GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
NOTE: DUE TO A COMPUTER GLITCH OUR BLOGPOST INCLUDING DOLPHINS-RAIDERS LIVE BLOG AND HOT BUTTON TOP 10 WAS DELETED. APOLOGIES...
1) It is SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4. Know any people who are serious Dolfans despite last Thursday? Surprise and delight them with our book on club's first half-century. Click Fins At 50. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Ajayi trade with poll, Ross wins big with 2021 CFP title game, Herald NFL QB rankings, updated SOPY standings, NFL Pix 'n Fantasy, newest BIMD video (Halloween!) & more. 3) Join us on Twitter @gregcote. Also Facebook, Instagram, Periscope and Snapchat.
My Canes-Virginia Tech game column: Click Everything Is In Play Now for my column from the stadium.
Troika! Our 3 most recent columns: Miami Wins Again: Hard Rock Stadium awarded 2020-season college football national championship game. How to Make a Bad Offense Worse: Dolphins trade Jay Ajayi. Appreciate Perfection -- Period: Quit finding fault with Canes at 7-0.
CANESFAN SATISFACTION METER: G8: 98.0%: Results are certified in the latest edition of the Canesfan Satisfaction Meter postgame poll, and they show 98.0 percent overall approval -- the combination of "very" and "somewhat" satisfied votes -- in the wake of Saturday night's 28-10 home victory by No. 10 Miami over No. 13 Virginia Tech putting UM's season record at 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the ACC. That's a season high and as much consensus as you'll ever see in an online poll. The CSM polls are your invitation after every Canes game to share your overall degree of satisfaction with the team. Criteria for voting is your own, but we suggest you consider the latest performance and caliber of opponent, the season as a whole, the direction of the program and your overall sense of optimism -- all in the context of reasonable expectations. Poll results are certified official the morning after one full day of voting. In this case that was around 8:30 a.m. today/Monday.
G8: NO. 13 VIRGINIA TECH @ NO. 10 HURRICANES: IT'S BIGGEST GAME OF RICHT ERA (UNTIL NEXT WEEK...): Final: Huge win for Canes. Click Everything Is In Play Now for my column from game. 4Q: UM interception is fourth takeaway of game by Cabnes' defense ..... Turnover Chain! Again. UM recovers another fumble. Hokies killing themselves ..... Miami now in complete control at 28-10 on 13-yard scoring run by Rosier ..... 3Q: Interception (and Turnover chain) by UM's Johnson late in quarter. Every time Va Tech threatens to get back in game, Canes' defense steps up ..... Miami back in charge, 21-10, on Rosier 43-yard catch and run by Herndon. Much needed ..... UM is so fortunate that only one of Rosier's three INTs have proved costly ..... Rosier suffers third interception. QB is giving away this game! ..... Va Tech within 14-10 on 1-yard Jackson TD run, a direct result of Rosier INT ..... Rosier suffers second interception of game ..... Halftime thoughts: At 14-3, the half was all Miami, bearing in mind the Canes squandered an early 1st-and-goal opportunity with no points. Miami led in total yards, 260-149. And yet Canes have not pulled away. Hokies are one score from making it anxious game for The U ...... 2Q: McIntosh recovers VT fumble. Turnover chain! ..... Rosier intercepted ...... Va Tech within 14-3 on 50-yard FG ..... Miami 14-0 on Homer 64-yard TD run ..... Miami 7-0 on Rosier-Berrios 8-yard scoring pass finishing 87-yard, 9-play drive. All Canes thus far ..... 1Q: Oh My. Rosier 36-yard run to VT 2, but Miami fails to score, stuiffed on 4th-down gamble by Homer. Should UM have kicked short FG? Probably. But early enough in game to like the bravado ...... Pregame: Losses today by No. 6 Ohio State and 7-Penn State really enhance UM's bid to move up closer to coveted CFP top four -- if UM can win ..... Original post: All rankings you see here beginning this week are those of the College Football Playoff, whose ultimate top-four is all that matters now for big-dreaming teams -- and this game features two of those. It
says much about skepticism surrounding Miami that the Hurricanes have a better record than Virginia Tech, are higher-ranked and are home, yet were 2 1/2-point underdogs to the Hokies before a late wave of bets made Miami the favorite by one point, still less than the typical home-field edge. Teams prone to having sharp antenna for disrespect might be a little insulted by that. That is why this 8 p.m. prime-time game on ABC is such a wonderful stage for UM to declare itself for real ... that, or to prove the skeptics right. Miami is 7-0 and Va-Tech 7-1 and it's a huge game not only in the national CFP context but also in the ACC. A Miami win would all but assure the Canes a spot in the conference championship game. There are reasons the Canes are not clear favorites, of course, even at home. UM has won its past four games by combined 18 points after last week's 24-19 escape in Chapel Hill against a North Carolina team that Virginia Tech had recently manhandled 59-7. The Hokies also have been a bit of a nemesis for The U, with Canes only 5-8 against this opponent since both schools moved from the Big East to the ACC in 2004. Miami hosts No. 3-ranked Notre Dame next week but better have blinders on because Va-Tech will demand all of UM's attention and best effort and then some. This may be UM's biggest game of the season because of the ACC importance, and also because a win here could put Canes in position to vault into the CFP's coveted top four by also then beating the Fighting Irish. OK. Deep breath. One game at a time, please. Virginia Tech first. My pick: Hurricanes, 28-24.
