Perspective Piece: Florida State-Miami

In the year 2000, the state of Florida witnessed the biggest political controversy America has ever seen. The mere mention of the words "Broward County," "butterfly ballot," "hanging chad," and other select phrases is enough to bring the state of Florida back into your mind, whether you like it or not. Politics is a rough game, and it's a blood sport in the Sunshine State.

So is college football.

With this as prelude, then, the most fascinating element of the 2006 edition of Seminoles-Hurricanes, a classic college football rivalry for two decades strong, is the intersection between football and politics that dominates this game.

Oh, sure, there's the small matter of Drew Weatherford, who is under more than a little pressure to deliver the goods for a program whose offense was downright horrible in the latter stages of the 2005 season. If the Noles are to win ten games the way they're expected to by the locals in Tallahassee, the offense must look like a Florida State offense again. The performance of the offensive line will be a huge key, as will the play calling of much maligned offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden. Yes, Florida State brings its own share of intrigue to the Orange Bowl on Labor Day evening.

But while the Seminoles bring their own subset of storylines to the Old Horseshoe in Little Havana, the really big spotlight in this contest falls on one man and one man only: embattled--yes, that's right, EMBATTLED!--Miami head coach Larry Coker.

The dude won a national title in 2001, made the national title game and came within one play of victory a year later. He beat Florida State in the 2004 Orange Bowl and has generally owned Bobby Bowden's Noles in head-to-head competition. But in the current culture of college football, two bad seasons at a name program can change the political climate in a heartbeat, and Coker is falling victim to the Hurricane-force winds of anger that are swirling around the Miami camp.

Despite stringent academic standards at the U, Coker's Canes haven't fallen off the football map (i.e., winning fewer than eight or nine games, let alone having a .500 or sub-.500 season the way Nebraska did a few seasons back). But at Miami, winner of five national titles and a national runner-up in several other seasons, back-to-back Peach Bowls leave the fair-weather locals howling for someone's scalp. The fact that Coker's two best seasons were achieved with Butch Davis' players is, clearly, the reason why Coker is catching so much heat despite a stellar record of achievement.

But beyond the struggles of the past two seasons, there's another very telling--and very American--reason why Larry Coker finds himself unloved in Hurricane Country: a lack of style points.

Yes, in the wealthiest country on the planet, people want entertainment value for the four hours they spend at a ballpark or in front of an ESPN GamePlan broadcast. When you've set the standards that have been set at Miami, fans can't tolerate any regression--not just in terms of wins and losses, but style points as well. The memory of the greatness of Ken Dorsey--not to mention the Kosars, Testaverdes, Walshes and Torrettas of yore--implants a desire in the minds of Cane fans for something more than mere victory. It's gotta be a victory bathed in Hurricane beauty and an opponent's large quantity of blood. Scores such as 16-7 and 23-16 just don't cut it. It's gotta be a takedown such as the authoritative drumming of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg last November, a game that has been the exception, not the norm, in Coral Gables over the past few seasons. This inability to win (or even lose) in an impressive fashion is what really has the natives rankled in Miami.

The recent--and aesthetically unpleasing--history of Miami football begs this question entering the Labor Day clash between the Seminoles and the Hurricanes: with Larry Coker feeling some heat, will Captain Cane coach this game to merely win it, or to win with style points?

Hey, don't laugh. Other coches with national titles under their belts--Lloyd Carr of Michigan and Phil Fulmer of Tennessee--are feeling the pressure as well this year. Carr, according to a number of observers, clearly looks more stressed than ever before. These are real forces that assault all-too-human beings. If Coker says he feels no extra pressure entering this game, he's saying the right political thing to reassure his team and deflect attention from his players. He's playing politics, not telling the unvarnished truth.

As you can see, the most delicious--and, moreover, significant--story in this ballgame is, at its root, a political one. Will Larry Coker try to score style points for his fan base and thereby regain a sliding hold on the Cane constituency? Or will Coker be the same in terms of tactics and strategy, relying on his defense and special teams in a low-scoring game... an approach that, with FSU's very untested offense, could very well be the percentage choice for the Miami staff? If Miami can merely execute a field goal this season, that might be enough against FSU. In years other than 2005, it historically has been.

The politics of Larry Coker will dominate the ebb and flow--and perhaps the outcome--of a Florida State-Miami encounter. That sentence might seem absurdly out of place for a football game, but in the politicized state of Florida, politics is never that far away from anything... including college football.