2-a-Days: Miami and UCF

Miami Hurricanes



Another year, another disappointing shocker. Miami really let down a bunch of people who projected big things for them (cough, Gator Bowl for me, cough). Now Randy Shannon is in year two of trying to rebuild the program, will he get things headed in the right direction?


THE OFFENSE: This side of the ball needs the most help. The QB position is a little thin with, well, how do I put it lightly, well, there's no Bernie Kosar in this group. Robert Marve has the most "experience" being in his third season at Miami, but Jacory Harris is athletic enough to see some field time if Marve doesn't pick it up early on. Javarris James could break out as one of the better backs in the ACC and Miami will need him to in order to reach that level Miami is used to. James suffered through a downer kind of season. He lacks breakaway ability, but he's a great north-and-south runner. Of course, Graig Cooper should have a big year as the co-starter in Miami's backfield. The WRs have all of the measureables, but they have struggled in the past and that was evidenced by Miami's 108th ranked passing offense. Sam Shields is the speediest of the group with the most potential and he's only a junior so there's still some upside left in the tank. Khalil Jones brings some veteran experience to the table and had a nice spring. Aldarius Johnson is a true freshman who could find his way into the rotation with relative ease. Randy Shannon will be looking for anything to spark the offense and this Andre Johnson-reincarnated specimen could cash that check. Perhaps his presence could step up the play of the other receivers hoping their spot in the starting lineup doesn't get usurped by this ultra-athletic guy. Dedrick Epps and Richard Gordon create one of those "good problems to have" when deciding which one will start. They're both really athletic for TEs and they each can catch. Jason Fox and Reggie Youngblood at OT will be rocks on the offensive line. They should really have solid years and Joel Figueroa combining with Orlando Franklin should become top-shelf lineman with a year of playing time. A little bit of nepotism at C? Nah, Xavier Shannon, Randy's son, is a guy with a lot of potential.


THE DEFENSE: All Bill Young has to do is make room for this defense to grow as a unit and he'll be hailed as one of the best things to ever happen to Miami. Miami didn't live up to expectations defensively with only a ranking of 33rd in the nation. The scoring defense was 52nd. Eric Moncur is the kind of guy that NFL scouts pay attention to Miami football games for. Moncur will be a lock for the first day in next April's draft. DT Antonio Dixon is a senior and he'll come through this year for Miami unlike years past. Allen Bailey is a big guy at DE and he's the kind of athlete that the Miami faithful are used to reloading on defense. The Hurricanes will welcome back Glenn Cook to the LB corps now that he's healthy. He's a sixth-year senior with next-level ability. Colin McCarthy has really shone through with his breakthrough game coming against Texas A&M last year. Sean Spence and Arthur Brown are much hyped recruits who will contribute right away and will more than likely become the next great Miami LBs. The pass defense ranked 35th in the country which is solid, but there are some worries in the secondary. Anthony Reddick will be filling for Kenny Phillips. Hopefully Reddick will have a big year, he's certainly capable of doing so. DeMarcus Van Dyke and Bruce Johnson will be decent enough at the CB spot. Basically, this is a Cane defense with enough talent to rank in the top 30 of the nation.


THE SCHEDULE:

Aug. 28 Charleston Southern
Sept. 6 at Florida
Sept. 20 at Texas A&M
Sept. 27 North Carolina
Oct. 4 Florida State
Oct. 11 UCF
Oct. 18 at Duke
Oct. 25 Wake Forest
Nov. 1 at Virginia
Nov. 13 Virginia Tech
Nov. 20 at Georgia Tech
Nov. 29 at NC State

There have been harder schedules. Whichever QB gets the nod (most likely Marve), he'll be able to get his feet wet against Charleston Southern before the Florida rivalry is renewed. They also have to face Texas A&M on a revenge trip for the Aggies at Kyle Field. Even though there are more than a few winnable games, it'll be difficult to get to eight victories with this.

Don't Even Think About It:
Ehhhhh.....Maybe....: @ Florida, Virginia Tech
Good/Probable Shot At It: Charleston Southern, @ Texas A&M, North Carolina, Florida State, UCF, @ Duke, Wake Forest, @ Virginia, @ GT, @ NC State


THE OUTLOOK: Miami plays a lot of tossups this year and, come on, they are rebuilding after all. I think many prognosticators get caught up in the name brand of Miami when they project Gator Bowls and whatnot, and I'll try to avoid that this year. Yes, there's talent, but this staff is still getting the hang of things and the players, for one reason or another, aren't playing up to whatever Scout or Rivals thinks of them. There's definitely a problem going on for them and Florida State, but maybe Shannon does have this previously sinking ship heading in the right direction. Don't expect big things from this team on the rebound, but look for them to be a solid all-around football team and wind up in a decent bowl game.