Other state FBS Week 10 games (chronologically, all Saturday unless noted):
FAU 30, Marshall 25: Big home win Friday night for Owls, now 6-3 and bowling. Devin Singletary's 203 yards rushing fueled it as FAU closes in on shot at Conference USA title in Lane Kiffin's first season.
Missouri 45, Florida 16: Ugh. Gators now 3-5 and the misery continues as Randy Shannon makes an unsuccessful interim-coach debut for sacked Jim McElwain.
Florida State 27, Syracuse 24: Noles win! Noles win! FSU now 3-5, led by Cam Akers' 199 yard rushing. Rare, sort-of bright spot in midst of Season From Hell for the Seminoles.
South Florida 37, Connecticut 20: Newly unranked Bulls are now 8-1 and likely to climb back up into polls.
FIU 14, Texas-San Antonio 7: Butch Davis' Panthers were 4 1/2-point home 'dogs, but Cats, now 6-2, have been surprising everybody all season.
No. 18 UCF 31, Southern Methodist 24: Closer than expected for the Knights, now 8-0.
National Collball Week 10 overview: A season-high seven big Top 25 Saturday matchups this week including No. 10 Miami throttling No. 13 Virginia Tech 28-10. The others: 24-Michigan State upset 7-Penn State 27-24; 4-Clemson beat 20-North Carolina State 38-31; 25-Washington State beat 21-Stanford 24-21; 5-Oklahoma beat 11-Oklahoma State 62-52; 2-Alabama beat 19-LSU 24-10; and 17-Southern Cal beat 22-Arizona 49-35.
UPSET BIRD DAY IN AMERICA! NFL WEEK 9 PICKS: I LIKE DOLPHINS OVER OAKLAND. THE WAY MY SEASON IS GOING, THAT MIGHT NOT BE GOOD NEWS: I am having a rough season with my NFL predictions at around midseason, maybe the single worst, in fact, in 27 years of doing it. My .555 win percentage straight-up and .420 against the spread are figures I'd normally only admit under oath. And that was before I blew last night's game, failing to call the Jets' win over Buffalo. So when I tell you the Dolphins will beat the Raiders, 24-20, Sunday night, that might mostly be seen as good news in and around Oakland. Still, we sally forth, undeterred, and hell-bent to rally from here. Click Week 9 Gems for our full predix capsules on Fins-Raiders, our Game of the Week (Chiefs-Cowboys), Upset of the Week (Rams-Giants: "Aawwk!") and all the rest. I keep saying, "It can only get better from here." We'll see...
POLL RESULT: MIXED FEELINGS, BUT STRONG MAJORITY DON'T LIKE AJAYI TRADE: We asked, "What do you think of the Dolphins trading RB Jay Ajayi to the Eagles for a 4th-round draft pick?" And 62.8 percent voted "against it." Another 26.2% voted "for it," while the remaining 11.0% were "undecided." That's a thumbs-down by better than a 2-to-1 margin among those who had a clear opinion.
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