Miami Hurricanes head coach Joseph Graham spoke about the pre-season and his final scrimmage in Iowa. "Through our first three scrimmages we got to evaluate our talent and see how the players performed in a gametime scenario. I think our depth chart was pretty much figured out after the first two games. We had stuck with a standard format in those three games, our starters were pulled after the first half and we ran a vanilla playbook. When the games count, I'll be driving the bus, but in these scrimmages I let my staff do it's thing.

You know, it's pretty standard in the final scrimmage to have your starters only play one quarter. By now, you know what they're capable of and there's no need to risk injury, plus you can give the second and third squad more reps to help them develop. We looked at this approach and saw an opportunity. We started our second squad and let them play the first three quarters. Whatever the result would be, we would get to see how our first team would respond in those crucial final 15 minutes.

So, in Iowa we were down 13 points (23-10). We ended up scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter and held them scoreless, taking the game 27-23. This was a great way to wrap up the exhibitions and give our guys a boost in confidence heading into the games that count. It also gives me a little piece of mind, when their back is against the wall, these guys will step up and deliver. I'm confident to say that our team is ready to take on all comers and we're looking to contend for the ACC crown and make a run at the National Championship.

Looking toward the regular season, we host all three ACC rivals in the first three weeks. When the dust settles from these games, we'll have a clearer picture of where we stand. Of course, there will be many more games to play, but these three are pretty important. The pundits are picking FSU and Syracuse to contend for the ACC. We got a few consolation mentions, but we feel that we should have a bigger place in the conversation. But it's okay, we're using this. Right now in our locker room, we have newspapers hanging with "FSU favored to win the ACC" and the like. Keep underestimating us, we'll show up to play!"

In the opening game of the Hurricanes season, ACC rival Clemson visited Hard Rock Stadium for an epic game. The teams swapped 3-and outs before Clemson made it into field goal range, setting up a 3rd-and-9 on the Miami 34 yard line. LDE Joseph Hall sacked Clemson QB Neil Obrien and kept the visitors off of the board, forcing a punt which pinned the hometown 'Canes on the 4 yard line. Clemson DT Roy Betty drew first blood, bringing Miami QB Daniel Yazzie down for a safety. The following drive saw a couple of big passes to WR William Malley and the visitors jumped out to an early 9-0 lead.

The Hurricanes regrouped and put together a 10 play drive that ate 5:10 of clock and resulted in a 42 yard FG for Paul Stanley. On the subsequent drive, LDE Joseph Hall intercepted the tipped ball and gave the 'Canes great field position at the Clemson 22 yard line. It only took one play for Yazzie to find TE David Scott in the endzone, and Miami had their first lead of the game, 10-9. Clemson would be quick to respond, less than a minute later, Malley got behind the coverage and took the ball in for his second TD of the game.

Miami would string together 8 plays and regain the lead after a 1 yard TD catch by WR John Reed. Clemson would run 6 plays but come up short, burying Miami deep in their end of the field yet again, this time at the 6 yard line. The two teams would trade 3-and-outs, yet again, and Miami was set up on their own 19 yard line with just over four minutes remaining in the half. Yazzie scrambled for 4 yards before putting the ball on the ground, which Clemson LB James Roach quickly pounced upon. It took only five plays for the visiting Tigers to find the endzone, this time on a 7 yard scamper by HB Dennis Dunford and a great block by LT Mark Rubin. Clemson would take a 23-17 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Miami's opening drive in the second half was methodical, spanning 8 plays in 4:13, resulting in a 6 yard plunge by HB Jeffrey Santacruz through the heart of the Clemson defensive line. Miami had the lead once again by a single point. Clemson set up on their 25 and Dunford followed a crushing block by Rubin to gain 36 yards. A hush fell over the crowd as Joseph Hall was carted off the field. X-Rays would come back negative and the starting DE is expected to be sidelined 8-11 weeks. This is a huge blow to Miami, whose strength surely falls on their defensive line. Hall's counterpart must have taken this to heart, as the RDE Joshua Gillespie, stripped and recovered the ball on the ensuing play. Yazzie would find WR Allan Hudak for a 42 yard TD, but a holding penalty on FB Gregory Holton would bring it back. The 'Canes would end up punting the ball and come away with no points on the drive.

