Miami Falls to Virginia, 28-21

Well 'Canes Nation, that wasn't exactly what we hoped for on Thursday night.  I was looking forward to that game all day, as I'm sure most of you were--and for what--to witness a shellacking at the hands of a mediocre Virginia?  How is it that we make the most average of quarterbacks look like Heisman front-runners?  The plan was to keep the momentum going, not to be stopped in our tracks.  Miami was coming off of a short week and appeared flat on both sides of the ball.  It is obvious which team watched film.

Between a three-and-out drive and a missed field goal by Jake Wieclaw, Miami was shut-out 17-0 during the first-half alone.  The Miami defense was unable (and/or afraid) to tackle and Virginia amassed a total of 252 yards in the first-half alone.  The 'Canes were able to drive down the field just before the the second quarter was to expire and scored on a Tommy Streeter touchdown.  If it wasn't for the late score, the "U" would have trailed 17-0.

On the bright side, thank goodness for Tommy Streeter's presence.  Why wasn't he utilized last year?  The kid is a tree, and at 6'5 if Harris can get the ball anywhere near him, odds are Touchdown Tommy will get his hands on it.  With almost 200 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns on the night, he is clearly Miami's go to guy. 

On the flip-side, Miami's running game has yet to be found.  What happened to the Lamar Miller that we all saw at the beginning of the season?  Something just doesn't seem right with him.  He's not finishing his runs, nor is he hitting the holes, and seems to dance around quite a bit more.  In all, Miller was held to a respectable 70 yards on 20 carries. 

Jacory Harris continues to impress.  He finished the game 21-30 with 311 yards passing and 3 touchdowns.
 
In regards to Miami's defense, what happened to the guy's that dominated Georgia Tech?  We got burnt on quite a few plays and some of the packages that Coach D dialed up were baffling.  Perhaps we should have left things the way they were pre-Virgina.  In any event, Perryman needs to see more playing time.  That kid plays full-speed.    

So it is back to the drawing board for Miami.  We were hoping that the 'Canes wouldn't overlook Virginia.  It is safe to say the the 'Cavs have our number.  Who would have ever thunk it?  I wonder what the 2001 team was thinking during that first-half annihilation?  At one point it looked like Irvin was ready to suit up and play.

So sitting at a disappointing 4-4, bring on Duke--I guess.  Hopefully we decide to show up for this one.  Kickoff will be at 3:00 p.m.

As always, Go 'Canes!