Miami Hurricanes Football: College Football Hall of Famer Bennie Blades Talks FSU-Miami and More

Yesterday I had the privilege of speaking with all-time Miami great Bennie Blades for a few minutes to get his thoughts on the Florida State-Miami rivalry and the state of the UM program. Blades was a star defensive back for the ‘Canes from 1985 to 1987, known for his hard hitting, athletic interceptions and ferocious will to win. He was a two-time All American and received the Jim Thorpe Award given to the best defensive back in the country in 1987. In his time at Miami, the defensive backfield was nicknamed “Bennie and the Jets,” referring to the speed and skill of the athletes. Miami went 3-0 against FSU in Blades’s three seasons and won the National Championship in 1987. Blades went on to be selected third overall by the Detroit Lions in the 1988 NFL Draft. He played nine years for the Lions, appearing in 136 games and the Pro Bowl in 1991, before finishing his career with the Seattle Seahawks. Blades was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006. Here’s the transcript of my chat with him:

Canes Warning: What makes Florida State-Miami such a special game every year and separates it from other college football rivalries?

Bennie Blades: If you look at why it’s such a special game, it goes back to the athletes themselves. So many of the athletes around the country—be it at Michigan, Ohio State, it doesn’t matter—are from the South Florida area. Looking at the Florida State-Miami rivalry, these kids have played youth football against one another; they’ve played high school football against one another. That makes the rivalry game so much tougher to win because of the familiarity factor.

CW: What’s you favorite memory from when you played against FSU?

BB: My favorite memory is 1987. We were down by 19 against one of the best Florida State teams ever assembled. Between us and them on those ’87 teams, we probably had about sixty guys who played in the National Football League. I mean, those teams were stacked. When you’re down 19-0, we could’ve easily thrown in the towel, but we didn’t. We came back to win that game.

[Editor’s note: UM won that game 26-25 and went on to win the National Championship that season, defeating top-ranked Oklahoma 20-14 in the Orange Bowl to finish a perfect 12-0.]

CW: Which Seminole did you find the hardest to play against in your Miami career?

BB: The toughest player to play against was Sammie Smith. Sammie had speed, size and great hands to catch the ball out of the backfield. That was a really hard combination to defend.

CW: Turning our attention to the current team, as a former defensive back, what do you think Miami’s defensive backs have to do to try to stop Jameis Winston and FSU’s receiving corps?

BB: They have to play very aggressive. When it’s 3rd-and-7, you just can’t sit back twelve to fifteen yards and just allow them to throw and catch. You have to be aggressive and force him to make the accurate throws.

CW: As a former Hurricane who won a National Championship, do you think Al Golden and this coaching staff have the program moving in the right direction to get back to the mountaintop? 

BB: I’m still an Al Golden guy, I’m just not a big fan of D’Onofrio right now. The thing is the last three or four weeks, he’s called a much more aggressive ballgame and that’s what Hurricanes fans are used to. If he keeps calling an aggressive style of play, the fans will start warming up to him and put the onus and the blame squarely where it belongs: on the players. But if you’re going to call a soft-hearted game, you’re going to get all the blame that fans have.

CW: Let’s hear a prediction for Saturday night. Who pulls out this year’s FSU-Miami game?

BB: Miami Hurricanes, 24-21.

Thanks so much to Bennie for taking some of his time to talk to me and letting us publicize his thoughts here on Canes Warning. We certainly hope that UM’s current defensive backfield can do their best impression of Bennie and the Jets tomorrow night.