Over the last three years Miami has only won 9 of 16 games after their annual matchup against FSU, and has stumbled out of the ACC coastal division race in each season.
It became a calling card of the Al Golden era, and by the time he was dismissed, the head coach had a combined 17-18 record in the ACC. Conference play has simply been a disaster for Miami in the past couple of years, and the ‘Canes have repeatedly faltered down the stretch of the schedule.
Last night Miami fans felt like they were watching a familiar movie from that era, one in which a Miami lead was blown in the second half. Brad Kaaya and the offense looked to have saved things with a touchdown on fourth down, but after a blocked field goal, Miami found themselves in the locker room with a 1 point defeat.
After the game; however, showed a different attitude by making it clear there was little room for pouting from the Hurricanes.
“We lost … we got to keep moving,” senior wide receiver Stacy Coley said postgame. “It’s tough but we got another game coming up Saturday so we got to get past that and keep moving.”
Coley reeled in both of Miami’s touchdowns Saturday night, but made it clear while speaking to the media that it didn’t matter since they lost the game. Coley has had to deal with an FSU loss consistently throughout his career, and has seen Miami falter later in the season throughout the conference schedule.
Senior safety Rayshawn Jenkins has also experienced defeat in every season of his tenure, but made it clear Miami’s mindset needs to shift.
“We still got something to play for,” Jenkins said. “We can feel bad about this for 24 hours but we got to go back to work tomorrow.”
Miami’s season will be on the line in the next couple weeks, with the heart of ACC play continuing. The loss to Florida State leaves no margin for error moving forward, and if the ‘Canes lose another game in the ACC their coastal championship hopes will most likely go down the drain.
Miami’s next two games are against the division’s two greatest powerhouses, North Carolina and Virginia Tech, and both teams have delivered statement victories already. North Carolina beat FSU last weekend, and Virginia Tech pounded the Tar Heels on the road 34-3. Both team’s quarterbacks, Jerod Evans and Mitch Trubisky, are top 5 in the ACC in quarterback rating, and have already passed for over 1000 yards.
If the Hurricanes can pick up a win against UNC next week at home, it would set up primetime showdown versus VT with major division implications.
The season will be on the line during the next couple weeks for Miami, and if the ‘Canes want to prove times have changed, they will show no let-up moving forward.
