Sunday, November 06, 2005
Canes end Hokies hopes of national championship
The Miami Hurricanes were 4-0 in games played as underdogs since coach Coker took over the job, going into saturday's primetime game. So there should have been some indication that the 'Canes could pull off another upset, yet the Hokies garnered more attention than they deserved-thanks to Quarterback Marcus Vick.
I must admit I'm a little biased, being a 'Canes fan, but I never thought that the Hokies stood a chance against the Miami defense. I couldn't imagine Vick gaining a lot of yards against the Miami defense, with the likes of Meriweather, Phillips, Mcintosh, Nanton and both Williames( Leon and Willie.) Finally Coker played Willie on defense in parts of the game and the redshirt freshman proved what I'd been expecting of him as the predator. Infact, everyone required to play well in the game, did so. More plays were called for Senorice Moss and Greg Olsen, the best receivers on the team, and they didn't disappoint. Even Kirby Freeman who I think may be a better quarterback, with his ability to run the ball and throw effortlessly, filled in nicely for Wright, who was knocked out in the second quarter.
The only disappointments for 'Canes are the losses of running back Tyrone Moss who had been having a career year until he sustained a sprained knee(it looked much worse than that) and punt returner/receiver/running back Devin Hester whose constant nagging injury seems to have aggravated.
I did notice that the ESPN analysts were a little biased toward the Hokies and didn't want to accept that Miami was totally dominating the Hokies. I mean, even after sacking and stripping the ball from Vick-who finished the game with six turnovers- one of the analysts(and I'm not sure who it was exactly) said at the beginning of the fourth quarter that the real Marcus Vick was about to emerge; as if he had been sleeping through the first three quarters. I should point out that, he threw for his second interception of the night, few minutes after the comment.
The Hokies' defense, which was supposed to be compared to that of the 'Canes could hardly contain the Miami offense. Give credit to Freeman and back up tailback Charlie Jones who filled in nicely for the injured players. Darnell Jenkins did not fill in as nicely for Hester, but he was consistent throughout the game, including as a receiver scoring a nine yard touchdown in the third quarter, and did not cough up the ball at any time. Infact, besides the lone interception by Wright in the fourth quarter( which receiver Moore could have prevented,) the 'Canes did not have any turnovers.
It wasn't until the end of the game that credit was fully given to the 'Canes for rendering Vick his worst game of his career (8-22 passes for 90 yards.) Not to put all the blame on the junior quarterback, he hardly had any open receiver to throw to the whole night as Miami's defense locked each of them down, one-on-one. At the end of the game, I wondered who should be giving the player of the game and maybe the game ball and I couldn't figure out one player on that team who wasn't deserving of both.
I must admit I'm a little biased, being a 'Canes fan, but I never thought that the Hokies stood a chance against the Miami defense. I couldn't imagine Vick gaining a lot of yards against the Miami defense, with the likes of Meriweather, Phillips, Mcintosh, Nanton and both Williames( Leon and Willie.) Finally Coker played Willie on defense in parts of the game and the redshirt freshman proved what I'd been expecting of him as the predator. Infact, everyone required to play well in the game, did so. More plays were called for Senorice Moss and Greg Olsen, the best receivers on the team, and they didn't disappoint. Even Kirby Freeman who I think may be a better quarterback, with his ability to run the ball and throw effortlessly, filled in nicely for Wright, who was knocked out in the second quarter.
The only disappointments for 'Canes are the losses of running back Tyrone Moss who had been having a career year until he sustained a sprained knee(it looked much worse than that) and punt returner/receiver/running back Devin Hester whose constant nagging injury seems to have aggravated.
I did notice that the ESPN analysts were a little biased toward the Hokies and didn't want to accept that Miami was totally dominating the Hokies. I mean, even after sacking and stripping the ball from Vick-who finished the game with six turnovers- one of the analysts(and I'm not sure who it was exactly) said at the beginning of the fourth quarter that the real Marcus Vick was about to emerge; as if he had been sleeping through the first three quarters. I should point out that, he threw for his second interception of the night, few minutes after the comment.
The Hokies' defense, which was supposed to be compared to that of the 'Canes could hardly contain the Miami offense. Give credit to Freeman and back up tailback Charlie Jones who filled in nicely for the injured players. Darnell Jenkins did not fill in as nicely for Hester, but he was consistent throughout the game, including as a receiver scoring a nine yard touchdown in the third quarter, and did not cough up the ball at any time. Infact, besides the lone interception by Wright in the fourth quarter( which receiver Moore could have prevented,) the 'Canes did not have any turnovers.
It wasn't until the end of the game that credit was fully given to the 'Canes for rendering Vick his worst game of his career (8-22 passes for 90 yards.) Not to put all the blame on the junior quarterback, he hardly had any open receiver to throw to the whole night as Miami's defense locked each of them down, one-on-one. At the end of the game, I wondered who should be giving the player of the game and maybe the game ball and I couldn't figure out one player on that team who wasn't deserving of both.
