GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
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Jose Fernandez tragedy, 1-year later: My latest Sunday column. Click on Regret, Tears & a Legacy's Dark Shadow to read.
IT'S A SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS CORNUCOPIA!: It's the grand intersection of our Big Five teams and sports. The Dolphins and Canes are playing the same weekend for the first time all season, going airborne vs. Jets and and Rockets. Giancarlo Stanton is still chasing 60 home runs. The Panthers' preseason is underway. And the Heat opens training camp Tuesday. Appreciate. Enjoy.
CANESFAN SATISFACTION METER: G2: 83.9%: Results are certified in the latest Canesfan Satisfaction Meter postgame poll, and they show 83.9 percent overall satisfaction -- the combination of "very" and "somewhat" satisfied votes -- in the wake of Saturday's 52-30 Hurricanes victory over visiting Toledo putting UM's season record at 2-0. The CSM is your invitation after every Canes football 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, the season as a whole, the 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 8:30 a.m. Monday.
2017 CSM results
G1: 69.5% following 41-13 victory vs. Bethune-Cookman
G2: 83.9% following 52-30 victory vs. Toledo
Next poll: Sept. 29 following game at Duke
G2: TOLEDO (3-0) AT NO. 14 HURRICANES (1-0): FINALLY! A FULL STATE SLATE INCLUDING MIAMI!: Postgame thoughts: What seemed like calamity at the half turned out OK. The defense stepped up, Malik Rosier stepped up, Mark Walton came from back injury and all was well in a less-than-dominant-early and yet ultimate convincing 52-30 Miami Hurricanes home win over Toledo Saturday afternoon. Hey, Florida State earlier in the day fell to 0-2, so take the blessings when they present themselves, right? We still don't know how good UM really is after low-watt wins over Bethune-Cookman and now Toledo, but, when last I checked, 2-0 is 2-0. This win was formulaic, really. Smaller-conference team starts out strong, but then yields to the greater size, speed and depth of the bigger foe. The defense and Rosier really came on big and Walton, who missed a chunk of the game with a turned ankle, returned and finished with a career-best 204 yards rushing (on only 11 carries). The big concern: Miami's pass defense. Still, for me, for a team shaking off a three week Irma-related layoff and having its practice schedule in upheaval, this was a pretty impressive result ..... Halftime thoughts: Well this is embarrassing! No panic mode -- yet -- but trailing Toledo at the half at home? C'mon. Manny Diaz's pass defense has been out of synch and is getting dominated by Rockets QB Logan Woodside, who has 213 yards passing. Miami also getting dominated on the clock, with Toledo running 50 offensive plays to The U's 21. Mark Walton the only bright spot with 137 yards rushing, but he left injured. Turned-up defensive effort and more Malik Rosier (8-for-12, 50 yards) will be required from here if Miami is to avoid a shocking upset ..... Original post: Thanks to Hurricane Irma and its after-effects, this
Collball Week 4 marks the first time since Week 1 that all seven state FBS schools will be in action. Toledo's Saturday (3:30 p.m.) visit will be the Hurricanes' first game since Sept. 2, marking the longest gap between regular-season games in UM history, and following a week of displaced Canes practices held in Orlando. "Frustrating, to say the least," said Miami receiver Braxton Berrios. The schedule upheaval and rust factor weigh against the Canes here, but Miami is a 13 1/2-point favorite for a reason. Despite Toledo's unblemished record in the Mid-American Conference, the ACC Hurricanes will have the speed, size and depth advantages to pull away. This is only these schools' second all-time meeting and first in 30 years, since a 24-14 UM win in 1987. Defensively, UM's secondary had better be on its toes against a pass-happy Rockets attack. Offensively, new Canes starting QB Malik Rosier still may not have injured top receiver Ahmmon Richards at his disposal, but the air doesn't figure to be where UM will win this game. The Toledo defense gave up 423 rushing yards to Tulsa last week, so look for Canes running star Mark Walton to put up huge numbers. My pick: Hurricanes, 38-17.
Other state FBS Week 4 games (chronologically):
No. 21 South Florida 43, Temple 7: Quiet game from Quinton Flowers Thursday but Bulls still rolled to 4-0.
North Carolina State 27, No. 12 Florida State 21: FSU never led, falls to 0-2 and likely out of Top 25, hugely diminishing upcoming visit by Miami.
UCF 38, Maryland 10: Terps were 3 1/2-point home pick so this is nice road win for Knights, now 2-0.
Buffalo 34, FAU 31: Tough loss in winnable game drop Owls to 1-3.
No. 20 Florida 28, Kentucky 27: fla 2-1 Gators, now 2-1, rally from 27-14 down early in fourth to stun Wildcats to keep alive 31-game series winning streak. Yes, 31.
FIU 13, Rice 7: Defense leads Panthers, who were 1 1/2-point road 'dogs, to a huge win and a 2-1 record under Butch Davis.
National Collball Week 4 overview: Only two national Top 25 matchups on Saturday, neither high-wattage: No. 16 TCU upset No. 6 Oklahoma State, 44-31, and 11-Georgia crushed 17-Mississippi State, 31-3.
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