2006 Miami Hurricanes

2006 Miami Hurricane Season, Game Recaps and Reviews

Dec. 31
MPC Computers Bowl
Miami 21 ... Nevada 20
Chavez Grant made a diving interceptions with 18 seconds to play to stop a near-certain Nevada game-winning drive. The Wolf Pack had moved to the Miami 36, and were trying to get within range for Brett Jaekle, who hit field goals from 33, 31, 44 and 40, before the ill-advised pass. Miami wasn't fantastic in Larry Coker's final game, but it got just enough offense with a one-yard Kirby Freeman touchdown run, a 52-yard pass to Ryan Moore, and a 78-yard pass to Sam Shields. Nevada drove into Miami territory time and again, but kept having to settle for field goals getting its only touchdown in the second quarter on a 27-yard pass to Marko Mitchell.
Player of the game ... Miami QB Kirby Freeman completed 11 of 19 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns with an interception and ran for a score
Stat Leaders: Miami - Passing: Kirby Freeman, 11-19, 272 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Javarris James, 17-35  Receiving: Sam Shields, 4-101, 1 TD
Nevada - Passing: Jeff Rowe, 20-31, 192 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Robert Hubbard, 20-60  Receiving: Robert Hubbard, 7-50
Notes & Thoughts ... It was cold, around 20 degrees, but Miami still overcame the weather and a lousy performance from the running game to pull off the win. The game showed just how much the offensive line needs to improve before the team becomes a major player again, but on the plus side, Kirby Freeman showed he might be the quarterback the team can run with going into 2007. He showed off nice touch on his deep throws and a little bit of mobility. ... Nevada played its heart out, but it was on the wrong side of a bad call on a brilliant circus catch by Anthony Pudewell and couldn't quite get over the hump once it got into scoring range. The defense, specifically Ezra Butler, was tremendous against the run. ... It was a bowl game. Couldn't there have been a different logo of some sort other than Boise State's? It seemed like the two teams just so happened to be playing on BSU's field.

2006 Schedule CFN Prediction: 11-1 2006 Record: 7-6 Preview 2006 predicted wins
9/4	Florida State L 14-10
9/9	Florida A&M W 51-10
9/16	at Louisville L 31-7
9/30	Houston W 14-13
10/7	North Carolina W 27-7
10/14	FIU W 35-0
10/21	at Duke W 20-15
10/28	at Georgia Tech L 30-23
11/4	Virginia Tech L 17-10
11/11	at Maryland L 14-13
11/18	at Virginia L 17-7
11/23	Boston College W 17-14
12/31	MPC Computers Bowl Nevada W 21-20

2005 Schedule CFN Prediction: 10-1 2005 Record: 9-3 Preview 2005 predicted wins
9/5	at Florida State  L 10-7
9/17	at Clem. W 36-30 3OT
9/24	Colorado W 23-3
10/1	South Florida W 27-7
10/8	Duke W 52-7
10/15	at Temple W 34-3
10/29	North Carolina W 34-16
11/5	at Virginia Tech W 27-7
11/12	at Wake Forest W 47-17
11/19	Georgia Tech L 14-10
11/26	Virginia W 25-17
12/30	Peach Bowl LSU L 40-3

Nov. 23
Boston College 17 ... Miami 14
Glenn Sharpe picked off Matt Ryan to snuff out a final BC drive and make Miami bowl eligible. The defenses dominated all night with BC forcing four turnovers including three interceptions from DeJuan Tribble, who took one 21 yards for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead late in the first half. But the Canes bounced back in the final minute with a seven-yard Lance Leggett touchdown catch and scored the only points of the second half on a two-yard Javarris James run. The two teams combined to convert just four of 27 third down chances.
Player of the game ... The defensive front of Miami, in the first home game after the death of Bryan Pata, for pressure in the backfield all game long.
Stat Leaders: Miami - Passing: Kirby Freeman, 14-27, 187 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Javarris James, 20-45, 1 TD  Receiving: Greg Olsen, 5-63
Boston College - Passing: Matt Ryan, 17-34, 169 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Andre Callender, 10-32, 1 TD  Receiving: Andre Callender, 3-40
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Lost in the disastrous season has been the great play from the defense, so it's fitting that the Canes became bowl eligible, and salvaged some pride, by beating Boston College with a fantastic performances from Randy Shannon's crew. The defensive line generated pressure on Matt Ryan all game long and shut down the Eagle running game. Fine, so the offense continues to be a nightmare, but with so many starters coming back, getting bowl eligible is key; this group can use all the extra practices it can get.

