GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
1) It's SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29. Football's back and that means it's the perfect time to delight the Dolfans in your life with our 'Fins At 50' book. Check it out here on Amazon. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): D.Wade emotional on farewell season, Herald Week 3 NFL QB rankings, NFL Pix 'n Fantasy results, Cote's State of the State rankings, latest Back In My Day video & more. 3) Join us on Twitter @gregcote. Also Facebook and Instagram.
Our columns from this week:
HURRICANES: A coach, still looking for his magic man: It wasn't Brad Kaaya. Evidently isn't Malik Rosier. Is it N'Kosi Perry? Finding a great quarterback remains Mark Richt's elusive Holy Grail. That column: Finding Great QB Defines Canes' Season.
DOLPHINS: Defining moment in modern club history is at hand: Unbeaten Fins can stake claim to a power shift in AFC East but to do so must do Sunday what hasn't been done: Beat Tom Brady in Foxborough. That column: For Fins, Moment Of Truth Is Here.
HEAT: On Wade's farewell year: From Heat Media Day as training camp began, an emotional Dwyane Wade discusses his final Heat season.That column: With All D.Wade Has Meant, One Year to Say Goodbye Might Not Be Enough.
CANESFAN SATISFACTION METER: G5: 98.7%: Results are certified in the latest Canesfan Satisfaction Meter postgame poll, and they show a season-high 98.7 percent overall approval -- the combination of "very" and "somewhat" satisfied votes -- in the wake of Thursday night's 47-10 home victory vs. North Carolina putting No. 16 UM's season record at 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the ACC. The CSM is your invitation after every Canes football game -- no matter the result or opponent -- 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 will be around 10 a.m. today/Saturday. (The CSM also takes place on my Twitter site @gregcote. The vote there was 70%).
2018 CSM game-by game results
G1: 9.2% following 33-17 loss to LSU.
G2: 73.8% following 77-0 victory vs. Savannah State.
G3: 76.7% following 49-24 victory at Toledo.
G4: 84.0% following 31-17 victory vs. FIU.
G5: 98.7% following 47-10 victory vs. North Carolina.
Next poll: Oct. 6 following game vs. FSU.
G5: NO. 16 HURRICANES 47, NORTH CAROLINA 10: PERRY AT QB, BUT HARDLY NEEDED: Canes have the national stage to themselves Thursday night at 8 vs. North Carolina before ESPN
cameras at The Rock. It's an ACC Coastal Division game -- UM's conference opener -- so, as much as the season-opening loss to LSU hurt, losing this one would hurt Miami more tangibly in terms of eventually getting back to the ACC Championship Game. With UM an 18-point favorite over the weaker-than-usual Tar Heels, such a loss isn't seen as likely. The U's quarterback situation will be squarely in the spotlight tonight, after N'Kosi Perry replaced Malik Rosier early in last week's win over FIU and played well. Who is Miami's starter from here? Perry? Rosier? Some of both? Whomever has the hot hand? Richt declined to say on Wednesday. Surely we'll know more after tonight. (UNC's QB situation also is up in the air, pun intended, with a likelihood Nathan Elliott and Chazz Surratt both might play). For Miami, dynamic big-play receiver/returner Jeff Thomas should be good to go after dehydration issues last week, but safety Jaquan Johnson and WR Ahmonn Richards are battling knee concerns. Richards' draft stock slips by the day as he continues to display proneness to injury. My pick: Hurricanes, 34-16.
OTHER STATE COLLBALL: There are seven FBS-level college teams in Florida. With Thursday night's Miami game above, here's chronological Week 5 schedule for the rest (all Saturday):
No. 13 UCF (4-0) beats Pittsburgh (2-3), 45-14: Knights rolled big to make a run at top 10.
FSU (3-2) beats Louisville (2-3), 28-24: Seminoles (UM's next foe) rallied to get a little mo' going for Willie Taggert.
Florida (4-1) beats No. 23 Mississippi State (3-2), 13-6: Huge defensive road upset should get Gators ranked.
Middle Tennessee (2-2) beats FAU (2-3), 25-24: Bad last-second loss for Owls continues rough sophomore year for Lane Kiffin.
FIU (3-2) beats Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-4), 55-9: A no-worries home win for Butch Davis' Panthers.
Off this week: South Florida (4-0).
Week 5 national Top 25 matchups (5): No. 12 West Virginia beats No. 25 Texas Tech, 42-34; 4-Ohio State beats 9-Penn State, 27-26; 8-Notre Dame beats 7-Stanford, 38-17; 11-Washington beats 20-BYU, 35-7; and 19-Oregon beats 24-Cal, 42-24.
UPSET BIRD DAY IN AMERICA!: DOLPHINS-PATRIOTS AND ALL THE REST OF OUR NFL WEEK 4 PICKS: The Dolphins are going into dreaded Foxboro on Sunday and beating Tom Brady, who is 14-0 starting at home vs. Miami. It will be a watershed road win that signals a power shift in the AFC East. Well, at least that's what I think! I say why at the top of my latest NFL predictions. They include my Game of the Week, Upset of the Week ("Aaawwwk!") and all of the rest. Our 28th season of Friday NFL picks (online Thursdays) is off to a solid start. We are a stout 30-16-2 overall and more importantly a strong 27-20-1 against the spread entering Week 4. Now let's keep it going! Dive into Week 4 Gems for all of my latest picks. (Included within is a separate link to Thursday night's Vikings-Rams pick, or find it directly here. Pictured at right, our "How the Darts Landed" shield, the bull's-eye representing the height of giddy optimism.
Other select recent columns: Give Dwyane Time And He'll Make Right Call. Why Drake/Gore Will Work, And Why That's Crucial to Fins. Somehow, Dolphins Make A 7-Hour Wait Worth It. Soft Stretch In Schedule Is About Improving At QB. NFL 2018 Team Rankings. Dolphins? Heat? Nope. UM Football Owns This Town. NFL Enters Year 3 Of Anthem-Protest Quagmire. To The Good-Guy Grinder In The Shades. Time to Flip the Old Narrative On Miami As a Sports Town. Can Riley Rescue Heat From Purgatory? When 3 World Cup Legends Were Ours.
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Twitter @gregcote
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