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Sitting at 5-1, the Canes are looking at a closing stretch of five games that could put them anywhere from getting a shot at revenge against Clemson in the ACC title game to the same spot that Miami ended up last year. Based on the banter here on CIS, the twitter, and all of the UM podcasts, fans seem to be split on a number of topics about where the team has been this year and where they are headed, so we made up this survey for the people. The results are based on 321 responses from Canes fans from all over the world (or at least the internet).
Rate Rhett Lashlee’s offense as a whole
Winner: 4/5 (49.4%)
Nearly half of respondents went with a 4, with another 44% opting for the three. Only 9 people went any below that, even with some frustrations lately with consistency. This poll seems to indicate that fans are pretty happy, or at least content with Lashlee so far, though there isn’t the universal love that he was seeing after FSU.
Who is your Offensive MVP?
Winner: D’Eriq King 281 votes
King was the runaway winner here, beating the second place vote getter by 274 (Brevin Jordan got 7 votes). King hasn’t been perfect, but after seeing the QB play last year, fans seem to appreciate what it’s like to have a legitimate leader at the position. Brevin and Cam Harris (5 votes) were 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Rate Blake Baker’s defense as a whole
Winner: 3/5 (48.1%)
Based on what you see on twitter, this vote is probably going to be surprising for some, though the fairly even split between 2 (61 votes) and 4 (88 votes) isn’t too shocking. The fact that the defense has held its own against teams who have put up big points on other ACC defenses has no doubt helped boost perception of Baker’s defense.
Who is your Defensive MVP?
Winner: Bubba Bolden 235 votes
There’s no question that safety has always been one of the marquee spots on the great Cane defenses, and though this D isn’t on that list, we definitely have a safety that qualifies as a legitimate playmaker. Bolden’s explosiveness and fire has led to some major plays in big spots, and he’s elevated the play of the whole secondary since he’s seen major minutes. Roche (27 votes) and Phillips (17) votes very appropriately slotted in at 2 and 3 after holding down the edges of the first level of the D.
Rate D’Eriq King’s performance
Winner: 4/5 (69.7%)
King had a handful of votes in the 3 category and the 5 category, but for the mist part, people all followed for by matching the 4 for Lashlee with the 4 for King. I don’t think anyone believes that we’ve reached the peak potential for the offense, which gives King room to develop, but at the same time it’s hard to be at all upset with King’s play.
Who should be the first off the bench at QB?
Winner: Tyler Van Dyke (60.6%)
This number was basically reversed early on, but a big push from TVD fans pushed him well into the lead for the job in case anything were to happen to D’Eriq King. Kosi’s lack of comfort in the offense (as seen in his garbage time play) was likely the main concern for TVD voters after 5 had much of the support pre-season.
Rate the running backs performance
Winner: 3/5 (51.1%)
Over 90% of the vote was present in the people who rated the backs a 3 or a 4, implying there isn’t any overwhelmingly negative (or positive) opinions on the RB committee. Had this vote taken place earlier in the season, there would have likely been more 5 votes before the relative disappearance of Cam Harris.
Who WILL BE the best RB the rest of the season?
Winner: Don Chaney (52.8%)
Over half of the respondents picked Chaney as the guy moving forward, which is no surprise to those of us who started following his career when he burst onto the scene as an 8th grader. Cam still had a solid showing of support, but there are definitely tempered expectations for Knighton, who only received 11.2%.
Rate the wide receivers' performance
Winner: 2/5 (50.3%)
Nearly 80% of responses pegged the WR room as a 2/5 or worse, which is expected after the all angle assault fans have thrown at the pass-catchers for UM this season so far. Outside of one great showing by Mike Harley and a few moments of glory from Mark Pope, the receiver room has been disappointing. The fact that they had five 4 votes is the most surprising thing here.
