Miami makes another long walk up to Durham, NC to play Duke. Let's see what they're all about.
The past 2 weeks have sucked. You know what sucks more? Losing to Duke in football. These next 3 games will tell us a lot about the mental makeup of this team. In the past they've packed it in once the division was out of reach. The 2008 team comes to mind. That team had a chance to win the division against Georgia Tech but instead got their **** pushed in on national TV. They proceeded to lay an egg in their next game and subsequent bowl game.
Moral victories are for losers. However winning out would mean a 10 win season, something UM hasn't had since 2003. That's something Al can still sell on the recruiting trail. Also Virginia Tech still sucks. Maybe they have just enough suck left in the tank to let us back in this thing. If so, we would be back in the driver's seat.
1. Where they are in the standings/rankings:
We're halfway through November and battling Duke for 3rd place in the Coastal. This isn't basketball either. If we win, It's Virginia Tech's division to lose since they hold the head to head tie breaker over us and Georgia Tech. I can't believe I just typed "if we win" in relation to a game against Duke. The Blue Devils are coming off of a 38-20 victory over NC State. Here's what NC State fans are saying about Duke:
From: Backing the Pack
Those are the words of a fan that just watched his favorite team lose to Duke in football. You'll cowards don't even want to go down that road.
2. What happened the last time Miami played Duke?
From the Associated Press
We won a shootout against Duke last year, giving up 45 points in the process. Now we don't have our best player. Don't lose to Duke.
3. Who to be scared of:
Jamison Crowder
Junior wideout Jamison Crowder is Duke's biggest weapon in the passing game. He leads them in both receptions with 67 (next closest has 27), and yards with 903 (next closest has 338) through 9 games. That means he's averaging over 100 yards receiving per game. He was in Conner Vernon's shadow for much of last season, but you should still remember him for what he did to us last year. He had 8 catches (2 TD's) and over 200 yards receiving in that game. Included in all those yards was a 99 yard touchdown catch because of a mixup in the secondary. The ACC Digital Network listed him as the 23rd best player in the conference before the season began. Here's some highlights of him from last year:
[video=youtube;Oz5u0bC0GTc]www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz5u0bC0GTc[/video]
Hold on to your butts if we have another bust in the secondary. Actually, just hold on to your butts whenever he's on the field.
4. Player that will score against us:
Brandon Connette
Redshirt Junior Brandon Connette is a touchdown machine, in spite of the fact that he splits time at QB with Anthony Boone. Duke's offense has 35 touchdowns so far this season...Connette is responsible for 20 of them. He leads the team in both rushing touchdowns (8) and passing touchdowns (12). Whenever Duke gets near the endzone, he comes in and runs the wildcat. Last year he scored twice against us in situations just like that so be ready for it.
5. Person that will **** you off:
Ross ****rell
5th year senior Ross ****rell is a legit corner who will be in the hip pockets of Hurns and Coley all day. Last year he was an honorable mention for All-America. He was also named 1st team All-ACC by both the media and the coaches. So far this season he's got 2 picks and 5 pass breakups. Before the season the ACC Digital Network ranked him as the 20th best player in the whole league. Here's some highlights they put together of him:
[video=youtube;GSOlDWk4Ly0]www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSOlDWk4Ly0[/video]
6. Some guy:
DeVon Edwards
I really don't know anything about him this guy other than that he's a redshirt freshman. Last week I watched their game against NC State before the Virginia Tech game started. In it, he scored 3 touchdowns. 1 was a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown:
[video=youtube;54U8QdzJXpQ]www.youtube.com/watch?v=54U8QdzJXpQ[/video]
The other 2 were pick 6's in the final 3 minutes of the game. Brandon Connette had just scored to give Duke a 20-17 lead. NC State had plenty of time left to put a drive together to retake the lead. However Edwards deflected, intercepted and returned a pass for a TD. On their next possession he picked off the Wolfpack again. This time he amusingly ran circles around some dejected NC State offensive players to give Duke it's 3rd touchdown in just 26 seconds. See the whole sequence here:
[video=youtube;rDNMqDqLXqM]www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDNMqDqLXqM[/video]
7. Official Internet meme for this game:
Grumpy Cat
[video=youtube;pele5vptVgc]www.youtube.com/watch?v=pele5vptVgc[/video]
The past 2 weeks have sucked. You know what sucks more? Losing to Duke in football. These next 3 games will tell us a lot about the mental makeup of this team. In the past they've packed it in once the division was out of reach. The 2008 team comes to mind. That team had a chance to win the division against Georgia Tech but instead got their **** pushed in on national TV. They proceeded to lay an egg in their next game and subsequent bowl game.