BOWL GAME?: Music City Bowl









UCF Knights



George O'Leary proves us wrong once again! A lot of pundits may have had UCF in a bowl game, but a C-USA title game surprised many of people. Now, there's sort of a rebuilding going on in Orlando, but the hopes are that this team will fill the few gaps and be back to competing for a C-USA title right away. Will they?


THE OFFENSE: Even though there's a hole at QB too, RB is the position where most will have their eye on. Kevin Smith, who had one of the best seasons in NCAA history, is gone and that production will be sorely missed. Hoping to step in for the departured Smith is Phillip Smith who had 4 TDs and 4.7 yards a touch. He's a solid back who won't let the position go easily, but James Jamison and Ronnie Weaver will have their say. At QB, Kyle Israel could have been waaaaaay more productive considering the kind of protection he got from the running game, but he did rank 57th in passing efficiency and sometimes got unfairly hammered. Mike Greco appears to be the heir to the starting QB job and he's probably the best bet on the team. Kamar Aiken could further Greco's development early if he can build upon his decent 2007 performance. Aiken, a freshman last year, will team up with Rocky Ross in what should be one of the top receiver tandems in C-USA. Now, if that will be put to use is a different story. The offensive line has gone through some shuffling and Jah Reid figures to improve upon his all-Freshman C-USA nomination of last year. Patrick Brown is most likely the best offensive lineman, but the OG spots haven't been solidified.


THE DEFENSE: The defense gets nine guys back and should get better from last year's so-so performance. As a unit, they ranked 49th in the nation in total defense, but they did throw in a few WTF defensive efforts: Texas (I didn't think the defense played good, but I guess they are Texas), ECU, USF, and UAB. The pass defense did an okay job last season ranking 69th. Most offenses should begin to shy away from the CBs with Johnell Neal and Joe Burnett locking down the number one and two receivers. Sha'reff Rashad also comes back at strong safety and should be in for yet another productive season. The LBs were a pleasant surprise this spring with a number of guys stepping up to the plate. Of course, Derrick Hallman and Corey Hogue are the best of the bunch, but the backups really did their part to build depth. Leger Douzable and Emeka Okammor will be missing from the defensive line, but converted LB David Williams should contribute to a defensive line that needed somebody to come up big with those losses.


THE SCHEDULE:

Aug. 30 South Carolina State
Sept. 6 South Florida
Sept. 20 at Boston College
Sept. 27 at UTEP
Oct. 4 Southern Methodist
Oct. 11 at Miami
Oct. 26 at Tulsa
Nov. 2 East Carolina
Nov. 8 Southern Miss
Nov. 15 at Marshall
Nov. 22 at Memphis
Nov. 29 UAB

The bottom of C-USA East should be easy pickin's, but beyond that, this is actually kind of hard. Not to the naked eye, but if you look closer, UTEP still has a potent offense and should be at least average in C-USA play, SMU will undoubtedly get better and contend for a bowl game, and Tulsa is of course the defending C-USA West champions. So the draw from the West is tough, but at least they do get ECU and Southern Miss at home. The OOC sports Miami and Boston College on the road, two tough games. Not to mention the rivalry game against USF.....

Don't Even Think About It:
Ehhhhh.....Maybe....: USF, @ Boston College, @ Miami
Good/Probable Shot At It: SCSU, @ UTEP, SMU, @ Tulsa, ECU, Southern Miss, @ Marshall, @ Memphis, UAB


THE OUTLOOK: UCF will compete once again for the C-USA East title. They have enough talent across the board and George O'Leary is really good at getting the best out of his players. The offense will develop over time because the pieces are in place, but the loss of Kevin Smith really takes this team from being defending C-USA champions to getting lost in the crowd of teams trying to win it this year. It's possible, but look for the Knights to finish at 6-6 with the hard non-conference schedule and go to a middle-tier C-USA bowl game.


BOWL GAME?: St. Petersburg Bowl