1) It's SATURDAY OCTOBER 12. Check out our 'Fins At 50' book at Amazon. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): NBA should end China ties with column, NFL Pix 'n Fantasy Week 5 results, why Dolphins-Redskins isn't must-lose for Miami & more. 3) Join us on Twitter.com/gregcote. Also on Facebook and Instagram.
Column from last night's Canes win over Virginia: For my column from the stadium on UM's 17-9 win over No. 20 Virginia, please visit Hurricanes Finally Get Quality Win -- And The Spark They Needed.
Our most recent other columns: Why Is NBA Doing Business With Human Rights-Violating China In First Place? and Why Woeful Dolphins-Redskins Matchup Is Not Must-Lose For Miami. Also: Now Or Never For Panthers To Stop Wasting The Barkov Years (as NHL season unfurled) / and 'Culture' Isn't Enough. It'll Take These 5 Factors to Lift Miami Heat (as team entered preseason).
G6: HURRICANES 17, NO. 20 VIRGINIA 9: DEFENSES RISES AS UM SAVES ITS SEASON: Please visit Hurricanes Finally Get Quality Win -- And The Spark They Neededfor my game column from the stadium. Original post: Canes are a depressing 2-3 (0-2 in ACC play) after last week's home loss to Virginia Tech -- against whom UM had been favored by 14 points coming off a bye week. Miami still is searching for its first quality win, considering the two W's have been a walkover rout of outmanned Bethune-Cookman and a 17-12 escape against Central Michigan. Tonight comes the latest chance for that elusive quality win as Miami hosts 4-1 (2-0 ACC) and 20th-ranked Virginia in an ACC Coastal game. A bit surprisingly, Miami is a 2 1/2-point betting favorite and given a 59.4 percent chance of winning via ESPN's Football Power Index. There seems to be a continuing overestimation of the Canes based on what we have seen through five games, especially lately. Anyway, two big changes this week for The U: 1) N'Kosi Perry starts tonight at quarterback for injured Jarren Williams. The dropoff (or perhaps improvement?) figures as slight. 2) Coach Manny Diaz declared he'll be more hands-on with a defense that has disappointed including that 42-point spree by Va-Tech. Diaz of course was defensive coordinator here the previous three seasons, and said this week, "Ultimately I am responsible for how we play on defense. There is a culture that was created here back in 2016 that, for some reason, we have not been able to recreate. It is not a coaching issue. It is not a scheme issue." The onus on Miami tonight is with the offense more than the D, by my view. Perry must mind his dubious accuracy and be careful with a very strong Cavaliers pass defense. And a bad, Achilles heel of a UM offensive line needs to give Perry time vs. a defense averaging 4 1/2 sacks per game. This is a lot to ask. I'm off the Canes bandwagon until they give me a reason to re-board. Cote's pick: Virginia, 23-17.
CANESFAN SATISFACTION METER: G6: 82.0%: Results are certified in the latest of the Miami Herald’s Canesfan Satisfaction Meter postgame polls, and they show 82.0 percent overall approval -- the combination of "very" and "somewhat" satisfied votes -- in the wake of Friday night's 17-9 home win vs. No. 20 Virginia putting the Hurricanes' season record at 3-3 overall and 1-2 in ACC conference play. That narrowly misses being a season high. The CSM 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, the season as a whole, the program’s direction and your overall degree of optimism -- all in the context of reasonable expectations. Online voting determines the weekly verdict, which is final the morning after one full day of voting. In this case that was at 9:30 a.m. today/Sunday.
2019 Canesfan Satisfaction Meter
G1: 64.1% following 24-20 loss vs. Florida in Orlando.
G2: 15.7% following 28-25 loss at North Carolina.
G3: 83.0% following 63-0 victory vs. Bethune-Cookman.
G4: 8.5% following 17-12 victory vs. Central Michigan.
G5: 28.8% following 42-35 loss vs. Virginia Tech.
G6: 82.0% following 17-9 victory vs. Virginia.