Moral victories are for losers. However winning out would mean a 10 win season, something UM hasn't had since 2003. That's something Al can still sell on the recruiting trail. Also Virginia Tech still sucks. Maybe they have just enough suck left in the tank to let us back in this thing. If so, we would be back in the driver's seat.
1. Where they are in the standings/rankings:
We're halfway through November and battling Duke for 3rd place in the Coastal. This isn't basketball either. If we win, It's Virginia Tech's division to lose since they hold the head to head tie breaker over us and Georgia Tech. I can't believe I just typed "if we win" in relation to a game against Duke. The Blue Devils are coming off of a 38-20 victory over NC State. Here's what NC State fans are saying about Duke:
From: Backing the Pack
Akula Wolf said:
Those are the words of a fan that just watched his favorite team lose to Duke in football. You'll cowards don't even want to go down that road.
2. What happened the last time Miami played Duke?
From the Associated Press
We won a shootout against Duke last year, giving up 45 points in the process. Now we don't have our best player. Don't lose to Duke.
3. Who to be scared of:
Jamison Crowder
Junior wideout Jamison Crowder is Duke's biggest weapon in the passing game. He leads them in both receptions with 67 (next closest has 27), and yards with 903 (next closest has 338) through 9 games. That means he's averaging over 100 yards receiving per game. He was in Conner Vernon's shadow for much of last season, but you should still remember him for what he did to us last year. He had 8 catches (2 TD's) and over 200 yards receiving in that game. Included in all those yards was a 99 yard touchdown catch because of a mixup in the secondary. The ACC Digital Network listed him as the 23rd best player in the conference before the season began. Here's some highlights of him from last year:
[video=youtube;Oz5u0bC0GTc]www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz5u0bC0GTc[/video]
Hold on to your butts if we have another bust in the secondary. Actually, just hold on to your butts whenever he's on the field.
4. Player that will score against us:
Brandon Connette
Redshirt Junior Brandon Connette is a touchdown machine, in spite of the fact that he splits time at QB with Anthony Boone. Duke's offense has 35 touchdowns so far this season...Connette is responsible for 20 of them. He leads the team in both rushing touchdowns (8) and passing touchdowns (12). Whenever Duke gets near the endzone, he comes in and runs the wildcat. Last year he scored twice against us in situations just like that so be ready for it.
5. Person that will **** you off:
Ross ****rell
5th year senior Ross ****rell is a legit corner who will be in the hip pockets of Hurns and Coley all day. Last year he was an honorable mention for All-America. He was also named 1st team All-ACC by both the media and the coaches. So far this season he's got 2 picks and 5 pass breakups. Before the season the ACC Digital Network ranked him as the 20th best player in the whole league. Here's some highlights they put together of him:
[video=youtube;GSOlDWk4Ly0]www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSOlDWk4Ly0[/video]
6. Some guy:
DeVon Edwards
I really don't know anything about him this guy other than that he's a redshirt freshman. Last week I watched their game against NC State before the Virginia Tech game started. In it, he scored 3 touchdowns. 1 was a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown:
[video=youtube;54U8QdzJXpQ]www.youtube.com/watch?v=54U8QdzJXpQ[/video]
The other 2 were pick 6's in the final 3 minutes of the game. Brandon Connette had just scored to give Duke a 20-17 lead. NC State had plenty of time left to put a drive together to retake the lead. However Edwards deflected, intercepted and returned a pass for a TD. On their next possession he picked off the Wolfpack again. This time he amusingly ran circles around some dejected NC State offensive players to give Duke it's 3rd touchdown in just 26 seconds. See the whole sequence here:
[video=youtube;rDNMqDqLXqM]www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDNMqDqLXqM[/video]
7. Official Internet meme for this game:
Grumpy Cat
[video=youtube;pele5vptVgc]www.youtube.com/watch?v=pele5vptVgc[/video]
