Miami faces Georgia Tech today to begin the ACC portion of the schedule. The games take on added significance from here on out.
After getting worked over by these guys in 2008, we've basically owned them. In case you didn't already know, the week leading up to that game was the genesis of the whole, "I don't want to be ranked until we can prove that we can stay there", thing. Since then, last year's game was the only one that was even remotely interesting. After jumping out to a 19-0 lead, we fell into a stupor following Malcolm Lewis' injury. We then allowed 36 unanswered points before making a comeback for the ages. Career bench warmers like Davon Johnson and Ben Jones were out there in crunch time and made plays. Weird, wild stuff...so glad we won. It would've been a **** shame had we not come back and won after that scene of Golden holding Malcolm.
That's muh coach...
For the past couple of days, I've had the chance to look back at last year's game and the NC State game the following week. It was pretty cool...so many feels to be had. That's why today's game should serve as a healthy reminder to everyone who's excited about our 4-0 start. We went 4-1 in September last year, and then proceeded to go 0 for the month of October. Let's not do that again.
Where: Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Dolphins/Dolphin/Land Shark/Sun Life Stadium
Who: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-1) v. #14 Miami Hurricanes (4-0)
When: 3:30 pm/et
How:
4 story lines for UM in this game:
After getting worked over by these guys in 2008, we've basically owned them. In case you didn't already know, the week leading up to that game was the genesis of the whole, "I don't want to be ranked until we can prove that we can stay there", thing. Since then, last year's game was the only one that was even remotely interesting. After jumping out to a 19-0 lead, we fell into a stupor following Malcolm Lewis' injury. We then allowed 36 unanswered points before making a comeback for the ages. Career bench warmers like Davon Johnson and Ben Jones were out there in crunch time and made plays. Weird, wild stuff...so glad we won. It would've been a **** shame had we not come back and won after that scene of Golden holding Malcolm.
That's muh coach...
For the past couple of days, I've had the chance to look back at last year's game and the NC State game the following week. It was pretty cool...so many feels to be had. That's why today's game should serve as a healthy reminder to everyone who's excited about our 4-0 start. We went 4-1 in September last year, and then proceeded to go 0 for the month of October. Let's not do that again.
Where: Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Dolphins/Dolphin/Land Shark/Sun Life Stadium
Who: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-1) v. #14 Miami Hurricanes (4-0)
When: 3:30 pm/et
How:
4 story lines for UM in this game:
1. Can we score early and often?
2. Can we force Georgia Tech into 3rd and long?
3. Can Morris have another big day?
4. Can we win the turnover battle?
It's not easy for option teams to play catch-up, especially if it's a large deficit. An early lead forces Georgia Tech to throw it more than they would like. We seemed like we were on the way to achieving that last year until the wheels fell off in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. I think the combination of being young, on the road, and seeing a teammate suffer a gruesome injury had a lot to do with that meltdown. This team is so much more mature that if it gets a big lead on these guys, they won't relinquish it.
Our defense is leaps and bounds better this year, so look to see if we can get Georgia Tech "off schedule" and get them into 3rd and long situations. When they fall behind, down and distance wise, they are forced to throw more which isn't their game. While Vad Lee is a better passer than Tevin Washington, he was just 7 of 24 passing with 2 interceptions against Virginia Tech. I like our chances if they have to throw more than 20 times.
I expect Morris to have another big day in the passing game against them. Last year he went 31 of 52 for 436 yards, which at the time was a personal record. They have a new Defensive Coordinator in Ted Roof this year. And while they are ranked 22nd in the nation defending the pass, Logan Thomas looked efficient and poised against them last week. That means they suck by default. Plus, they've yet to see a passing attack as potent as ours this year. Bottom line is if Morris is on his game, we win.
The Florida game wasn't a fluke...turnovers are our thing. Miami is tied for 4th in the nation in both turnovers forced (13) and turnover margin (+7). Because of that, UM has 42 points off of turnovers through 4 games this season. Miami has also started a drive in the redzone after a turnover in every game this year. Georgia Tech has done a decent job of protecting the football, ranking tied for 23rd in the nation in turnovers lost (5). 3 of those 5 turnovers occurred against Virginia Tech, who was the only good team they played.
Last time they met: September 22, 2012
[video=youtube;sSm770Sa6CU]www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSm770Sa6CU[/video]
What we said in our recap:
Me said:Overtime:
UM wins the coin toss and plays defense. GT starts marching inside the 5, but UM stiffens, and forces 4th and inches from the 2 yardline. Paul Johnson decides to go for it. He knew he needed a touchdown here because we had all the momentum. Tevin Washington sneaks it and Eddie Johnson stones him. Turnover on downs. Gif that summed up this play:
Mike James didn't waste any time. On second down James decided to score his 4th touchdown, so he found a crease on the left side and housed it. Game Over ******* 42-36 UM.
