THE DOWNLO w/MIDLO. Canes & college football stuff. 11/12/23

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Happy Friday, ya’ll!!!!!!
 
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▪ Who would advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference title game Dec. 19 in Charlotte if Miami and Notre Dame finish tied for second in the league — a very realistic scenario? It looks like a computer will get the last word. And fans of both the Hurricanes and Fighting Irish won’t be given any insight into why one team is chosen over the other.

If unbeaten Clemson and UM win out — and if Notre Dame loses to Clemson on Saturday in South Bend, Indiana, but wins every other conference game — then Clemson would finish first and UM and Notre Dame would be tied for second with one conference loss each. (No other team would have fewer than two conference losses in this specific scenario.) The ACC’s first tiebreaker would be head-to-head, but UM and Notre Dame don’t play.

The second through fourth tiebreakers — which we list here — would settle nothing if this exact scenario plays out, meaning the fifth tiebreaker would resolve the tie, the ACC’s chief spokesperson confirmed to me.

That fifth tiebreaker is: Which of the tied teams has a higher ranking from the Team Rating Score metric provided by SportSource Analytics following the conclusion of regular-season games. (This is not the same ranking system used by the College Football Playoff.)

Officials with the ACC and with the Atlanta-based SportsSource Analytics declined to disclose the criteria that the company considers in ranking teams and which criteria carry the most weight in its formula. SportsSource Analytics also declined to reveal its current ranking of ACC teams, saying it’s proprietary information.

So basically, the company’s formula is as closely guarded as the ingredients in Kentucky Fried Chicken’s original recipe batter.

And that means that the team that loses the fifth tiebreaker would be compelled to accept the results without being given any explanation for how those results were formulated.

And what if UM and Notre Dame somehow end up with identical rankings in that fifth tiebreaker? Then a drawing will be conducted by ACC commissioner John Swofford or commissioner’s designee. That’s the sixth and final tiebreaker.

Incidentally, Clemson is a six-point favorite in Saturday’s game at Notre Dame even though the Tigers will be without quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who is out after contracting COVID-19.

▪ Dee Wiggins has been the most disappointing of UM’s veteran receivers, and receivers coach Rob Likens acknowledged that “Dee had been struggling coming down with some contested catches. I challenged him with that, the room with that. You have to attack the ball when it’s in the air.”

Likens said coming down with contested balls “is a mindset. You walk across that white stripe, you can be the nicest guy in the world but you better put your hat on backwards, your hard hat and `I’d rather die than let that ball hit the ground or me not catch it.’ “You can develop that mindset. Our call for the wide receivers is ‘DBS’ — `Don’t Be Soft.’ The ball is in the air - go get it!”

What UM receiver is best at doing that? “I don’t think we’ve been great at it in practice, and that’s filtered into games,” Likens said. “The last two weeks we’ve made plays in practice. I’d love to point somebody out, but I can’t do that right now.”

But here’s the positive with Wiggins: “I’ve been watching Dee and he runs overall consistently,” Likens said. “Dee has been running the best routes, most consistent routes out of everybody up to this point.”

▪ Likens on freshman receiver Keyshawn Smith, who has two receptions for 58 yards this season: “I think he’s one of our faster guys. Everybody knows that. If you want to know who the fastest DB is ask a receiver, the fastest receiver, ask a DB. Keyshawn can run, get behind people.

“I see an extremely bright future for him. He is a freshman, and this happens to a lot of freshmen: He has to learn to process all the information, and he’s doing a better job of that. Once he becomes just assignment sound then you’re going to see him take off as a player.”

Likens said of freshman Dazalin Worsham, who has no receptions and has played sparingly: “You never know [if he’ll play in], 2020 right? I’m very, very excited about Daz and I tell him that every day. I tell him `You’re going to be a really good player.’ Daz needs to get a little stronger in the weight room.

“As a coach you can’t get [everybody in the game when you have nine on scholarship]. He is coming off an injury in high school. He’s giving effort every day. I can’t tell if we’ll see him in a game. If no one gets hurt and things stay the way they are, probably not.”

▪ Safeties coach Ephraim Banda assessed where his four freshmen safeties stand:

On Brian Balom, who has missed the past week for a reason related to COVID-19: “Brian has done a really good job of preparing every week. The times he’s gotten in games he’s made freshman mistakes, which we all knew he’d make, but he runs and tackles which for us is a big thing.The problem with playing freshmen is they’re going to make freshmen mistakes. He’s been extremely good on special teams.”

On Jalen Harrell, who played some against Virginia with UM short-handed at safety: “I said `Your chance is going to come, stay locked in, urgent.’ He was going to play a lot on special teams, then all of a sudden is playing defense. He didn’t do what he was supposed to do exactly right, but when it was time to run and hit he made a couple of tackles.”

On Keshawn Washington, who’s deep on the depth chart at UM’s deepest position: “Keshawn has done an excellent job of staying locked in. Keshawn has been locked in with the game plan, practicing hard, looking for opportunities on special teams.”