Nov. 18
Virginia 17 ... Miami 7
Jameel Sewell ran for two touchdowns and Miami's offense never got going until it was too late as Virginia held the Canes to 263 yards of total offense and just 11 first downs. The Canes got 77 of their yards and their one score on a Lance Leggett touchdown grab with just over three minutes to play. Sewell's runs came from 12 and two yards out in the first half, and Noah Greenbaum hit a 22-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. The Canes came up with five sacks.
Player of the game ... Virginia QB Jameel Sewell was 23-of-33 for 215 yards and ran 10 times for 41 yards and the Cavaliers’ only two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Miami - Passing: Kirby Freeman, 11-18, 148 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Javarris James, 21-95 Receiving: Greg Olsen, 5-57
Virginia - Passing: Jameel Sewell, 23-33, 215 yds
Rushing: Jason Snelling, 28-55  Receiving: Jonathan Stupar, 7-47
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Does Miami even have to play Boston College next week? This appears to be a team that just wants to get the season over with thanks to an offense that's not doing anything with Kirby Freeman at the helm. Whoever the coach is next year has to find a quarterback to revolve things around, even f it's a true freshman. The defense played its heart out at times with Jon Beason and Brandon Meriweather all over the field, and Kareem Brown having a nice day on the line. How much heart does the team have? We'll know against the Eagles.

Nov. 11
Maryland 14 ... Miami 13
Maryland only got six first downs and had the ball for just 22:51, but got two huge plays from Darrius Heyward-Bey in the first half on touchdown catches from 65 and 96 yards out for a 14-0 lead. Miami came back on two Jon Peattie field goals and a 28-yard Ryan Moore scoring catch, but the offense failed on two final drives with Kirby Freeman getting picked off late, and a fumble off a punt return ending any hopes.
Player of the game ... Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey caught five passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Miami - Passing: Kirby Freeman, 14-27, 140 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Javarris James, 22-78  Receiving: Ryan Moore, 5-50, 1 TD
Maryland - Passing: Sam Hollenbach, 11-16, 202 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Lance Ball, 10-41. Receiving: Darrius Heyward-Bey, 5-175, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Miami obviously was playing Maryland with a heavy heart after the tragedy that happened earlier in the week, but it played relatively well. The defense outside of two big mistakes, was terrific, but the offense didn't get going consistently with Kirby Freeman at quarterback. The return of Ryan Moore helped, but Freeman failed to scare the Terps with any sort of deep threat, and there was little to no room for Javarris James to run. On a three-game losing streak, the Canes had better beat Virginia or else they'll need to beat a good Boston College team to get bowl eligible.

Nov. 4
Virginia Tech 17 ... Miami 10
Virginia Tech only gained 109 yards of total offense as the Miami line was in the backfield all game long with five sacks and 11 tackles for loss, but the offense took advantage of two of Miami's three interceptions to go 36 yards in three plays in the second quarter with a two-yard Branden Ore touchdown run, and won on an eight-yard run from Ore after going 26 yards in five plays. The Miami offense was equally anemic outside of a 50-yard Tyrone Moss touchdown run. Jon Peattie hit a 55-yard field goal for the Hurricanes in the third quarter to make it 10-3 before the Moss run tied it up, but Kyle Wright was intercepted by Xavier Adibi to set up the final Hokie touchdown. With two more chances to tie it up, Wright was picked off by Brandon Flowers and fumbled the ball on the last play to prevent a Hail Mary attempt.
Player of the game ... Virginia Tech LB Xavier Adibi made nine tackles, one sack, one interceptions and forced a fumble
Stat Leaders: Miami - Passing: Kyle Wright, 14-29, 84 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Tyrone Moss, 13-103, 1 TD  Receiving: Ryan Moore, 2-19
Virginia Tech - Passing: Sean Glennon, 5-19, 86 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Branden Ore, 29-49, 2 TD  Receiving: Josh Morgan, 2-39
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Miami's defense dominated Virginia Tech for the entire game, but when its back was against the wall with turnovers creating short fields, it couldn't come up with the big stop. However, it's hardly the defense's fault for losing a game late for the second straight week after holding the Hokies to 109 yards of offense. Kyle Wright isn't getting any help from his receivers, but he's also not doing anything to move the offense. Kirby Freeman hardly looked like the answer even after tearing off a big run on his first play. This loss to the Hokies should be the final nail in the Larry Coker coffin, but the team has to summon up the pride to come up with a better performance against a hot Maryland team to prevent things from getting even uglier.