Who should be the THREE STARTING WR the rest of the season? (Pick 3)
Winners (fans pick 3): Mike Harley (87.1%), Keyshawn Smith (55.8%), and Mark Pope (49.2%)
Despite all of the heat they’ve taken, the only change to the starting crew that fans seem to be in favor of is dropping Wiggins for Smith, another deep ball receiver. That said, Wiggins also fell below Redding (41.7%) and Payton (28.8%), which says a lot about fans’ faith in him becoming the player we hoped he’d be before the year started.
Rate the Tight Ends’ performance
Winner: 4/5 (55.9%)
The only thing keeping this position group from being a 5 is probably the health of Brevin Jordan (who received a bunch of “If he stayed healthy, he’d be the OMVP” comments). Jordan has been excellent in his time out there, and Mallory has stepped up whenever his number has been called, though it hasn’t been as much as some would like.
Rate Offensive Tackles’ performance
Winner: 3/5 (57.9%)
This is as close to a bell curve as we’ve seen in the results, with most placing their vote right in the middle and some even electing to go for the extremes of 5 (4 votes) and 1 (8 votes). The reality is that it’s been an up and down year for all three key players, leaving the popular opinion dead in the middle.
Which OT pairing do you think would be the best?
Winner: LT Zion Nelson and RT Jarrid Williams (61.8%)
The Zion/Williams pairing received an overwhelming majority of the five options presented, with Williams being selected as the RT in a pairing by nearly 90% of all responses. Zion’s approval rating was also very high, with him being selected on 70% of all pairings. While Campbell was chosen just 33% of the time overall, there is the possibility of a move inside that intrigues people.
Rate the Interior OL’s performance
Winner: 3/5 (42.9%)
The vote was one of the closest we saw, with 3 just edging out 2 by 14 votes. Over 90% of responders had the OL performance as 3 or below, and nearly 50% had it at 2 or below. It’s pretty clear that fans aren’t as split by the interior OL performance, especially after seeing some of the guys just physically look overmatched at times this year.
Who should play Left Guard?
Winner: Jakai Clark (43.8%)
Clark won the poll by just 1.3% over John Campbell, who hasn’t played at all this year on the inside. Combine that with Campbell’s moderate support in the OT poll and it’s clear that people want to see 74 on the field, but they aren’t sure where he fits best. It also means that over 50% of fans would prefer a non-Clark option at LG.
Rate the Defensive Ends’ performance
Winner: 4/5 (55.2%)
All but one voter rated the DEs as a 3 or better, with 4 and 5 votes being made at a 82% clip. Considering the position group lost a top ten NFL Draft pick, it says a lot about Todd Stroud and his crew of edge players. Even the reserves are getting into it, though it’s clear that the starters really stir the drink here.
Who is better (Roche or Phillips)?
Winner: Quincy Roche (61%)
Honestly, it’s hard to go wrong here. The vote would probably be different depending on which game was the most recent, but fans opted for Roche, the more natural passrusher, over the steady, edge holding Phillips.
Rate the Defensive Tackles’ performance
Winner: 4/5 (55.2%)
The optimism for the end spot is reflected at DTackle, where Miami has been very solid throughout the season. Nesta finally emerging as a force on the interior (though not how we expected originally) has been the catalyst for a lot of what the defense has done up front.
What should be the starting DT next to Nesta?
Winner: Jared Harrison-Hunte (76.1%)
Harrison-Hunte showing the talent of a potentially elite player has boosted the position significantly. A lot of fans expected Miller and Ford to be more of the space eating types next to Nesta, but 1 showing out as the physical presence has allowed the slashing JHH to take a prominent spot as a passrusher on the interior.
Rate the Linebackers’ performance (including striker)
Winner: 2/5 (40.9%)
People have been really negative about the play of the linebackers so far, there’s no question about it. Most of the votes over 2 are likely because we included strikers in here (as they fit the SAM LB role) and Gil Frierson has been tremendous. The rest of them? Eh, the voting says it all.
Who should be starting at LB? (Pick 2)
Winner: Sam Brooks (82.6%) and Corey Flagg (62%)
No surprise here that fans seem unanimous that the young guys should be seeing the majority of snaps with the 1s. Brooks and Flagg have been better across the board than the older group. Funny is that a guy who has never played LB (Carter) had nearly as many votes as McCloud and Jennings.