The rest of the second half showcased some great defensive plays from both teams and Miami would end up putting 3 more points on the board from a 50 yard FG (Stanley) and have a 4 point lead with 12:48 minutes remaining in the game. With 6:33 remaining, Yazzie put the ball on the ground again! Clemson got the ball at the Miami 33, in FG range and looked to get some points on the drive, if not - the lead. Obrien saw 1-on-1 coverage on the outside and was under heavy pressure from MLB Steven Williams, but CB John Real was cool and collected, tipping the ball out of bounds. The next two plays resulted in sacks (both by Williams) and took the visitors out of FG range, forcing a punt and Miami had the ball on their own 8 yard line with 5:10 left in the game.

Miami was able to take 2:10 off of the clock, but was forced to punt with just under 3 minutes remaining. Clemson set up on their own 31 yard line. On the first play, TE Jason Lantz was wide open and gained a healthy chunk of yards, 39 to be exact. Again, Clemson was in FG range and again, the Miami defense held strong. Two incomplete passes and a 9 yard sack (DT Donald Vann) took the visitors out of FG range and Miami had the ball on their 3 yard line with 1:51 remaining. FB Gregory Holton would give the 'Canes a little breathing room on a 5 yard gain. Clemson would use their 1st timeout. HB Jeffrey Santacruz would burst up the middle to gain 10 yards and give the 'Canes a first down with 1:40 remaining. Clemson would use their 2nd timeout. HB Samuel Weatherford couldn't find any room to run, gaining 1 yard and setting up a 2nd-and-9 on the Miami 19. Clemson would use their final timeout. Weatherford would lose 3 yards as Clemson DE Christopher Ramirez shut down that same play all game long. The 'Canes were forced to punt with 15 seconds left and Clemson would get the ball on their own 29, with 9 seconds remaining. 71 yards later, Malley was celebrating his 3rd TD of the game and the 30-27 victory that Clemson secured on the final play of the game. This was a very exciting game to watch and the 'Canes will regroup and look to right the ship in their next game vs. Syracuse

The recap was just as good as the game! Nice job, GG.

Great game guys. Shame someone had to lose.

After losing their first match (vs. Clemson) on the final play of the game, the Hurricanes regrouped and prepared for the visiting ACC rival Syracuse Orange. Contrary to what we've seen in the past, the Hurricanes were tight-lipped heading into this contest. Practices were close to the public and the 'Canes coaches and players were prohibited from speaking with the press.



Head Coach Joseph Graham remarked in the post-game press conference, "This was a huge game for us. We couldn't start off 0-2 in the ACC and we had a lot of work to do. We totally revamped our playbook and gameplan. Preparation was item #1 on the agenda, we couldn't afford any distractions." When asked about the changes, Graham stated, "We feel that we should have won our opener, we just got beat by some big plays and we needed to limit those opportunities.

Whatever changes were made seemed to pay dividends, as the 'Canes only gave up five plays that gained 20 or more yards. Miami QB Daniel Yazzie was seen all week carrying a football around campus, ball handling seemed to be another issue that was addressed. In the first game, Miami put the ball on the ground four times (three by Yazzie). In this game, there wasn't a single Miami fumble. Miami had a (+2) turnover differential in the game and that seemed to be the deciding factor in the defensive battle.



The game would open with a Miami 3-and-out. Syracuse subsequently put together a couple of big passes, giving them a 1st-and-10 on the Miami 31. Looking to strike quickly, Syracuse QB William Mitchell put the ball in the air and threw his first of three interceptions on the day. Miami strung six plays together but ended up punting the ball, pinning the visiting Orange on their own 6 yard line. Syracuse would draw first blood, marching 94 yards down the field and chewing 5:25 off the clock. The 14 yard pass to WR Michael Millar would be the only points that Syracuse would score in the game, though they did attempt a 53 yard field goal that sailed wide left.