Oct. 28
Georgia Tech 30 ... Miami 23
Miami started off hot with Glenn Cook taking a Reggie Ball fumble 19 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the game, but four turnovers, six Georgia Tech sacks, and the Johnson's turned out to be too much. James Johnson caught a perfectly thrown 46-yard touchdown pass from Ball in the second quarter, and Calvin Johnson made a one-yard grab in the third to put Tech up for good. Travis Bell nailed three field goals and Tashard Choice ran for a 24-yard score to help the Yellow Jackets get up 30-16. Miami appeared to have one final chance with a 41-yard Greg Olsen touchdown catch and after the D forced Tech to go three-and-out, but Durant Brooks fumbled the punt return chance with :19 to play and Tech ran out the clock.
Player of the game ... Georgia Tech LB Philip Wheeler made six tackles and three sacks
Stat Leaders: Miami - Passing: Kyle Wright, 20-31, 246 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Javarris James, 19-113. Receiving: Greg Olsen, 5-91, 1 TD
Georgia Tech - Passing: Reggie Ball, 11-27, 188 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Tashard Choice, 26-107, 1 TD. Receiving: Calvin Johnson, 5-68, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Miami simply can't put it all together and is playing like the scattered team that it's been over the last few weeks. Four turnovers, eight penalties, and no offensive consistency were killers against Georgia Tech. The secondary had a nice game outside of a few deep balls, and the run defense had a decent game keeping things bottled up, but the mistakes were too much to overcome. Things don't get much easier over the final four weeks with Virginia Tech coming up next. To get a win down the stretch, there has to be even more pop to the attack with Kyle Wright making even more big plays.


Oct. 21
Miami 20 ... Duke 15
Sam Shields caught two touchdown passes in the first half as part of a 17-0 Miami lead, and Jon Peattie nailed a 51-yard shot for a 20-2 after three quarters, but Duke mounted a huge comeback with Raphael Chestnut catching an 11-yard touchdown pass and Requan Boyette running for a seven-yard score to get within five. With one last shot and with 1:35 to play, the Blue Devils started out on their own 11 and marched down to the Miami six with three seconds left, but Willie Cooper saved the day for the Canes with an interception.
Player of the game ... Miami WR Sam Shields caught six passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Miami - Passing: Kyle Wright, 24-41, 299 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Tyrone Moss, 10-25. Receiving: Lance Leggett, 6-131
Duke - Passing: Thaddeus Lewis, 21-40, 284 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: Justin Boyle, 9-49. Receiving: Jomar Wright, 10-176
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Even with a squad depleted of several top players thanks to the suspensions from the FIU debacle, Miami should've wiped up Duke. Think about it; were any of the Miami backups honestly recruited by Duke, and were any of the Duke starters ever recruited by Miami? The offense did its job early, but the team shut it off a bit too early and almost suffered the ultimate indignity (outside of getting involved in a brawl). An ineffective offense, 15 penalties, and nearly a fourth-quarter collapse showed that the focus is far from there. Lost in all the ugliness of the Miami program is a five-game winning streak going into a big date at Georgia Tech. Win that, and all will be right with the world.