Rate the Cornerbacks’ performance
Winner: 3/5 (50.8%)
Outside of the early season errors, Blades, Ivey, and Couch have all played well, though not spectacularly so, which is reflected in the near 90% of responses that peg the group as either a 3 or a 4.
Who has been the best CB so far?
Winner: Al Blades (65.8%)
While Ivey and Couch have had a few noticeable lapses, Al has been very consistent throughout the season. While the talk of him going pro seems (very) premature, he’s becoming a very strong player at the position.
Rate the Safeties’ performance
Winner: 4/5 (60.9%)
There’s no doubt the 4s and 5s (82% combined) are due to Bubba, who is flanked by a supporting cast that just needs to avoid making critical errors. Gurvan has played well next to Bubba, though Carter has had more targeting calls against him than plays made. Brian Balom has also played well for a true freshman in spot duty.
Who is the best Safety on the team?
Winner: Bubba Bolden (100.0%)
On a complete accident, we made Bubba all three options. It was a great shame and we deeply regret it, but we have decided to accept the result of the poll and declare Bubba the unanimous winner. If anyone would have voted against him we would have just thrown your survey out anyway.
Miami has 5 regular season games left (NCSU, VTech, GTech, Wake, UNC), how many do they win?
Winner: 5 wins (40.6%)
Nearly 80% of fans expect at least four out of five games to end up in the win column for the Canes. With a few tough games and a big season ender vs UNC on the docket, Miami needs to be a whole different team than what we saw at the end of 2019 to pull that off.
Does Miami make the ACC Title game?
Winner: No (66.4%)
Even though most fans expect at least a 9-2 record, not many think we’re going to make the ACC title game (mostly thanks to what we expect to see from Notre Dame). It would take the Irish losing a game they aren’t expected to lose to give Miami their best shot at a rematch.
Would you rather make the ACC title game and play Clemson again or not make the ACC title game?
Winner: Bring on Clemson (81.3%)
The good guy won here, with most fans loving the idea of another shot to knock off the Tigers. Still, nearly 20% of fans going against the norm and preferring to not get that extra notch in the L column is interesting.
Rate Rhett Lashlee’s offense as a whole
Winner: 4/5 (49.4%)
Nearly half of respondents went with a 4, with another 44% opting for the three. Only 9 people went any below that, even with some frustrations lately with consistency. This poll seems to indicate that fans are pretty happy, or at least content with Lashlee so far, though there isn’t the universal love that he was seeing after FSU.
Who is your Offensive MVP?
Winner: D’Eriq King 281 votes
King was the runaway winner here, beating the second place vote getter by 274 (Brevin Jordan got 7 votes). King hasn’t been perfect, but after seeing the QB play last year, fans seem to appreciate what it’s like to have a legitimate leader at the position. Brevin and Cam Harris (5 votes) were 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Rate Blake Baker’s defense as a whole
Winner: 3/5 (48.1%)
Based on what you see on twitter, this vote is probably going to be surprising for some, though the fairly even split between 2 (61 votes) and 4 (88 votes) isn’t too shocking. The fact that the defense has held its own against teams who have put up big points on other ACC defenses has no doubt helped boost perception of Baker’s defense.
Who is your Defensive MVP?
Winner: Bubba Bolden 235 votes
There’s no question that safety has always been one of the marquee spots on the great Cane defenses, and though this D isn’t on that list, we definitely have a safety that qualifies as a legitimate playmaker. Bolden’s explosiveness and fire has led to some major plays in big spots, and he’s elevated the play of the whole secondary since he’s seen major minutes. Roche (27 votes) and Phillips (17) votes very appropriately slotted in at 2 and 3 after holding down the edges of the first level of the D.
Rate D’Eriq King’s performance
Winner: 4/5 (69.7%)
King had a handful of votes in the 3 category and the 5 category, but for the mist part, people all followed for by matching the 4 for Lashlee with the 4 for King. I don’t think anyone believes that we’ve reached the peak potential for the offense, which gives King room to develop, but at the same time it’s hard to be at all upset with King’s play.
