ACC Title Game

Assuming Miami doesn’t screw the pooch in the next few weeks (against GT away, Wake Forest at home and Syracuse away), it looks like they may face Rhett Lashlee’s Miami-West team in the ACC Title game.

If Miami had a better defense, I would be much more confident about Miami finally winning the ACC but since they don’t … So far at least, Miami has managed to outscore the competition but having to score 40+ points every game is a dangerous way to live. Eventually, a team has a bad day on offense or encounters a team that has a good defense.

But, at 9-0 and a #4? ranking, I’m not going to complain.

that syracuse game scares me and i can definitely see us dropping that one with the state of our D. I’m hoping clemson and Pitt drop one more game (very plausible) just to be on the safe side.

an SMU and Miami title game will be an absolute shoot out i reckon…80+ points minimum and last team with the ball wins. i trust ward

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Lashlee certainly did a number on Pitt. Have you noticed that Brashard Smith has rushed this year for 906 yards. He’s another talent we had square pegged into the wrong hole. The kid is a natural RB, one of the best in the country. I always liked this kid and so did Skeeter. If we play SMU, be apprised that we’re likely to be haunted by Brashard who is the real deal, and we didn’t know it.

The kid I love is Scatteboo from Ariz. State. He’s the epitome of the smash mouth game. Also, he has terrific hands and can play WR,LB, QB, safety, and is a very good punter. He has already eclipsed a 1000 yards rushing.

The difference in our last game were turnovers. Had the Duke QB not thrown the ball wildly downfield, the final score would have definitely been closer. Miami needs to stop incurring so many penalties. We’re No. 124 out of 134 collegiate team in being penalized. We need to coach them up to play cleaner games.

While I’ve lauded Martinez’s toughness, Mark Fletcher still looks to me like the better RB. Fletcher has quicker feet and hits the hole faster. I presume he has the greater foot speed.

IMO, Ward is the best QB ever to don a Hurricane uniform. His unflappability is simply remarkable. His ability to scan the field is second to none. His release is lightning fast. His ability to handle the ball deceptively is very highly developed.His accuracy as a passer is nonpareil.

Our pass defense is the most fundamental weakness of this team, but there is no college team this year that has a true shut down defense. The offenses are just too dominant. The traditional measure of a team’s toughness on defense is the defense against the rush. In that category, the Hurricanes are in the top ten statistically, although during games, we’ve seen our shares of chunk rushing plays. I’d say one of the most noticeable losses from last year’s squad were the two safeties that have gone on to playing in the NFL. I think next year with Stubbs and Zaquan, Miami’s secondary will be demonstrably improved.

Looking forward, so long as Ward is under center, it’s going to take one helluva an effort to outscore our Hurricanes. All of a sudden, it has become a pleasure being a Hurricane fan.

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Miami puts so much pressure on teams to keep up. They can score quick and score a lot. Most teams just can’t go score for score. That is why I feel Miami would beat Penn state, Ohio State, Georgia or even Texas. I picked SMU two weeks ago to play Miami in ACC title game. Clemson is not very good. Pitts plays Clemson next week so one of those teams is out. Clemson will lose to South Carolina this year. Syracuse qb is too up and down.

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Ok. I am probably going to get destroyed by saying this. But I think we would get pounded by Texas Oregon Ohio State and probably some other ranked teams. I Think they have better defenses than what we have been playing against and they have better offense who could score against Miami weak defense.

Of course I could be completely wrong. I do not analyze football like some of you do. And you have lot more knowledge on the subject. This is just my opinion.

Given how Miami has struggled against not so great teams, I don’t see them doing all that well against the best teams in the nation. I won’t be surprised if they unexpectedly dump one or two of their last three games. And I won’t be surprised if they lose to SMU. I’m hoping for the best though.Time will tell.

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I really think if Miami played a better team one they actually think can beat them you will see a very differeint team. I once spoke to Kevin Steele who was at FSU. They were playing Miami and I said how is the team practicting. He said Fish, Miami, Clemson, UF…Those week of practice are always our very best. Easy to get the players to be focused. They show up early, don’t miss assignments and take well to coaching. It is everything other team I worry about. UF - Miami played their best game this year from start to finish. Why, because it is UF. FSU, Miami played well but they also knew they had no shot at winning. When Miami plays one of these other teams I could see them bring their A game and roll a team out of the stadium. This team is very good on offense. On defense they know get 2-3 stops a game and we won’t lose.

You say Texas would beat Miami - Why. Miami is similar to Washington last year. That same Washington team beat Texas the past two years. Texas is soft…Miami is not. I think UGA would be able to slow down Miami offense but I doubt they keep them under 30. I don’t believe UGA can score 30 on Miami and that is with a defense that struggles.

Perhaps, it’s all a theory until Miami actually plays against better teams.

I’m not convinced Miami will win the ACC, they might but then again …

I know this team all too well …

All too predictable, unfortunately.

Bringing it back to the subject of this thread, what is the ACC Championship Game looking like now?

What is the tiebreaker

No idea. My prediction is we beat Wake, lose to Syracuse and finish 10-2. No ACC title game. Then it’s off to the Gator bowl in a mean nothing post season game, which we’ll lose and keep in tact our streak of only winning ONE bowl game since 2006. I trust this squad very little.

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It comes down to ranking. If we win out we are in.

If we don’t, we don’t deserve to be in.

Miami should beat Syracuse. Will they? Who the fck knows?

A 50/50 chance they dump the game because it’s cold outside the indoor stadium.

Hopefully, the inexplicable loss to GT woke them up.

If they beat Syracuse, I expect them to lose to SMU but I’m admittedly pessimistic when it comes to Miami after 20 years in suckville. We’ll see.

10 wins was more then most of us expected so even if they finish 10-2, we can’t complain all that much. 11-1 and the ACC title would be a great get though.

Just an fyi Bikki…The rumor is the kid refused to move to RB at UM.