Oct. 14
Miami 35 ... FIU 0
Miami got three Kyle Wright touchdown passes and Lance Leggett scored from 11 and seven yards out, but the game itself was marred by an ugly fight that started after the extra point on a five-yard touchdown pass to James Bryant early in the third quarter. Both benches cleared with 13 players getting kicked out including eight players from FIU. The Golden Panthers were held to 114 yards of total offense.
Player of the game ... Miami QB Kyle Wright completed 14 of 22 passes for 117 yards and three touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Miami - Passing: Kyle Wright, 14-22, 117 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Javarris James, 11-36. Receiving: Lance Leggett, 7-77, 2 TD
FIU - Passing: Josh Padrick, 12-25, 86 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Julian Reams, 21-45. Receiving: Andy Anderson, 4-33
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Lost in the shutout win over FIU, and passed over because of the fight, was how the Hurricane offense couldn't move the ball on the Golden Panther defense. The Hurricane D did its job, but the offense only managed 90 rushing yards with Javarris James getting held to 36 yards. Yes, FIU's run defense is strong, but it's FIU, not Florida State. The Canes aren't sharp, and they're likely to have even more problems once the inevitable suspensions come down from the inexcusable brawl. The Miami second team can get by Duke next week, but forget about winning at Georgia Tech without a full squad.

Oct. 7
Miami 27 ,,, North Carolina 7
Miami got a spark of life on both sides of the ball highlighted by a 62-yard touchdown dash from Javarris James and a trick play on a 37-yard pass from safety Lovon Ponder to Sam Shields. North Carolina was held to 244 yards of total offense and got its only score on a Ronnie McGill two-yard run in the second quarter, but the Canes answered with a one-yard Charlie Jones scoring run with eight seconds left in the half.
Player of the game ... Miami RB Javarris James ran 16 times for 111 yards and a touchdown
Stat Leaders: Miami - Passing: Kyle Wright, 13-21, 143 yds
Rushing: Javarris James, 16-111, 1 TD. Receiving: Greg Olsen, 9-95
North Carolina - Passing: Cam Sexton, 9-28, 136 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Barrington Edwards, 10-37. Receiving: Jesse Holley, 4-61
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Fine, so Miami isn't back to being Miami again, but the Canes looked as good as they have all season long in the win over North Carolina showing a burst on offense while the D stuffed the Tar Heels, with the exception of one drive. Javarris James is single-handedly carrying the Hurricane offense out of the doldrums, but eventually, Kyle Wright will have to start pushing the ball down the field. The passing game isn't going to scare anyone, but there are dates with FIU and Duke to work things out.

Sept. 30
Miami 14 ... Houston 13
Miami needed a two-yard touchdown pass to James Bryant in the third quarter and a key fourth-and-inches sneak from QB Kyle Wright in the fourth to come up with the tight win. Javarris James set a Miami record for a freshman with 148 rushing yards to go along with a one-yard touchdown run, but the offense sputtered all night long despite finishing with 420 yards. Houston stayed alive with a four-yard Kevin Kolb touchdown run and two Ben Bell field goals, but the defense couldn't get Miami off the field in the final six minutes, although it came close as Wright just barely made the key fourth down sneak on the Miami 38.
Player of the game ... Miami RB Javarris James ran 18 times for 148 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 22 yards
Stat Leaders: Miami - Passing: Kyle Wright, 16-27, 190 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Javarris James, 18-148, 1 TD. Receiving: Charlie Jones, 4-27
Houston - Passing: Kevin Kolb, 18-28, 196 yds
Rushing: Jackie Battle, 9-43. Receiving: Vincent Marshall, 5-50
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The good: Kenny Phillips, with 11 tackles, and punter Brian Monroe, who averaged over 50 yards per kick, had tremendous games against Houston. Javarris James looks like the type of rushing star the offense can build around, and the D only allowed one touchdown to a high-powered offense. The bad: Miami played like a tight, desperate team. The late fourth-and-one call in Miami territory was either a season-changing play that showed how much confidence the coaching staff still has in its team, or it was a last-gasp move to try to provide a spark. There's just not enough happening deep with only a nice play to Lance Leggett showing off the potential of the passing game. The receiving corps needs game-breaker Ryan Moore back, and it needs much better all-around play from QB Kyle Wright.