Avantae Williams, considered the nation’s top safety prospect in the 2020 class, is missing the season with an undisclosed medical issue, but Manny Diaz has said he’s expected to play next season and Banda said Williams’ “attitude off the field has been really good. He’s staying engaged.”
 
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Things could change, but our strength of schedule is stronger than NDs at this point. Their non conference game was against a 1-5 USF. Ours was against UAB who is not great at 4-3, but better the USF. ND also drew Duke as a conference game, which is 2-5 at this time. We don't play Duke, instead we play a 4-2 NC State team. We have the edge I would think based on the computers. Now, we need to start racking up points bc I am sure the computers will take into account margin of victory as one of the computing factors.
 
Things could change, but our strength of schedule is stronger than NDs at this point. Their non conference game was against a 1-5 USF. Ours was against UAB who is not great at 4-3, but better the USF. ND also drew Duke as a conference game, which is 2-5 at this time. We don't play Duke, instead we play a 4-2 NC State team. We have the edge I would think based on the computers. Now, we need to start racking up points bc I am sure the computers will take into account margin of victory as one of the computing factors.
Maybe. But hidden secret recipes are like that for a reason. They're going to select the team that is most expedient.
 
Things could change, but our strength of schedule is stronger than NDs at this point. Their non conference game was against a 1-5 USF. Ours was against UAB who is not great at 4-3, but better the USF. ND also drew Duke as a conference game, which is 2-5 at this time. We don't play Duke, instead we play a 4-2 NC State team. We have the edge I would think based on the computers. Now, we need to start racking up points bc I am sure the computers will take into account margin of victory as one of the computing factors.
The computers will take into account that the ACC is hanging on lames nut hairs and will ***** us if it came to that
 
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A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Wednesday:

▪ The player nicknamed “Rooster” appears poised to take on a larger role, at least on special teams.

Special teams coach Jon Patke, appearing on WQAM’s Hurricane Hotline, made clear that he wants to incorporate freshman running back Jaylon Knighton on kickoff returns, even though Mark Pope remains listed with the first team in this week’s depth chart.

“We really want Jaylon Knighton back there,” Patke said. “Obviously, he muffed the one, his first live kick. No panic from us. We trust him. We know how electric he is. That’s the guy we want. But we know Mark Pope can do it. Mike Harley calms down Jaylon back there, making sure he fields it cleanly. One thing we’re missing on the return units is that explosive return.”

Receiver Xavier Restrepo, another freshman, already has moved ahead of Pope on the depth chart on punt returns.

Restrepo missed the Virginia game for reasons related to COVID-19, and a bunch of freshmen have been in quarantine. It’s unclear how many freshmen - and others - will not travel with the team to Raleigh on Thursday; UM is closely guarding that information for competitive and other reasons.

▪ Patke - who coaches the strikers and special teams - said Gilbert Frierson is “constantly in the office looking at the film. The thing I’m most proud of is the way he’s tackling and getting to the ball, his physicality.

“Gilbert is a student of the game, can line up the entire defense. He understands the weakness of every coverage. His weakness coming into the season was physicality at the point of attack. We challenged him and [he responded].”

Patke said Frierson’s backup, Keontra Smith, “is a physical player. We’re amazed by his foot speed.”

▪ Hurricanes football recruiting director David Cooney believes the hiring of Rhett Lashlee as offensive coordinator and the move to a spread offense is helping recruiting.

“You can see it now with this current class,” Cooney said on WQAM’s Hurricane Hotline. “Those kids are seeing the same style of football that they’ve grown accustomed to seeing on the Pop Warner levels, the high school levels down here. You know a lot of guys are kind of in that Air Raid philosophy down here in Miami and on through the Palm Beach and Broward areas, so it’s natural that they want to be a part of it.

“Just seeing all the success [we’re having] allowing our athletes to get the ball in their hands quick and play in space is very, very appealing to the guys down in this area. So it’s natural that those guys want to be a part of it.”

UM has added several highly-skilled offensive players since Lashlee’s hiring, including Miami Northwestern receiver Romello Brinson, Miami Palmetto receiver Brashard Smith, Plantation receiver Jacolby George and Texas-based tight end Elijah Arroyo.

▪ The NCAA hasn’t permitted coaches to visit in person with recruits - or recruits to visit campuses for official visits - since the pandemic changed American life in March. How has that impacted UM?

“A lot of Zooms,” Cooney told Joe Zagacki and Don Bailey Jr. “A lot of FaceTimes and phone calls. We’re just trying to find different, creative ways to get families to see what we get to be a part of every day.

“Our coaches, they get on FaceTimes and Zooms. They’re able to meet the families. Coach Lashlee will treat your kid like he treats his kids. You know Coach Lashlee got down here and made a TikTok video and put it on Twitter and that’s really who he is. Coach [Blake] Baker and coach [Ephraim] Banda, coach [Stephen] Field, those guys are just naturally genuine people so it oozes off of them.”

▪Baker said Jalen Harrell could become a striker eventually but will stay at safety for now.

“Jalen is a confident young man,” Baker said. “The one thing about Jalen that we do know is he will come downhill and he will tackle. He is physical at the point of attack.”

