Behind a spectacular day from Stephen Morris, and solid receiving efforts from Clive Walford, Phillip Dorsett, and Herb Waters, Miami rolled to its' easiest win of the season 40-9 at Sun Life Stadium. The 'Canes are now bowl eligible.
The official injury report for the USF game was released today, and it made permanent some extremely sad news. Senior wide received Davon Johnson is out for the year with a knee injury. It was released yesterday that he was hurt during practice, but the extent was not known until today. Davon was having by far his best season as a Hurricane, and with two games left on the schedule (for now), his career in Miami is over. Tough break for a fantastic young man.
Outside of that, Deon Bush is officially listed as out for the USF game. This puts the pressure on Rogers, Telemaque, and Swasey. Here's the full report:
According to Canes reporters at practice Wednesday, WR Davon Johnson was wearing a rather large knee brace. Susan Miller Degnan from the Miami Herald tweeted the following:
Wow. #UM#Canes senior WR Davon Johnson on crutches w a thick black brace over thick ace bandage on his left knee. shame
Obviously not a good thing. There hasn't been any official word as of yet, but no doubt at some point today or tomorrow there will be. Our WR corps is looking mighty thin at the moment.
As we creep ever closer to the last OOC game of the year for the Canes, as well as honoring the seniors who have put in their time, we take a quick look at the history that Miami and USF have shared in recent history. HurricaneSports has the down low:
USF SERIES HISTORY
·Saturday will mark the 5th series meeting between the schools, with Miami holding a 3-1 advantage.
·Miami won the last series meeting 6-3 in 2011 at USF. Last season’s meeting was an offensive struggle as the teams mustered a combined 3 field goals. Jake Wieclawprovided the game’s first points with a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter; USF tied the game at 3-3 in the second quarter on Maikon Bonani’s 42-yard kick. Wieclaw later provided the game-winner on a 36-yard field goal as time expired to give Miami a 6-3 win.
·Last season’s meeting resulted in Miami’s sixth win of the 2011 season, making the Hurricanes bowl-eligible.
·On Senior Day in 2010, USF overcome a 17-10 fourth-quarter deficit to knock off the Hurricanes 23-20 in overtime. USF took a 10-0 lead before the Canes reeled off 17 straight points on TD runs byLamar Miller and Storm Johnson and a Matt Bosher field goal. The Bulls tied the game at 17-17 on a Bobby Eveld 1-yard run. In overtime, Bosher’s 28-yard kick gave Miami a 20-17 lead; USF’s Demetris Murray scored the game-winner on a 1-yard run.
The rest of the game notes for this game can be found HEREHEREHERE
Al Golden & Company had their weekly press conference on the state of the University of Miami football program, as the 'Canes prepare to take on Sunshine State rivals University of South Florida Bulls on Saturday
As has become the norm, here's a look at the StatMilk breakdown of both Miami and USF, and how they compare to each other. So far, looking over the comparison charts, it seems that Miami has the edge where it matters the most, but outside of that it swings back the other way. Take a look see at this (USF stats are on the left, Miami's are on the right. The center column is color coded to show which team has the advantage, and by how much):
The Bulls are 1-3 all-time against the Canes. They lost in the old Orange Bowl in 2005, lost again in Tampa in 2009, ended Randy Shannon's tenure with an upset win in overtime in 2010, and lost what was probably the worst football game in USF history last year.
This Saturday's game against USF is a big one for many reasons, but none as important to the Canes family than celebrating the career's of our outgoing seniors. The list of names is a decent one in length, but due to the guys that left early last year, you may only recognize a few of them. This doesn't mean they are any less deserving of recognition. They are a part of the Canes family, whether they started, backed up, or worked on the scout team. They all played a major part in getting the team to where it is.
There are big names intermingled with the ones you may not know, but they all deserve huge fan support at the game. Ramon Buchanon will be missed as a Cane, even though his career never was able to reach its full potential due to injury. Mike James' career speaks for itself. His production on the field as well as his work off of it make him one of the better Canes to come through in a while. Davon Johnson is enjoying a surge in his career this season, making the most of his remaining time as a Cane. Dalton Botts and Jake Wieclaw have carried the special teams (outside of Duke Johnson), and replacing them will be tough. Brandon McGee and Vaughn Telemaque have both been celebrated and maligned in their careers, both at different times. Vaughn is having a down season, while McGee is shining. Andrew Swasey has been a steady player throughout his career, and is one of the smartest football players on the team. It helps that his dad is the strength coach. The linemen, Ben Jones, Jeremy Lewis, Darius Smith, and the rest are the ones doing the dirty work for the team day in and day out.
All of these guys will be missed, especially Mike James, though he's handing the reigns to a pretty damn good crop of guys.
Go to the game, people. Show your support to not only the team, but these seniors.