Sept. 16
Louisville 31 ... Miami 7
Louisville stunned Miami on both sides of the ball overcoming an early 7-0 deficit to score 34 unanswered points highlighted by a 56-yard touchdown catch from Mario Urrutia. Kolby Smith ran for two short touchdowns in the third quarter and George Stripling closed things out with a 39-yard scoring grab. Miami's touchdown came on a one-yard Tyrone Moss run, but turnovers and a lack of a rushing game turned out to be too much to overcome. UL QB Brian Brohm went down in the second half with a hand injury, but backup Hunter Cantwell stepped in and kept the offense rolling.
Player of the game ... Louisville QB Brian Brohm completed ten of 14 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown.
Stat Leaders: Miami - Passing: Kyle Wright, 20-34, 278 yds
Rushing: Charlie Jones, 8-35. Receiving: Lance Leggett, 4-52
Louisville - Passing: Brian Brohm, 10-14, 181 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Kolby Smith,17.48, 2 TD. Receiving: Mario Urrutia, 4-96, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... There's no shame in losing to Louisville at Louisville, the program is that good, but to get blown out 31-7 with little to no running game and not nearly enough defense will turn the hot seat Larry Coker is on into a roaring hot flame. The Hurricanes simply aren't making enough offensive plays. The defense can only hang on for so long against top teams when it isn't getting any support. This team played like a shadow of its former self with no swagger and none of the confidence of old. Can Coker survive? Maybe, but there's no margin for error needing to win out. Pity poor Houston next week.

Sept. 9
Miami 51 ... Florida A&M 10
Miami took its anger from the Florida State loss out on poor Florida A&M rolling up 563 yards of total offense and a 21-0 lead before Wesley Taylor connected on a 44-yard field goal with nine seconds to play in the first half. The Canes poured it on with a 20-yard touchdown run from Tyrone Moss and a three-yard sash from Javarris James, his second score of the game. Roosevelt Kiser caught a seven-yard pass in the third quarter for the only Rattler touchdown.
Player of the game ... The entire Miami offensive line for paving the way for 339 rushing yards
Stat Leaders: Miami - Passing: Kyle Wright, 13-18, 166 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Derron Thomas, 11-109. Receiving: Darnell Jenkins, 6-62
Florida A&M - Passing: Leon Camel, 11-20, 143 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Leon Camel, 11-55. Receiving: Roosevelt Kiser, 4-61, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Miami knows it can score on Florida A&M, but it needs a little of the offensive magic to carry over to next week's showdown at Louisville. Can the defense hold up against the Cardinal attack? Absolutely, but the offense is going to need to keep the running game going to control the tempo. Kyle Wright had an efficient game against A&M, but nothing special. He relied on the ground game to carry the team, and now he has to start taking more shots down the field.

Sept. 4
Florida State 13 ... Miami 10
In a defensive slugfest, FSU's Gary Cismesia hit two field goals including a 33-yard boot with just over eight minutes to play to break a 10-10 tie. Miami had one final shot, but QB Kyle Wright was intercepted by Michael Ray Garvin. Neither offense did much of anything with FSU gaining one rushing yards and Miami doubling the output netting two. Cismesia started off the scoring with a 37-yard field goal in the first quarter, but Miami came back scoring on a four-yard Charlie Jones run and a 20-yard Jon Peattie kick in the second. FSU's best drive of the night tied the score with a Joe Surratt touchdown run on the first play of the fourth. The two teams combined for 17 first downs.
Player of the game ... For succeeding where past Nole kickers blew it, Gary Cismesia gets the honor for hitting field goals from 37 and 33 yards out.
Stat Leaders: Miami - Passing: Kyle Wright, 18-27, 132 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Charlie Jones, 13-27, 1 TD. Receiving: Darnell Jenkins, 4-54
Florida State - Passing: Drew Weatherford, 16-32, 175 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Antone Smith, 9-5. Receiving: DeCody Fagg, 3-60
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... And you thought Larry Coker was on a hot seat before. The defense did a fantastic job against Florida State, and Kyle Wright was sharp on the short to medium range passes, but the offensive line couldn't get any push for the ground game. The Noles really are that good, but the pressure is now on the Canes to be perfect the rest of the way or there will be a new regime around next year. This game was that important after the way 2005 ended.

2006 Miami Preview

Miami Preview | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart | Further Analysis

He has a 54-10 record after five years and didn't win a national title last year at a place that national titles are expected and demanded, so he should be on the hot seat, right?

Larry Coker? No, he has a 53-9 record with one national title. Pete Carroll is 54-10 with one national title (keep your AP banter to yourself).

