Miami gains no ground with lackluster play

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By JOHN ROMANO

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 14, 2001

TALLAHASSEE -- The statement was loud, and it was clear. It could not be mistaken, nor misconstrued. Given a national platform on which to speak, the Hurricanes were emphatic on this point:

Check back with us later.

That's it. That was all Miami needed to do. The Hurricanes did not convince you they were the No. 1 team in the land, nor did they make you doubt their capacity to eventually be No. 1.

They were impressive in a mediocre way. Unlike the Gators, who were mediocre in a spectacular way. In what should have been a dramatic pause to the season, the Hurricanes did a song and dance.

"Look at it this way," receiver Daryl Jones said. "We played sloppy, and we still scored 49 points."

Or you could look at this way:

The Hurricanes are still undefeated and the Gators are not. Score a victory for substance over style. Miami began the day trailing Florida, Oklahoma and even UCLA when it came to unbeaten panache. In most sports you can say the bottom line is all that matters. But in college football, style sometimes counts. And the 'Canes occasionally have that off-the-rack look. Did they beat Florida State with ease? Yes. Did they beat Florida State with grace? Only if your sophistication bar begins with the Three Stooges.

FSU held the ball nearly 10 minutes longer. The Seminoles had a dozen more first downs and nearly 100 more offensive yards. Miami had 15 penalties, lost three fumbles and botched two field goals.

"Obviously, it was a great win," coach Larry Coker said. "But it wasn't a beautiful win by any stretch of the imagination."

So the team with the nice personality finds itself trailing in beauty points. The Hurricanes do not score at will like Florida and their defense is not as oppressive as Oklahoma's. They need an identity and they did not forge one against Florida State.

This is the curse that has become Miami's season. Even when they do something of merit, they lose ground on principle.

Miami opened the season with a 33-7 win on the road against Penn State. Pick any other season in the last 30 and that would be considered a monumental feat. In 2001 it means almost nothing.

Now Miami has beaten Florida State 49-27 on the road, which would have looked a lot more impressive if the Seminoles had not lost 41-9 against North Carolina a few weeks ago.

Making matters worse was Washington's loss to UCLA. Washington is coming up on UM's schedule, but fading from the national picture.

It is not Miami's fault that a seemingly imposing schedule is turning out to be impotent. The Hurricanes should not be held accountable for the shortcomings of others and should not be graded as if on a curve.

Yet the reality is that strength of schedule and resounding victories carry an inordinate amount of weight in the BCS polls, and the Hurricanes are lagging behind the rest of the unbeatens in that measure.

They discovered a year ago when they beat FSU and were bypassed by the Seminoles for the national title game.

"I think the BCS just doesn't like us," fullback Najeh Davenport said. "It's like it's got a little bug or something and doesn't like our zip code. Last year we had to depend on people. This year we've got to do it on our own. We can't depend on anybody.

"Now all we have to do is beat the computer."

That seems to be the prevailing opinion in south Florida. They fear the computer rankings more than Washington or Virginia Tech.

The idea of going 11-0 and not making it to the Rose Bowl Jan. 3 remains a legitimate concern as long as Oklahoma and UCLA continue to cruise.

Miami coaches insist they are not paying attention to the rankings, but players will tell you otherwise.

"They use it as a source of motivation," guard Sherko Haji-Rasouli said. "We sit in meetings and they look at us in the eyes and they tell us, "We should be the No 1 team in the nation, now let's go play like it. Let's show people what we're all about.'

"I'm not going to lie to you, I pay attention to the rankings. I know it's kind of irrelevant at this point in the season, but I'm young and I'm not too good at shutting things out."

The time to panic is not at hand. The Hurricanes have two months to leave a lasting impression and the talent to pull it off. The offensive line is among the best in the nation, and quarterback Ken Dorsey is a winner.

Let the others make a fashion statement.

The Hurricanes will let the record speak for itself.

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