GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
1) It is SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17: In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Faith-in-Ryan Tannehill poll, Stephen Ross' anti-racism initiative, NFL Week 6 picks, Spurrier-quitting poll & more. 2) Follow us on Twitter @gregcote. Also on Facebook, Instagram, Vine and Periscope.
My column off the UM-VT game: Click on A Most Necessary Win for my column on the Hurricanes -- and Al Golden -- beat Virginia Tech last night. And find our live in-game post directly beneath the new CSM poll.
CANESFAN SATISFACTION METER: G6: 89.1%: Results are certified in the latest Canesfan Satisfaction Meter postgame poll, and they show 89.1 percent overall satisfaction (a combination of "very" and "somewhat" satisfied votes) in the wake of Saturday's 30-20 victory over visiting Virginia Tech putting UM's season record at 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the ACC. That's a season high. The CSM, in its seventh season, is your invitation after every Hurricanes game to vote on your overall satisfaction with the team and season in a continuing weekly gauge of how UM football fans are feeling. Criteria for voting is your own, but I suggest you consider the most recent game's performance and caliber of opponent, this season as a whole, program's direction and your overall degree of optimism -- all in the context of reasonable expectations. Results are certified official the morning after one full day of voting. In this case that was around 8:15 a.m. today/Monday.
2015 CSM Results
Game 1: 62.3% (following 45-0 victory vs. Bethune-Cookman)
Game 2: 34.2% (following 44-20 victory at Florida Atlantic)
Game 3: 35.9% (following 36-33 OT victory vs. Nebraska)
Game 4: 4.6% (following 34-23 loss at Cincinnati)
Game 5: 59.6% (following 29-24 loss at Florida State)
Game 6: 89.1% (following 30-20 victory vs. Virginia Tech)
Next poll: Oct. 24 (following game vs. Clemson)
G6: HURRICANES 30, VIRGINIA TECH 20: A STEP CLOSER TO SAVING A SEASON, AND A COACH: Final report: It was not an altogether impressive home win over a mediocre Virginia Tech but it was what it needed to be for Miami: A conference victory that keeps alive UM's hope of somehow working itself into the ACC championship game and saving Al Golden's job. The 30-20 win makes Miami 4-2 and 1-1 in conference play, led today by Brad Kaaya's 296 yards passing and four defensive takeaways. ..... Fourth Q: Artie Burns with his second INT of the game for Miami's fourth defensive takeaway. ... Miami with a comfy 30-20 lead now with 2:44 left after Kaaya's 2-yard TD pass to Rashawn Scott. ... Tech pulls within 23-20 with 7:20 to play. Uh oh. Miami gives up 33-yard TD pass to Isaiah Ford. ... Defense is winning the game to this point. Three takeaways by Canes, two of which have led directly to 10 points. ..... Third Q: UM now up 23-13 with 21-yard FG in final minute of quarter but its a letdown. Canes had 1st-and-goal at 2 and somehow couldn't push it in. A false start penalty really hurt. ... Big interception by Juwon Young is UM's third takeaway and sets up Canes deep in Tech territory. ... Artie Burns with a big INT for UM defense after Tech had driven to Canes 30. Artie Burns sounds like the name of a Borscht Belt comedian from the '50s. ... A needed win here for the taking. Two quarters to go get it. ..... Halftime report: A 20-13 lead at home against a mediocre opponent is OK but not great. It took a 79-yard drive in 54 seconds to end the half with a go-ahead TD to make it OK. Prior to that, Miami's only touchdown had been set up by a defensive takeaway at the VT 3. UM in the second half must show that same offensive spark it showed on that last drive. ..... Second Q: UM up 20-13 on 7-yard Kaaya pass to Rashawn Scott four seconds before halftime. A 45-yard pass to Herb Waters made it happen. ... Tech knots it again at 13-13 on 38-yard FG with about a minute left in half after defense toughens in time. ... Canes turn it over on downs with incomplete pass from VT 33. ... UM back up 13-10 on career-long 49-yard FG by Michael Badgley. ..... First Q: VT equalizes 10-10 as quarter ends with 9-yard pitch-pass finishing 75-yard drive. Canes defense shabby on that series. ... UM 10-3. Miami settles for 24-yard FG after offensive pass interference against UM's Christopher Herndon negates 14-yard Kaaya TD pass to Mark Walton. Canes now 14 TDs in 30 red-zone trips, not a good percentage. Must finish. ... VT within 7-3 on 30-yard FG. Not a bad result for Canes considering it was 1st-and-10 from UM 13. ... UM 7-0 on Joe Yearby 3-yard run after Trent Harris fumble recovery for Canes at the Va-Tech 3. Miami now an ACC-leading plus-10 on turnovers this season ... Must win. Gotta have it. Period. ..... Pregame: It's a flyover frenzy! Two small planes pulling the usual anti-Al Golden banners have been countered by two other planes pulling pro-Golden banners. Banner of the day based on originality: "Al's only signature win is his contract." ..... Original post: Head coaches are paid to have their team well-prepared for a game. That means X's and O's stuff tailored to the particular opponent, but it also means having your team mentally prepared for the situation they're in. This is Al Golden's challenge as his 3-2 Hurricanes host 3-3 Virginia Tech at 3:30 p.m Saturday with UM a 4-point favorite. See, this is a "sandwich" game for Miami, one it might be easy to be distracted from or look past. Va-Tech comes right after last week's big, emotional loss at No. 11 Florida State, the game the Canes had circled in red, and just before next week's big home game vs. No. 5 Clemson. To beat the Hokies, a worthy if not special opponent, Golden must see that his Canes marshal their focus, which means leaving the FSU disappointment behind and not glancing ahead to Clemson. UM, plainly, is not good enough to look ahead and beat Virginia Tech on auto-pilot. Golden must instill in his team that the ACC Coastal Division title is still very much in play but that no more losing winnable games can happen. Losing at Cincinnati was one of those bad losses. A home loss to Va-Tech would be another one, and better not be. Miami is 2-6 the past two seasons following a loss to FSU. The same post-Noles letdown cannot happen again. The 2015 UM season has become about showing fight, finishing strong and saving Golden's job in the process. But can they do it? My pick: Hurricanes, 27-20.
Other college Week 7 state FBS games (in chronology; all games Saturday):
South Florida 28, Connecticut 20: Nice lil' road upset levels Bulls at 3-3.
Marshall 33, FAU 17: Owls fall to 1-5 with home defeat.
Middle Tennessee 42, FIU 34: Panthers 3-4 after shootout road loss.
No. 11 Florida State 41, Louisville 21: Convincingly routine win for now 6-0 Noles. Dalvin Cook with 163 yards rushing, ho hum.
No. 6 LSU 35, No. 8 Florida 28: Gators started QB Treon Harris for suspended Will Grier but dropoff was minimal, if any, in this battle of unbeatens. Bigger key in game was UF's very good defense not looking it against LSU super-back Leonard Fournette and that big offense.
Temple 30, UCF 16: Temple stays unbeaten, drops Knights to an abysmal 0-7.
Poll result: Faith in Tannehill is shaky and wavering: We asked your degree of faith in Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill, and only 12.3 percent answered "strong." Then it was 29.3% "medium," 32.1% "wavering" and 26.3% "weak." Clearly, Tannehill must rebuild the faltering trust that he's the right guy.
Poll result: Mixed verdict on Spurrier abruptly quitting: We asked if you thought less of Steve Spurrier because he abruptly quit as South Carolina's coach this week, and a plurality of 48.1 percent said no. But another 29.6% said yes, and 22.3% answered "maybe a little."
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