Everyone take their Ritalin; last season really wasn't that bad for Miami. It wasn't a disaster, it wasn't one of the most disappointing seasons ever, and it wasn't a signal that the Miami football program should start making initial inquiries to see if there's an opening in the Sun Belt.

Here's Miami's philosophical problem with the national title or bust attitude. If you don't win the national championship, or even play in the national championship game, then does a 40-3 loss to LSU in the Peach Bowl really mean anything in the grander scheme of things? The 35-3 loss to Tennessee in the 1986 Sugar Bowl was far more disappointing and a far bigger disaster than some little old Peach Bowl loss, and that 1986 team turned out to be pretty good before it lost the national title to Penn State in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl. That 1987 team turned out to be pretty good winning the national title. The point is that it's hard to play for national championships, much less win them, and not winning the whole ball of wax every year isn't cause to pull fire alarms. However, not winning ACC titles is a bigger issue.

And that's the problem.

The new ACC isn't the Big East and it's not like being an Independent. There are too many good teams to battle with on a game-in-game-out basis to demand perfection every year. Analyze all these so-called disastrous losses last year. Florida State 10-6. It would've been a win if the special teams didn't melt down. Georgia Tech 14-10. In case you forgot, Georgia Tech also whacked Auburn. LSU 40-3. Don't focus so much on the final score. LSU had national title talent and was jacked up. Things really weren't as bad as everyone made them out to be.

This year's team has enough talent to think about the national title, but there are just enough holes to keep it from happening with an offensive line that doesn't look to be appreciably better than last year's disaster and mot enough overall skill level among the stars on offense to overcome the potential problems up front. The defense will be among the best in the country, but it can't win every game if there are offensive issues like there were occasionally last season.

Go ahead and jack up the expectations for this very good team, but shoot for the ACC title first.

The Schedule: It's set up perfectly for a huge season with the right mix of great games and big home dates to think about the BCS championship game, and then the second half of the year kicks in with four road dates in five weeks including games at Georgia Tech, Maryland and Virginia. Florida State, Virginia Tech and Boston College come to the Orange Bowl, but the real landmine could be at Louisville on September 16th.

Best Offensive Player: Junior TE Greg Olsen. The coaching staff has hinted that the one-time Notre Damer could be better than Kellen Winslow Jr., Bubba Franks, and Jeremy Shockey. At the very least he should come close to leading the team in receiving and be on the short list for the Mackey Award.

Best Defensive Player: Senior FS Brandon Meriweather. He's not huge at 6-0 and 188 pounds, but he's a sure tackler with phenomenal range. He has 202 career tackles and should be one of the nation's top all-around safeties.

Key player to a successful season: Offensive tackles Reggie Youngblood, Cyrim Wimbs and Tyrone Byrd, guards A.J. Trump, Andrew Bain, Derrick Morse, and Alex Pou, and center Anthony Wollschlager. If the front five has a decent season, Miami will likely be ACC champions. If it has a great season, Miami has an honest shot at the national title.

The season will be a success if ... Miami wins the ACC title game. Goal number one has to win the ACC championship. Then the Canes can hope everything falls into place for something even bigger. Anything less than an appearance in the conference title game and next year will likely usher in a new coaching era of Miami football.

Key game: Sept. 4 vs. Florida State. Miami lost last year to the Noles and was still in the hunt for the ACC and national championships late in the season, but that was in Tallahassee. A loss at home to start the season is the last thing the team needs with memories of the Peach Bowl still lingering.

2005 Fun Stats: 
- Sacks: Opponents 36 for 246 yards - Miami 33 for 246 yards
- Miami points in its nine wins: 305 (33.9 per game) - Miami points in its three losses: 20 (6.67 per game)
- Miami points by quarter: 1st 80, 2nd 110, 3rd 77, 4th 42

The Last Time Miami…
…played in a bowl game…2005 (Peach Bowl v. LSU)
…missed a bowl game…1997
…pitched a shutout…2004 (Louisiana Tech)
…was shutout…1997 (Florida State)
…scored 50 points…2005 (Duke)
…went undefeated…2001
…won a conference title…2003 (share, Big East)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…2002 (Ken Dorsey)
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2002 (Willis McGahee)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2002 (Andre Johnson)
…had a first-round draft choice…2005 (CB Antrel Rolle)