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Canes Could Win Twice on Saturday

Winning in Orlando will give a 5-1 Miami its best start since 2005

By Janie Campbell

| Thursday, Oct 15, 2009 | Updated 5:50 PM EST

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So Miami's lost half the D to injury? At least Jacory Harris hasn't been cracked in half yet.

No Eric Moncur. No Randy Phillips. No Pat Hill.

No Jordan Futch, Ryan Hill, Josh Holmes, Marcus Forston, or JoJo Nicolas.

And likely no Graig Cooper, Joel Figueroa, or Aldarius Johnson, either, who are also dinged up and questionable as Miami buses to UCF’s place this weekend.

Cause for concern? Nah. Though UCF will be looking to do what USF did to Florida State (“This is their Bowl Game,” Randy Shannon hilariously – and accurately – said of UCF, who are 0-19 against top 25 teams since joining Division I), Miami’s rolling wide receivers built for either size or speed right off a conveyor belt in the athletic department somewhere: “Oh, the Aldarius malfunctioned? Pull the Tommy Streeter model off the shelf and give it a jump.”

Backup linebacker Ramon “Cookie” Buchanon plays hard and fast and ought to be a good fit replacing Futch coming first off the bench.

Vaughn Telemaque and Ray Ray Armstrong have been doing okay, to say the least, though Phillips is missed at safety.

So however hyped the Knights burst out of the locker room, chips on shoulder, the ‘Canes should have it snuffed out in a quarter or two.

That might not have been the case in the waning Larry Coker and the Unbearable Absence of a Recruiting Coordinator years, but the young players Miami depends on here and there aren’t flighty, and all of a sudden the offense is finding all those upperclassmen panning out. (Was that Patrick Nix slinking out of the room?)

There’s just too much talent in orange and green. Central Florida’s porous o-line won’t be able to keep Allen Bailey, Joe Joseph, Marcus Robinson, Sean Spence, and Colin McCarthy from saying hello and again to QB Brett Hodges, a transfer from Wake Forest.

Wideouts Rocky Ross and Kamar Aiken don’t stand a chance if they’re anywhere near Brandon Harris, who could go All-American on their behinds before the day is done.

That leaves UCF with RB Brynn Harvey, and just Brynn Harvey, so look for him to beg for death or trainers before half.

Of course, the ‘Canes can’t coast. UCF has some speed on defense, and you can ask Texas about barely escaping a pumped-up Brighthouse Networks Stadium (motto: making "Land Shark" sound cool since...whenever") two years ago.

But for Miami, the bigger game of the day will probably be Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech, because a Yellow Jackets win turns the ACC Coastal into a three-way tie, which Miami could edge if, at the end of the regular season, it shares or bests a conference record with Virginia Tech and is ranked higher in the BCS polls. That would lead straight to Tampa and an ACC Championship berth if the Canes go on to win the rest of their ACC matchups.

What are the odds of a GT win? About even, which is nice, because both Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech are capable of slugging it out four 4 quarters and busting out big plays when it counts. If Georgia Tech can keep it close, look for a little extra homecoming game edge to push them over the top.

And, hopefully, Miami along with them.