Miami would equalize in the shortly before halftime on a 6 yard reception by WR Allan Hudak, the culmination of a 10 play drive. The winning 31 yard field goal would come in the fourth quarter, as Miami K Paul Stanley remained perfect on his kicks. Miami only allowed 34 total yards in the fourth quarter, forcing four 3-and-outs and one interception. Syracuse did net 281 yards in the game, which was 112 more than their hosts. However, Miami only allowed Syracuse to get in the red zone once and they came away with no points. A telling stat was the Orange's 3 for 13 third down conversion rate, with an average yards-to-go of 11.

Coach Graham also said, "We played a tough team. They're good on both sides of the ball. We needed to stay focused and play hard-nosed, disciplined football. We only had one penalty in the game, I'm happy with that. If we keep playing the way we did today, I am confident that we can beat anyone out there. Our offense just needs to play smart and take what they are given. Our defense needs to just keep what they're doing. Put pressure on the QB, don't give up big plays, and hit hard. The last thing we want is for an opponent to be comfortable out there."



Taking the game 10-7, Miami is 1-1 on the young season and both games have been in the ACC. Up next is another ACC rival, the Florida State Seminoles. FSU is arguably the 'Canes biggest rival and they possess the best offense that the 'Canes have faced thus far. FSU is 0-2 and will be looking to turn things around in Miami.

Player of the Game:
(Miami) DT Donald Vann - 7 Tackles, 3 Sacks, 1 Interception

Miami (1-1) hosted FSU (0-2) in the first of two matchups for the Sunshine State rivals. Besides the rivalry, this was a huge game for both teams. FSU did not want to start the season 0-3 and Miami did not wish to drop it's second game vs. ACC opponents. As the game kicked off, one thing became very obvious... both teams came ready to play!

Somebody needed to tell FSU that Miami is the defensive powerhouse in the ACC, because they held the 'Canes to 91 net yards with seven of Miami's drives not gaining positive yardage. All 14 of Miami's points came in the 2nd quarter and the hosts took a 14-3 lead into the half. Miami's defense did show up and forced turnovers on three consecutive Seminole drives, which turned out to be the deciding factor. FSU would add another FG and a safety to bring the score to 14-8, but Miami would walk away the victor with a 2-1 record (all within the ACC).

Though Miami won, the Player of the Game has to go to FSU DE Pedro Pinette. The red shirt senior tallied 16 tackles, 3 sacks, and a safety.

The 'Canes travel to Ole Miss for their first road game of the season, and TE David Scott is expected to take the field after suffering a neck injury in week 1.

After a 20-10 defeat in Mississippi, Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Joseph Graham sat down at the post-game press conference.

"Okay, I'm going to make a statement, some remarks on our performance and that's it. No questions, so get your tape recorders rolling, this is all I have to say. If this was a scrimmage, I could understand. ****, if it was week one, I could chalk it up to nervousness. But this is the fourth week of the season! I'm not happy... at all... this is unacceptable. We outperformed in every category, and... we just killed ourselves. Eight penalties is eight too many. And mostly false starts? I don't care that this was our first road game, that's no excuse. Minus two on turnover differential? Really? I mean, we're losing games that we should win, that's the long and short of it. It has to stop... now! We're gonna' get in there, review our film, and make the adjustments that we need to make. We can't sit back and think... if we did this or we did that... we need to figure out what went wrong and put measures in place so it doesn't happen again. And that's exactly what we're going to do. The Ole Miss game is behind us, Arkansas is up next and that's what we're focusing on. But I assure you, if we can't get our fundamentals down... there are plenty of other kids on our roster that are chomping at the bit for their chance to shine. So, take from that what you will. See you next week, hopefully under better circumstances."

After Week 4's poor performance, the Miami Hurricanes were looking to rebound at home against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Both teams would punt the ball on their first possession and it looked to be another defensive battle for the 'Canes. On their second possession, Miami would eat 4:50 of clock and go 77 yards on 10 plays, culminating in a 4 yard HB Samuel Weatherford touchdown run. Arkansas would respond with a seven play 73 yard drive of their own and knot the game at seven with just over a minute remaining in the first quarter.

