Friday, September 18, 2009

Rock You Like A Hurricane

No, as much as I would like to devote a blog post to The Scorpions, this one is about a whole other kind of powerful force, namely, The U. My favorite college football team, the University of Miami Hurricanes, have been laying dormant for the past several seasons, putting up fair 7-6 type seasons which would be fine for some teams -- like my second favorite college football team, the Stanford Cardinal. But wins in the Emerald Bowl or Humanitarian Bowl aren't sufficient for fans of a school like Miami, where nothing less than competing for a national title is acceptable.

When the schedule for this season came out, it appeared the Canes were headed for a similiarly mediocre fate -- they faced arch-rival #20 Florida State to open things up on Labor Day, followed by tough matchups at home vs. #14 Georgia Tech, on the road at #7 Virginia Tech, and home vs. #3 Oklahoma. Despite the improvements to the program under coach (and alum) Randy Shannon, the Canes did not appear ready for four tough tests in a row to start the season. I told the best Cane fan I know, my buddy Josh, that I'd be happy with a 2-2 start. He concurred. Neither of us understood why Coach Shannon turned down the reported contract extension he received in the off-season with such a tough schedule to start, and some claiming he was already on the hot seat. I also found it hard to believe some of his staements about true Sophomore Jacory Harris -- namely, that he would go down in Cane history with championship QB's and legendary leaders like Ken Dorsey and Bernie Kosar.

Now, I understand. Now, I believe. Jacory Harris looks like a born-leader and potential Heisman Trophy candidate. And suddenly, 2-2 doesn't sound so acceptable anymore.

The Canes are 2-0 after escaping Tallahassee with a win (as if simply escaping Tallahassee wasn't good enough in itself), and beating up on previous Cane-killers Georgia Tech (Tech ruined the Canes shot at an ACC title last year, and also 3 years ago). Now, they face their toughest test yet -- going into Blacksburg to face VaTech. But despite the odds being stacked against them, the Canes have two large factors falling in their favor: 1) For the second striaght week, they have a week and a half to prepare for a big conference matchup, while their opponent has just a week, and 2) Oklahoma's Heisman-winning QB, Sam Bradford, may be out for their matchup.

So, in honor of their hot start, here is a list of the best Canes currently in the NFL. Enjoy.

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