Who should be the first off the bench at QB?
Winner: Tyler Van Dyke (60.6%)
This number was basically reversed early on, but a big push from TVD fans pushed him well into the lead for the job in case anything were to happen to D’Eriq King. Kosi’s lack of comfort in the offense (as seen in his garbage time play) was likely the main concern for TVD voters after 5 had much of the support pre-season.
Rate the running backs performance
Winner: 3/5 (51.1%)
Over 90% of the vote was present in the people who rated the backs a 3 or a 4, implying there isn’t any overwhelmingly negative (or positive) opinions on the RB committee. Had this vote taken place earlier in the season, there would have likely been more 5 votes before the relative disappearance of Cam Harris.
Who WILL BE the best RB the rest of the season?
Winner: Don Chaney (52.8%)
Over half of the respondents picked Chaney as the guy moving forward, which is no surprise to those of us who started following his career when he burst onto the scene as an 8th grader. Cam still had a solid showing of support, but there are definitely tempered expectations for Knighton, who only received 11.2%.
Rate the wide receivers' performance
Winner: 2/5 (50.3%)
Nearly 80% of responses pegged the WR room as a 2/5 or worse, which is expected after the all angle assault fans have thrown at the pass-catchers for UM this season so far. Outside of one great showing by Mike Harley and a few moments of glory from Mark Pope, the receiver room has been disappointing. The fact that they had five 4 votes is the most surprising thing here.
Who should be the THREE STARTING WR the rest of the season? (Pick 3)
Winners (fans pick 3): Mike Harley (87.1%), Keyshawn Smith (55.8%), and Mark Pope (49.2%)
Despite all of the heat they’ve taken, the only change to the starting crew that fans seem to be in favor of is dropping Wiggins for Smith, another deep ball receiver. That said, Wiggins also fell below Redding (41.7%) and Payton (28.8%), which says a lot about fans’ faith in him becoming the player we hoped he’d be before the year started.
Rate the Tight Ends’ performance
Winner: 4/5 (55.9%)
The only thing keeping this position group from being a 5 is probably the health of Brevin Jordan (who received a bunch of “If he stayed healthy, he’d be the OMVP” comments). Jordan has been excellent in his time out there, and Mallory has stepped up whenever his number has been called, though it hasn’t been as much as some would like.
Rate Offensive Tackles’ performance
Winner: 3/5 (57.9%)
This is as close to a bell curve as we’ve seen in the results, with most placing their vote right in the middle and some even electing to go for the extremes of 5 (4 votes) and 1 (8 votes). The reality is that it’s been an up and down year for all three key players, leaving the popular opinion dead in the middle.
Which OT pairing do you think would be the best?
Winner: LT Zion Nelson and RT Jarrid Williams (61.8%)
The Zion/Williams pairing received an overwhelming majority of the five options presented, with Williams being selected as the RT in a pairing by nearly 90% of all responses. Zion’s approval rating was also very high, with him being selected on 70% of all pairings. While Campbell was chosen just 33% of the time overall, there is the possibility of a move inside that intrigues people.
Rate the Interior OL’s performance
Winner: 3/5 (42.9%)
The vote was one of the closest we saw, with 3 just edging out 2 by 14 votes. Over 90% of responders had the OL performance as 3 or below, and nearly 50% had it at 2 or below. It’s pretty clear that fans aren’t as split by the interior OL performance, especially after seeing some of the guys just physically look overmatched at times this year.
Who should play Left Guard?
Winner: Jakai Clark (43.8%)
Clark won the poll by just 1.3% over John Campbell, who hasn’t played at all this year on the inside. Combine that with Campbell’s moderate support in the OT poll and it’s clear that people want to see 74 on the field, but they aren’t sure where he fits best. It also means that over 50% of fans would prefer a non-Clark option at LG.
