D were our starting corner's - Kelley Jennings (1st round pick) and Marcus Maxey (drafted sometime later).
We return 6 starters on offense. We lost 4/5's of the starting OL - which is probably a good thing based on how they played last year.
Big losses were Eric Winston (tackle) and Sinorice Moss (WR). Still in question is if and how well Tyrone Moss (starting RB) will play in 2006. He tore his ACL late in the year and (from reports) was headed pro.
I'm skeptical that he'll even be 75% because it was a late season injury (late October).
Key returners on Offense - Kyle Wright (QB) has a full season under his belt. Made some really bad decisions at times last year. Made some really good ones. Looks to have the tools - I wonder about the leadership capabilities.
Also Greg Olson (TE) - might be the best in the country.
Question marks on Offense - well, the Oline obviously. They stunk up the joint last year - so I really don't think they can be any worse in '06, but most of the new starters will have little game experience. An OL that can give Wright time and holes for the stable of RB's is key this year I think.
Who will step up at WR???? We've got 2 supposedly highly touted WR's in Ryan Moore and Lance Leggett. Both haven't produced - someone needs to. I honestly think that some of the freshman we brought in could be playmakers (Sam Shields and maybe George Robinson if they move him from RB).
Who will step up at RB if Ty Moss can't go??? Charlie Jones played well after Moss got hurt - for 2 out of 4 games. He's a grinder. Andrew Johnson seems to have the burst that UM RB's are known for but has had an ACL tear (2 years ago). We got 3 pretty good recruits (the best is still in prep school) in Javarrious James (Edgerrin's cousin), Kylan Robinson and Craig Cooper. They might get some playing time, but the position is backlogged at this point.
All in all, a helluva lot of question marks. I'm worried about the O.
Key returners on Defense are Baraka Atkins at DL, Jon Beason at WLB, Kenny Phillips at FS, and Brandon Merriweather at SS.
The rest of the DL has played quite a bit. One of the most talented is Kareem Brown at DT - played HUGE against VaTech. But, can't seem to stay motivated for more than one game a season.
Questions: corner back. We are thin - plain and simple. Glen Sharpe is coming off an ACL tear 2 years ago and may start. The other guys that may are Bruce Johnson and Randy Phillips. Sharpe has the skills - but hasn't played in a while. The rest of the CB's don't excite me. We may see frosh Ryan Hill get alot of playing time.
Who will step up with JBeason at LB??? We have a backlogged position here. Got alot of players but I'm not sure who can step up and make plays besides Beason.
So - the D will hopefully be pretty good - not too worried. Lots of guys have played significant minutes. I just wonder about the CB's - the safety's might be the best in the country.
Breakin' down the schedule:
Yeah, it's pretty weak overall - but no off week after Oct. 1st.
We continue this retarded Labor Day matchup with the Noles. I think this is the last year (thank God!).
FSU lost alot of players. Their D was decimated by the draft - 4 went in the 1st round. Both teams should be evenly matched and with this being the first game, it should be awful to watch.
At Louisville on 9/16 will be tough. Good offense with M. Bush at RB and Brohm at QB (although he might be injured). This could be a repeat of 2003 where it took 44 points to win.
Bye week and then Houston at home. No clue about them. They gave us a good game a few years ago because we didn't care.
North Carolina at home. Should beat them, but who knows. I still remember the 2004 loss like it was yesterday.
Fla International and then Duke - wins.
At Ga Tech. I was at this game in 2004 - beat the crap outta them. Then, they came down to the OB last year and beat us because we didn't give 2 sh*ts. They had some big losses - PJ Daniels and the LB (Henderson??). But, they have WR Calvin Johnson - might be the best in the country. Antrele Rolle held him in check in 2004 (3 catches and no TD's) but he made some big time plays last year. He's key to stopping their offense. If we can do that, I think the O is adequate to beat them by a TD or so. If not - we lose. Our O can't keep up with anyone.
VaTech at home. They lost their QB and best defensive player (Jimmy Williams). Lots of questions up in BlacksTurd.
Too early for me to call because I have no clue who will be starting for them. These games have been blow-outs recently though.
At Maryland and Virginia back to back. I see these as trap games. Both teams lost good players last year and will probably have a few losses by that point. We've typically lost to a team like that the last few years (UNC in '04 and GaTech in '05).
BC at home Thanksgiving day. There might be 5000 people at this game. We were retarded for playing this game on Thanksgiving - but the athletic dept. is bleeding money so they signed this game (and FSU on Labor Day) because the networks wanted it. BC had some big losses (Kiwinika - or however it's spelled). But, see above - ripe for a letdown at this point in the season.
As I see it - we've got the talent to go undefeated with this schedule. The only thing tough seems to be the timing - no open dates from Sept. 30th onward.
But, this is a Larry Coker coached team so I could easily see 3 losses again (some Cane fans are predicting 4 or 5 - I don't see that).
We'll get one big win for sure - either FSU, Louisville or VaTech. We'll likely suffer one letdown game - UVa, Maryland, or BC.
My prediction - loss to Louisville and Boston College and go to the ACC title game.