Next poll: Oct. 19 vs. Georgia Tech.
No. 5 LSU 42, No. 7 Gators 28: Original post: ESPN College GameDay may be at USC-Notre Dame, but this is the Game of the Week in college football -- the only top-10 matchup, with the winner allowed to think College Football Playoff. The 6-0 Gators earned cred in beating then-No. 7 Auburn last week, but 5-0 LSU is a big 13 1/2-point favorite in what figures as a high-scoring game Saturday at 8 p.m. Tough to not pick Tigers at home, but that bet-line really disses Florida. Cote's pick: LSU, 31-24.
Other state FBS games (all Saturday): FSU got clobbered by No. 2 Clemson 45-14; South Florida edged BYU 27-23; FAU beat Middle Tennessee 28-13; and FIU handled Charlotte 48-23. UCF is off.
DOLPHINS WIN! YAY! I MEAN OH NO! (WHAT?) OUR NFL WEEK 6 PICKS: Off our record-setting 2018 season and a solid start to our 29th year of NFL picks in the Miami Herald, here are our latest selections. Spoiler alert: The Dolphins beat the Redskins in the battle of beatens, the Winless Bowl. Yes I said it. The Dolphins win a game! Followed inevitably of course by Dolfans debating whether that's a good thing or whether that puts the Tanking For Tua initiative at risk. See how on earth Miami will win, our Game of the Week call, our four big upset picks and all the rest by visiting Week 6 Gems. Got off to a good start to our week last night, as we correctly had the Patriots not only beating the Giants but also covering the 16 1/2-point betting line. (Go here for that pick).
Previous select recent columns: Riley Introduces Butler -- 'Cause the Heat Don't Tank / Dolfans, Here Is Your Escape To The Glory Days / Why Dolphins, Even Epic-Bad, May be Closer to Major Turnaround Than Canes / Turning Its Back on Kaepernick Enters Year 3 As NFL's Ongoing Shame / Worst Miami Team Ever? Epic Losing Already Making Dolphins A National Joke / Quit Whining! Yes Dolphins Are Tanking, And Yes They Should / It's Up to Today's Dolphins to Defend Shula's Legacy / Who's Super Bowl-Bound And Where Dolphins Land (preseason NFL Team Rankings) / Luck Deserves Praise For Putting Health, Life Above Football / Dolphins' Ross Cannot Be Surprised By Major Fallout Over Trump Fundraiser / Le Batard on Miami Radio Turmoil: 'We Were Evicted' / Buoniconti: Hall of Famer, But Even Greater Off the Field / Queens of the World. U.S. Soccer Wins Again / New-look Panthers: Lots Of Hope, Zero Excuses Left / It Is Megan Rapinoe's World Cup -- On And Off The Field / An Era Ends As Panthers' Luongo Retires / O.J. Can Tweet What He Wants, But How He's Seen Is Not Up To Him / Ranking Dolphins, Heat, Marlins & Panthers' Best Young Players / Inter Miami Aiming High With Barca's Suarez / End The Illogical Shame and Honor Schnellenberger / Oh To Be Hated Again! Lean Times For Miami Sports / Why Tiger's Masters Triumph Is About More Than Golf / Transgender-Athlete Firestorm A Necessary Debate / Across the Rio Grande to the PGA Tour / From Dark and Empty to Top Of the World: Dan Le Batard at 50.
APSE-HONORED WORK: The Associated Press Sports Editors 2018 writing awards ranked us a Top 10 national sports columnist in the major-outlet category. Thanks, APSE. Here are the five nominated columns that earned the honor: At Doral, an annual tradition since 1962 is replaced by silence, and by what's missing / Marlins' Jose Fernandez statue is divisive yet has a chance to serve a greater purpose /NFL has moral obligation to help Buonicontis and Kiicks while it limits future suffering / What led to El Clasico Miami began with Joe Robbie's unlikely, accidental love of soccer / With 59 home runs, Stanton still had a magic season. Just hope this wasn't goodbye.
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Twitter @gregcote
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