Rate the Defensive Ends’ performance
Winner: 4/5 (55.2%)
All but one voter rated the DEs as a 3 or better, with 4 and 5 votes being made at a 82% clip. Considering the position group lost a top ten NFL Draft pick, it says a lot about Todd Stroud and his crew of edge players. Even the reserves are getting into it, though it’s clear that the starters really stir the drink here.
Who is better (Roche or Phillips)?
Winner: Quincy Roche (61%)
Honestly, it’s hard to go wrong here. The vote would probably be different depending on which game was the most recent, but fans opted for Roche, the more natural passrusher, over the steady, edge holding Phillips.
Rate the Defensive Tackles’ performance
Winner: 4/5 (55.2%)
The optimism for the end spot is reflected at DTackle, where Miami has been very solid throughout the season. Nesta finally emerging as a force on the interior (though not how we expected originally) has been the catalyst for a lot of what the defense has done up front.
What should be the starting DT next to Nesta?
Winner: Jared Harrison-Hunte (76.1%)
Harrison-Hunte showing the talent of a potentially elite player has boosted the position significantly. A lot of fans expected Miller and Ford to be more of the space eating types next to Nesta, but 1 showing out as the physical presence has allowed the slashing JHH to take a prominent spot as a passrusher on the interior.
Rate the Linebackers’ performance (including striker)
Winner: 2/5 (40.9%)
People have been really negative about the play of the linebackers so far, there’s no question about it. Most of the votes over 2 are likely because we included strikers in here (as they fit the SAM LB role) and Gil Frierson has been tremendous. The rest of them? Eh, the voting says it all.
Who should be starting at LB? (Pick 2)
Winner: Sam Brooks (82.6%) and Corey Flagg (62%)
No surprise here that fans seem unanimous that the young guys should be seeing the majority of snaps with the 1s. Brooks and Flagg have been better across the board than the older group. Funny is that a guy who has never played LB (Carter) had nearly as many votes as McCloud and Jennings.
Rate the Cornerbacks’ performance
Winner: 3/5 (50.8%)
Outside of the early season errors, Blades, Ivey, and Couch have all played well, though not spectacularly so, which is reflected in the near 90% of responses that peg the group as either a 3 or a 4.
Who has been the best CB so far?
Winner: Al Blades (65.8%)
While Ivey and Couch have had a few noticeable lapses, Al has been very consistent throughout the season. While the talk of him going pro seems (very) premature, he’s becoming a very strong player at the position.
Rate the Safeties’ performance
Winner: 4/5 (60.9%)
There’s no doubt the 4s and 5s (82% combined) are due to Bubba, who is flanked by a supporting cast that just needs to avoid making critical errors. Gurvan has played well next to Bubba, though Carter has had more targeting calls against him than plays made. Brian Balom has also played well for a true freshman in spot duty.
Who is the best Safety on the team?
Winner: Bubba Bolden (100.0%)
On a complete accident, we made Bubba all three options. It was a great shame and we deeply regret it, but we have decided to accept the result of the poll and declare Bubba the unanimous winner. If anyone would have voted against him we would have just thrown your survey out anyway.
Miami has 5 regular season games left (NCSU, VTech, GTech, Wake, UNC), how many do they win?
Winner: 5 wins (40.6%)
Nearly 80% of fans expect at least four out of five games to end up in the win column for the Canes. With a few tough games and a big season ender vs UNC on the docket, Miami needs to be a whole different team than what we saw at the end of 2019 to pull that off.
Does Miami make the ACC Title game?
Winner: No (66.4%)
Even though most fans expect at least a 9-2 record, not many think we’re going to make the ACC title game (mostly thanks to what we expect to see from Notre Dame). It would take the Irish losing a game they aren’t expected to lose to give Miami their best shot at a rematch.
Would you rather make the ACC title game and play Clemson again or not make the ACC title game?
Winner: Bring on Clemson (81.3%)
The good guy won here, with most fans loving the idea of another shot to knock off the Tigers. Still, nearly 20% of fans going against the norm and preferring to not get that extra notch in the L column is interesting.