[video=youtube;AhWWID8Ynvw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhWWID8Ynvw[/video]
Al Golden was pleased:
Love this kid. He's not flashy, and has taken a backseat to Lamar Miller, and now Duke Johnson from the fanbase. He's a total team guy and this tweet from him after the game sums up what he's about.
377 daysMike James @Mike James_25
Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all.
Still love Mike James. Also this happened:
Know your enemy: From the Rumble Seat
What they're saying:
Matt Mills said:F/+ ratings are a combination of play by play metrics developed by Bill C. of Football Study Hall and by drive metrics developed by Brian Fremeau of his own awesome site. A higher F/+ ranking is better and I've done my best to color code it and label it. Here is a graph of our opponent's weekly F/+ rating. And remember the weeks are the F/+ ratings GOING IN TO that week.
...Here are some of my observations:
- Miami is playing great against terrible competition and the one opponent they struggled with was Florida who is straight up dominating people on Defense. I don't think Miami is actually that good but, they will be a tough test...
So let me get this straight...
- You spent your opening paragraph basically going down on the guys who created this advanced stat formula.
- For the past 3 weeks, said metric states that Miami is the 2nd best team Georgia Tech will play all year.
- You say we aren't that good because potato.
Riiiight.
1. Mark D'Onofrio praises his defensive players.
2. A new season begins for Miami.
3. Malcolm Lewis puts injury behind him.
1. Jeremiah Attaochu is focused on Miami.
2. Paul Johnson blames himself for the struggles on offense.
3. Georgia Tech has a Miami problem.
TheCaneShow
Favorite Georgia Tech related Image, Photoshop, Video or Gif:
[video=youtube;98nNpzE6gIs]www.youtube.com/watch?v=98nNpzE6gIs[/video]
This is so awesome. I guarantee you this guy's senior thesis is going to end up being a critique of the 3 separate branches of the Legend of Zelda timeline split.
2 Deep Depth Chart
[TABLE="width: 500"]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #E0E0C7, colspan: 10"]Miami Injuries[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Date[/TH]
[TH="align: center"]Pos[/TH]
[TH]Player[/TH]
[TH]Injury[/TH]
[TH]Status[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]10/02/13[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0, align: center"]RB[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Eduardo Clements[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Hamstring[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Doubtful[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]10/01/13[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]DB[/TD]
[TD]Nate Dortch[/TD]
[TD]Foot[/TD]
[TD]Doubtful[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]09/30/13[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0, align: center"]C[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Shane McDermott[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Foot[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Probable[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]09/29/13[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]QB[/TD]
[TD]Stephen Morris[/TD]
[TD]Ankle[/TD]
[TD]Probable[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]09/02/13[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0, align: center"]WR[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Rashawn Scott[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Shoulder[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Out Indefinitely[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]08/15/13[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]OL[/TD]
[TD]Danny Isidora[/TD]
[TD]Foot[/TD]
[TD]Out Indefinitely[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]08/15/13[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0, align: center"]OL[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Hunter Knighton[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Shoulder[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Out For Season[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
2 Deep Depth Chart (PDF)
[TABLE="width: 500"]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #E0E0C7, colspan: 10"]Georgia Tech Injuries[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Date[/TH]
[TH="align: center"]Pos[/TH]
[TH]Player[/TH]
[TH]Injury[/TH]
[TH]Status[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]10/03/13[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0, align: center"]RB[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Broderick Snoddy[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Undisclosed[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Doubtful[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]10/03/13[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]RB[/TD]
[TD]Deon Hill[/TD]
[TD]Illness[/TD]
[TD]Probable[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]10/01/13[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0, align: center"]S[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Jamal Golden[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Shoulder[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Out For Season[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]09/29/13[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]DB[/TD]
[TD]Chris Melton[/TD]
[TD]Undisclosed[/TD]
[TD]Questionable[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]09/23/13[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0, align: center"]DB[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Isaiah Johnson[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Knee[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFBF0"]Out For Season[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]08/23/13[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]OL[/TD]
[TD]Jay Finch[/TD]
[TD]Shoulder[/TD]
[TD]Out Indefinitely
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Game Day Character:
We thought we killed them last year in Atlanta...but they just wont die.
Allons-y
