First and foremost, I think that this is a game that we CAN and SHOULD win... That said, between Nebraska and Cinci over the next week or two, how many of you would be surprised to see us go either 2-0, 1-1 (Nebraska loss, Cinci win), 1-1 (Nebraska win, Cinci loss), or 0-2...??? Lol.. Exactly, so this 2-0 start which some of you are touting as some sort of D-Day Victory on the beaches of Normandy, France, are clearly as delusional as it gets...
Those two wins against Bethune and FAU count for SOMETHING, but HARDLY ANYTHING, and are merely glorified scrimmages, which is why, as I've said about 10-12 times over the last month, we need a FOUR GAME SAMPLE SIZE to tell us what we will likely have going into ACC Play... CLEARLY, there are RED FLAGS, but the Nebraska game coupled with a tough road test against Cinci on a Thursday will paint a clearer picture moving ahead in ACC Play. A 4-0 start to the season would change several people's outlook on the rest of the season (not me who predicted 8-4 (5-3 ACC) and still think 3 ACC losses are expected despite a 4-0 start), and things would certainly look a lot different at 4-0 than heaven forbid 2-2, to say the least.
^^^ That is my "big picture" outlook for the next few games...
Now, as far as the specifics for this game against Nebraska:
(1) Home Field: I talked about Home Field a little in my thread yesterday about this team having an emotional advantage over Nebraska. The fact that this game is a true Home Game is going to be a noticeable advantage in my opinion in several respects. First, the game is at 3:30 PM, and that field will be a humid filled swamp- we're looking at 91-93 degree temperatures with about 91-93% humidity. The afternoons in South Florida have been much more humid and "swampy" here in September than in August because we have had more rain. Nebraska is in for a swelter... Second, the stadium improvements are going to help generate an electric atmosphere- the seats are closer, the vibe is better, and it will be a packed house for sure. Third, this just isn't a game that Nebraska wants to come down and play. Culturally, it is a different world; Geographically, it is probably a 2,000 mile haul across the country for them; Personally, Nebraska doesn't have good memories playing us at home. lol.
(2) Kaaya: Kaaya has not been at his best the first two games- some of that is the INTENTIONAL vanilla playcalling by Coley, some of that is pedestrian play of the offensive line, some of that is dropped balls by the receivers, and some of that is Kaaya himself. He hasn't looked comfortable at times. However, I think that he, and the offense as a whole, will do a better job finding itself in a game like this, and we'll see some explosive plays in the passing game down the field. I expect Kaaya to have over 300 passing yards and 2 Touchdowns in this game. Big day from Brad.
(3) Our Run Defense: Look the hell out- I'm expecting Nebraska to rack up well over 200 team rushing yards in this game against our run defense, which continues to look average at best and below average more often than not... We simply haven't had solid interior defensive line play these first two games, and I expect more of the same against a quality rushing attack by Nebraska. Nebraska AS A TEAM, is averaging MORE than FIVE YARDS PER ATTEMPT, and this Newby Running Back they have is a quality player. I saw him for a few series on Saturday, and comes across as a B to B+ running back to me. ALREADY, he has 240 rushing yards through 2 games, 3 TD's, and is averaging OVER SIX YARDS PER CARRY... Abdullah may be gone for Nebraska, but our run defense against Newby and the rest of Nebraska's ground game is going to be in for a tough test.
(4) Tommy Armstrong: His stats are respectable, but he has hardly played against anything resembling a quality defense... BYU and Division I-AA South Alabama were Nebraska's first two games, so when I see Armstrong's numbers through two games at 45 for 70 (64%), 590 yards or so and 5 TD's to 1 INT, he has had a good start to the season, but has yet to be tested against a solid secondary. Enter OUR SECONDARY... This is the type of game that I expect Elder, Jenkins, and these defensive backs/safeties really tee off on a guy like Armstrong and intercept him two, maybe even three times. I really think that Nebraska is going to run the ball well against us, but will struggle in the passing game. Armstrong is not a bad quarterback and he has the ability to make plays, but he is the type of player who I think we can get the better of more often than not... So, with that said, Armstrong will probably have a touchdown (either throwing or running), but I think we intercept him a few times on Saturday.
(5) Special Teams: Both teams are UNIMPRESSIVE when it comes to Special Teams. Maybe Elder becomes the impact player for us... We are still inconsistent and have a lot to prove. Nebraska doesn't do anything special on special teams, so the game very well may come down to Special Teams and who has the BETTER AVERAGE STARTING FIELD POSITION due to better kickoff and punt coverage...
As I said at the top of this tread, this is a game that we CAN and SHOULD win... However, with this coaching staff, one simply never knows... The boneheads Golden and D'Onofrio get outcoached by good coaches AND bad coaches, so who knows... lol... What I DO know is we have a LOT going for us in this game as far as trying to win, so I think we can win this game DESPITE coaching as much as we can win this game BECAUSE of coaching... lol. I believe that we are the favorites, and I also believe that we will win... Nebraska will find the endzone, but we will find the endzone more than them, and do just enough on defense to edge it out in the end...
