Miami ... meh

You look at the final score alone -- 31-3 -- and you think these Hurricanes are starting to look like the Hurricanes of old.

That's what those great Miami teams used to do. Go on the road for big games and turn those big games into complete routs by pillaging the opposition.

I turned this one off at 17-0, but I saw what I needed to see.

Saw some good things, but not great things. Saw a team Clemson should have a reasonable shot at beating eight days from now in Death Valley.

The biggest problem, in my mind, is going to be Miami's defensive front. Clemson's offensive line is in a dicey situation with David Smith out for a while -- I'd be surprised if he were back for North Carolina -- and the Hurricanes' front four is more imposing and disruptive than Auburn's. Nine tackles for loss and five sacks last night. Pretty darn good.

I'd also be concerned about Clemson's receivers getting open against a fast, athletic secondary.

As previously stated on the blog, you'd think Clemson could exploit some matchup advantages with Miami's suspect linebackers. That's what Billy Napier did so well against Auburn, and you have to like his chances of doing the same when Miami goes to man coverage (assuming they do go to man coverage, and that brings us right back to the importance of Clemson's OL holding up against Miami's front four).

On the other side of the ball, it's hard to imagine Miami coming in and going up and down on the field against this Clemson defense. The Hurricanes continue to play sloppily, and their run game is sketchy. I defended Jacory Harris after the Ohio State loss, because three of his four interceptions were not his fault. But some of the balls he threw up last night simply were not impressive.

Guessing the oddsmakers make Miami a 1- or 2-point favorite for the game at Clemson.

My early pick: Clemson by 4.

This Miami Herald columnist wasn't blown away by the Hurricanes last night.

I kept thinking, ``UM is better than this,'' when it seemed a second underwhelming, error-prone performance in succession was leaving one to wonder about the accuracy of the assumption. But then you turn around and they have engineered a four-touchdown romp on the road. Good Canes, Bad Canes. And sometimes from one series to the next.

Here's a story on Miami's dominant defensive showing.

It was the first time Miami didn't allow a touchdown against a Football Bowl Subdivision team since a 31-3 win against Marshall on Sept. 1, 2007 -- Shannon's first game as coach.

Pittsburgh finished with 11 first downs and 232 yards of total offense. But most of the damage didn't come until the fourth quarter when the Hurricanes were in front 17-0.

The Panthers didn't pick up their first first down of the game until there was 5:59 left in the second quarter -- their sixth drive of the game.

UM, which came in leading the nation in tackles for loss, made nine tackles for loss in all. Andrew Smith had three of them -- two on sacks.

``As a defense we executed; we all gang tackled,'' Smith said.

Speaking of gangs, Luther Campbell is now ... writing opinion columns?

Indeed. And in this one, he says Miami needs to hire one of his boyz to coach Jacory Harris.

Former Cane Eric Winston didn't show much love for Harris on his Twitter feed.

After tossing his second interception Thursday night -- a deep pass intended to Travis Benjamin thrown into triple coverage -- former Hurricanes offensive lineman Eric Winston posted the following message on Twitter:

``Dear Jacory, There is nothing wrong with dumping the ball in the flat. Even Babe Ruth didn't hit a homerun every at bat. Sincerely, Alumni.''

Dang. Truth hurts, though.

The tutor/nanny in the UNC academic circus is refusing to cooperate with UNC officials.

And she's an elementary school teacher. What a refreshing example to set.

At The ACC Sports Journal, Rob Daniels gives his weekend preview of ACC games.

In the Winston-Salem Journal, Jim Grobe talks about rearranging the deck chairs on his Titanic of a defense.

Interesting story in the Wall Street Journal about former Alabama players saying Nick Saban pressured them to quit the team because they were underperforming.

At least 12 times since coach Nick Saban took over the program in 2007, Alabama has offered players a "medical" scholarship, according to public statements made by the team. These scholarships, which are allowed under NCAA rules, are intended to make sure scholarship athletes who are too injured to play don't lose their financial aid. A player who receives one of these scholarships is finished playing with that team.

Three Alabama players who've taken these exemptions say they believe the team uses the practice as a way to clear spots for better players by cutting players it no longer wants. These players said they believe Mr. Saban and his staff pressure some players to take these scholarships even though their injuries aren't serious enough to warrant keeping them off the field.

"I'm still kind of bitter," said former Alabama linebacker Chuck Kirschman, who took a medical scholarship last year. Mr. Kirschman said Mr. Saban encouraged him to accept the scholarship because of a back problem that he believes he could have played through. "It's a business," Mr. Kirschman said. "College football is all about politics. And this is a loophole in the system."

Mistuh College Football gives his predictions for the weekend.

And Jeff Schultz gives his.

Lotta these pundits are taking Sakerlina straight up. Makes me feel even more comfortable with my Auburn pick.

But a Clemson coach did say this to me this week: "Gamecocks will win at Auburn. We beat that team up."



LW