Miami's next drive would only take three plays to traverse 84 yards, the bulk of which came on a 56 yard touchdown pass from QB Daniel Yazzie to WR Allan Hudak. Hudak had a breakout game and showed Miami fans why (Head Coach) Joseph Graham named him the #1 WR in pre-season, supplanting John Reed. Reed would tally 78 yards on six receptions, including a 17 yard touchdown in the final two minutes of the first half. Hudak, however, hauled in 15 ***** and amassed 238 receiving yards, which is just seventeen yards shy of Reed's combined five game total and more than any of the other Hurricanes combined totals for the season.

In the first half, Miami would string together four consecutive drives of more than 70 yards that resulted in 24 points. One of the drives took 16 plays and a staggering 8:20 of clock. Miami would put another three points on the board in the fourth quarter when K Paul "The Star Child" Stanley drove a 55 yard field goal through the uprights. Stanley did miss a chip-shot (for him) 31 yarder earlier in the game. Miami's defense held tight and forced Arkansas to punt nine times and limited their scoring to the lone touchdown in the first half. They also only allowed the visitors one trip to the red zone and it came up empty.



Miami emerged victorious with a final score of 27-7 and featured a new look offense. All of Miami's previous games had an even mix of passing and rushing, but Coach Graham turned up the knob on his vertical game in this matchup. Yazzie would complete 58% of his 45 passes and post a respectable 358 yards through the air. The 'Canes did run the ball effectively with a combined 29 attempts for 149 yards. Weatherford had the lion's share of the carries and put up 102 yards on 20 carries. Neither team turned the ball over, though SS Tommy Willis did force HB Frank Linton to put the ball on the ground, but WR John Gomez was able to recover the fumble. Miami also limited their penalties in the contest to four, which halved their previous game's numbers.

Graham remarked, "After the Ole Miss game, they guys were unhappy as I was. Yazzie approached me and told me to put the rock in his hands. He was very determined and exuded the confidence and conviction of a champion. Hudak looked good in practice and I worked with (Offensive Coordinator) Sammy (Smathers) to open the game up for Yazzie. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the outcome."



Up next for the 'Canes is (0-5) Stanford. Graham stated, "We're not looking past Stanford. We'll prepare just like any other game, to us records don't mean anything. In fact, teams that are in a slump can be more dangerous than usual. Certainly, we're aware that after the Stanford game, we face four teams that have one loss (or less) in the next five matches and then another set of three within the ACC. All of these games are important, but only one matters to us right now, our next one."

Players of the Game
Offense - WR Allan Hudak: 15 receptions, 238 yards, 1 TD
Defense - Danny Cohen: 8 Tackles, 5 Sacks, 6 Hurries

(3-2) Miami visited (0-5) Stanford for their second road game of the season. The first game outside the confines of Miami Lakes resulted in the Hurricanes' worst performance and a 10-20 defeat at the hands of Mississippi. When this contest opened, it looked like Miami was going to repeat the trend. Miami's first five drives, which stretched into the 2nd quarter, all resulted in 3-and-outs for a combined (-6) yardage. The Cardinal would also put up a 10 point lead (10-0) with 8 minutes remaining in the first half... when the fireworks began. A combined 24 points in 8 minutes would see the score knotted at 17 as the teams went into the locker room for halftime.



Maybe it was the momentum, or perhaps it was all the halftime adjustments, but this game took a drastic turn. Miami would score 27 points in the second half and Stanford would come out with just a field goal. Stanford's other 2nd half drives resulted in 2 interceptions, a lost fumble, a safety, a missed FG, a punt, a turnover on downs, and the final game whistle.

Stanford held Miami to five 1st downs and more than doubled their time of possession. The Cardinal also put up 458 net yards on the visiting team, but Miami capitalized on turnovers and walked away the 44-20 victor. The victory was enough to push Miami into the #12 spot in the BCS power rankings, after spending their time on the bubble at #13 & #14 (*Coaches Poll) since the season's start. Up next for Miami is a trip to #10 Washington and three other top ten teams in the next five games.





Players of the Game


Offense: QB Daniel Yazzie - 18/36 - 358 yards - 4 TDs - 0 INT - 122.22 QBR



Defense: WLB Morris Newman 13 Tackles, 1 Sack, Safety

A lot of Arkansas mentions in that last report... Didn't you guys play Arkansas the week before? ;)