Miami 34 - Nebraska 30
Go Canes...!!!
Prost! (Cheers!)
Those two wins against Bethune and FAU count for SOMETHING, but HARDLY ANYTHING, and are merely glorified scrimmages, which is why, as I've said about 10-12 times over the last month, we need a FOUR GAME SAMPLE SIZE to tell us what we will likely have going into ACC Play... CLEARLY, there are RED FLAGS, but the Nebraska game coupled with a tough road test against Cinci on a Thursday will paint a clearer picture moving ahead in ACC Play. A 4-0 start to the season would change several people's outlook on the rest of the season (not me who predicted 8-4 (5-3 ACC) and still think 3 ACC losses are expected despite a 4-0 start), and things would certainly look a lot different at 4-0 than heaven forbid 2-2, to say the least.
^^^ That is my "big picture" outlook for the next few games...
Now, as far as the specifics for this game against Nebraska:
(1) Home Field: I talked about Home Field a little in my thread yesterday about this team having an emotional advantage over Nebraska. The fact that this game is a true Home Game is going to be a noticeable advantage in my opinion in several respects. First, the game is at 3:30 PM, and that field will be a humid filled swamp- we're looking at 91-93 degree temperatures with about 91-93% humidity. The afternoons in South Florida have been much more humid and "swampy" here in September than in August because we have had more rain. Nebraska is in for a swelter... Second, the stadium improvements are going to help generate an electric atmosphere- the seats are closer, the vibe is better, and it will be a packed house for sure. Third, this just isn't a game that Nebraska wants to come down and play. Culturally, it is a different world; Geographically, it is probably a 2,000 mile haul across the country for them; Personally, Nebraska doesn't have good memories playing us at home. lol.
(2) Kaaya: Kaaya has not been at his best the first two games- some of that is the INTENTIONAL vanilla playcalling by Coley, some of that is pedestrian play of the offensive line, some of that is dropped balls by the receivers, and some of that is Kaaya himself. He hasn't looked comfortable at times. However, I think that he, and the offense as a whole, will do a better job finding itself in a game like this, and we'll see some explosive plays in the passing game down the field. I expect Kaaya to have over 300 passing yards and 2 Touchdowns in this game. Big day from Brad.
(3) Our Run Defense: Look the hell out- I'm expecting Nebraska to rack up well over 200 team rushing yards in this game against our run defense, which continues to look average at best and below average more often than not... We simply haven't had solid interior defensive line play these first two games, and I expect more of the same against a quality rushing attack by Nebraska. Nebraska AS A TEAM, is averaging MORE than FIVE YARDS PER ATTEMPT, and this Newby Running Back they have is a quality player. I saw him for a few series on Saturday, and comes across as a B to B+ running back to me. ALREADY, he has 240 rushing yards through 2 games, 3 TD's, and is averaging OVER SIX YARDS PER CARRY... Abdullah may be gone for Nebraska, but our run defense against Newby and the rest of Nebraska's ground game is going to be in for a tough test.
(4) Tommy Armstrong: His stats are respectable, but he has hardly played against anything resembling a quality defense... BYU and Division I-AA South Alabama were Nebraska's first two games, so when I see Armstrong's numbers through two games at 45 for 70 (64%), 590 yards or so and 5 TD's to 1 INT, he has had a good start to the season, but has yet to be tested against a solid secondary. Enter OUR SECONDARY... This is the type of game that I expect Elder, Jenkins, and these defensive backs/safeties really tee off on a guy like Armstrong and intercept him two, maybe even three times. I really think that Nebraska is going to run the ball well against us, but will struggle in the passing game. Armstrong is not a bad quarterback and he has the ability to make plays, but he is the type of player who I think we can get the better of more often than not... So, with that said, Armstrong will probably have a touchdown (either throwing or running), but I think we intercept him a few times on Saturday.
(5) Special Teams: Both teams are UNIMPRESSIVE when it comes to Special Teams. Maybe Elder becomes the impact player for us... We are still inconsistent and have a lot to prove. Nebraska doesn't do anything special on special teams, so the game very well may come down to Special Teams and who has the BETTER AVERAGE STARTING FIELD POSITION due to better kickoff and punt coverage...
As I said at the top of this tread, this is a game that we CAN and SHOULD win... However, with this coaching staff, one simply never knows... The boneheads Golden and D'Onofrio get outcoached by good coaches AND bad coaches, so who knows... lol... What I DO know is we have a LOT going for us in this game as far as trying to win, so I think we can win this game DESPITE coaching as much as we can win this game BECAUSE of coaching... lol. I believe that we are the favorites, and I also believe that we will win... Nebraska will find the endzone, but we will find the endzone more than them, and do just enough on defense to edge it out in the end...
Miami 34 - Nebraska 30
Go Canes...!!!
Prost! (Cheers!)
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