▪ D’Eriq King has rushed for 301 yards on 67 carries (a 4.5 average), but Lashlee said there might be more opportunities for him to run.

“With him, he’s good for two to four times on a dropback pass to takeoff and do something he normally does,” Lashlee said.

“It’s not like we’re calling more quarterback runs than regular runs. He’s running the ball fine. The zone read is a unique situation because you kind of got to take what the defense gives you. And every defense we play is not stupid. They want him to hand the football [to a running back]. There was one time [against Virginia], maybe two but definitely one, late in the game, that he could have pulled it and put extra pressure on the defense.”

Lashlee said “zone read is something he hadn’t done in the past much, believe it or not. He didn’t do it a lot in Houston, didn’t do a lot in high school. So I think he’s getting a feel for it. But most of the time they’re making him hand off the football, and that’s smart for defenses.”
 
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A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Wednesday:

▪ The player nicknamed “Rooster” appears poised to take on a larger role, at least on special teams.

Special teams coach Jon Patke, appearing on WQAM’s Hurricane Hotline, made clear that he wants to incorporate freshman running back Jaylon Knighton on kickoff returns, even though Mark Pope remains listed with the first team in this week’s depth chart.

“We really want Jaylon Knighton back there,” Patke said. “Obviously, he muffed the one, his first live kick. No panic from us. We trust him. We know how electric he is. That’s the guy we want. But we know Mark Pope can do it. Mike Harley calms down Jaylon back there, making sure he fields it cleanly. One thing we’re missing on the return units is that explosive return.”

Receiver Xavier Restrepo, another freshman, already has moved ahead of Pope on the depth chart on punt returns.

Restrepo missed the Virginia game for reasons related to COVID-19, and a bunch of freshmen have been in quarantine. It’s unclear how many freshmen - and others - will not travel with the team to Raleigh on Thursday; UM is closely guarding that information for competitive and other reasons.

▪ Patke - who coaches the strikers and special teams - said Gilbert Frierson is “constantly in the office looking at the film. The thing I’m most proud of is the way he’s tackling and getting to the ball, his physicality.

“Gilbert is a student of the game, can line up the entire defense. He understands the weakness of every coverage. His weakness coming into the season was physicality at the point of attack. We challenged him and [he responded].”

Patke said Frierson’s backup, Keontra Smith, “is a physical player. We’re amazed by his foot speed.”

▪ Hurricanes football recruiting director David Cooney believes the hiring of Rhett Lashlee as offensive coordinator and the move to a spread offense is helping recruiting.

“You can see it now with this current class,” Cooney said on WQAM’s Hurricane Hotline. “Those kids are seeing the same style of football that they’ve grown accustomed to seeing on the Pop Warner levels, the high school levels down here. You know a lot of guys are kind of in that Air Raid philosophy down here in Miami and on through the Palm Beach and Broward areas, so it’s natural that they want to be a part of it.

“Just seeing all the success [we’re having] allowing our athletes to get the ball in their hands quick and play in space is very, very appealing to the guys down in this area. So it’s natural that those guys want to be a part of it.”

UM has added several highly-skilled offensive players since Lashlee’s hiring, including Miami Northwestern receiver Romello Brinson, Miami Palmetto receiver Brashard Smith, Plantation receiver Jacolby George and Texas-based tight end Elijah Arroyo.

▪ The NCAA hasn’t permitted coaches to visit in person with recruits - or recruits to visit campuses for official visits - since the pandemic changed American life in March. How has that impacted UM?

“A lot of Zooms,” Cooney told Joe Zagacki and Don Bailey Jr. “A lot of FaceTimes and phone calls. We’re just trying to find different, creative ways to get families to see what we get to be a part of every day.

“Our coaches, they get on FaceTimes and Zooms. They’re able to meet the families. Coach Lashlee will treat your kid like he treats his kids. You know Coach Lashlee got down here and made a TikTok video and put it on Twitter and that’s really who he is. Coach [Blake] Baker and coach [Ephraim] Banda, coach [Stephen] Field, those guys are just naturally genuine people so it oozes off of them.”

▪Baker said Jalen Harrell could become a striker eventually but will stay at safety for now.

“Jalen is a confident young man,” Baker said. “The one thing about Jalen that we do know is he will come downhill and he will tackle. He is physical at the point of attack.”

▪ D’Eriq King has rushed for 301 yards on 67 carries (a 4.5 average), but Lashlee said there might be more opportunities for him to run.

“With him, he’s good for two to four times on a dropback pass to takeoff and do something he normally does,” Lashlee said.

“It’s not like we’re calling more quarterback runs than regular runs. He’s running the ball fine. The zone read is a unique situation because you kind of got to take what the defense gives you. And every defense we play is not stupid. They want him to hand the football [to a running back]. There was one time [against Virginia], maybe two but definitely one, late in the game, that he could have pulled it and put extra pressure on the defense.”

Lashlee said “zone read is something he hadn’t done in the past much, believe it or not. He didn’t do it a lot in Houston, didn’t do a lot in high school. So I think he’s getting a feel for it. But most of the time they’re making him hand off the football, and that’s smart for defenses.”
I like it. The young ones are going to eat.
 
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