Coming into the 2014 season the expectations of the Miami Hurricanes varied greatly. Most sports writers projected the Canes to win anywhere from 6 to 9 games. The experts in Vegas projected the Canes to win 7.5 games. The uncertainty at the quarterback position along with the poor defensive performance in 2013 were the biggest knocks on the Canes. The return of 14 starters was the main reason for optimism. Nobody knew what to expect, especially with a true freshman quarterback in Brad Kaaya leading the way.
The Canes opened up the season with a 31-13 loss to Louisville. The fanbase was immediately fired up after the loss, and for good reason, as the team look unprepared and the playcalling was very conservative on both sides of the ball.
With wins against Florida A&M and Arkansas State the fans calmed a bit but were very cautious and wanted to see what the Canes could do against their next quality opponent.
Next up was Nebraska. Miami went into Lincoln and left with their second loss of the season, losing 41-31. The Cornhuskers star running back Ameer Abdullah ran for 229 yards and the team as a whole ran for 343 yards. With this loss the fanbase put Coach Golden and his defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio on the hot seat. This game brought back horrible memories of the 2013 Canes defense and its’ awful attempt of stopping the run.
A little shot of optimism was administered to the fanbase as the Canes beat the defending ACC Coastal Champions, the Duke Blue Devils. The fans saw a much more aggressive defense that held a high-powered Duke offense to 10 points. It was a quality win, yet, many Canes fans stated, “It’s just Duke.”
In my opinion, along with many others, the loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets was the worst of the season thus far (hopefully there will be no more losses). Most Canes fans were feeling pretty good heading into the game as the Canes had beaten Georgia Tech the past 5 years. The defense turned soft again while forgetting how to defend the Georgia Tech triple option which fired up the frustrated Miami fanbase once again. This loss dropped the Canes to 1-2 in the ACC. Coach Golden and Coach D’Onofrio’s seats were warming right back up at this point.
Miami then hosted Cincinnati and came away with a 55-34 victory in what was an offensive explosion from the Canes against an awful Bearcat defense. Canes fans were generally happy with the win especially against a quality quarterback in Gunner Kiel, however, giving up 34 points to the Bearcats left a sour taste in the fanbase’s mouth (even with the second-team defense playing a good portion of the game).
Playing in Blacksburg on a Thursday night against Virginia Tech can be intimidating. The Canes quieted the crowd and played arguably their best game of the season defeating the Hokies 30-6. Canes fans are starting to feel better about the defense and the team as a whole, even though Virginia Tech is having a down year.
The Canes then beat a poor North Carolina team 47-20. However, this win propels the Canes to 3-2 in the ACC leaving the fanbase to root for anybody playing against Duke and Georgia Tech. The Canes go into a bye week feeling like they have a good chance against an Florida State team who has been playing with fire but has yet to have been burned.
What a heartbreaker! Miami leads #2/3 Florida State the entire game until the Seminoles score a touchdown with 3:05 remaining and hang on to win 30-26. Canes fans have been looking to blame someone or something for the loss. Was it the players fault or the coaches? It has been the great debate all week-long. Truth is, the Canes left too many points on the field. Unfortunately with the loss to Florida State the Canes have been eliminated from ACC Coastal Championship contention.
This Miami Hurricanes team is playing their best football right now. The improvement from week 1 to week 10 has been tremendous. However, these final two games against the (4-6) Virginia Cavaliers and (4-6) Pittsburgh Panthers scare the crap out of me. It scares me because after the loss to Florida State last year, the Canes lost two more consecutive games against Virginia Tech and against Duke. Sure, the 2013 Hokies and Blue Devils were better than the current Cavaliers and Panthers but its’ the mindset of the Canes that worries me. Will they falter? Or will they fight? The Canes will have Duke Johnson heading into the final two games, as this wasn’t the case last year. A healthy Duke Johnson is a good reason for optimism.
Not only do the Canes need to win the final two games but they must absolutely win their bowl game. Miami has not won a bowl game under Coach Golden and hasn’t won a bowl game since 2006. Winning the final two games but losing the bowl game will not calm the Hurricane fanbase nor salvage the season. The Canes MUST win out, end of story! There is no reason the Canes can’t beat Virginia, Pittsburgh and any team they play in the bowl game. More importantly, this Miami team is in need of momentum heading into the 2015 season. Momentum heading into a new season is something the Canes have not had in a very long time. So, my advice to the Canes players and staff is to play and prepare as hard as you can heading into these final 3 games because it can catapult this program into places it has not seen in quite some time. It’s time to calm the fanbase and salvage the season. Let’s do this!