IT'S A 'U' THING

Take a breather from the whining about the offensive line, secondary and every other imperfection and look at where @CanesFootball sits in year five under @Coach_Cristobal. Then listen to what the haters are relying on to cope. Against #FloridaState, it was outrage over a Hail Mary flag; against #Pittsburgh, it was feigned outrage over attendance at a noon game. It’s become Whack-A-Mole: Moron Edition as we smack down their half-baked takes, only to see new stupidity popping up. Empty seats. Rented stadium. Haven’t won the ACC. Couldn’t win the natty at home. Blah, blah, fucking blah-blah. Win the conference this year and watch it'll become, “Only won the ACC once!”—see some bad calls against Miami and they’ll be “deserved” for past sins. For people who spent decades accusing #Miami fans of living in the past, this contingent is awfully-dependent on keeping the conversation there—and by design—as the reality is the present becoming a real problem. Duke lands #DarianMensah from Tulane? Great pickup. The kid leaves Durham for a better opportunity down south? The #Canes represent everything wrong with college football. #PatNarduzzi wants to grandstand about “tampering”—he comes off as half-baked as his defensive back who swore they had a plan to stop #MalachiToney—gaslighting as if this current era of college football is build on handshakes and honor codes everywhere but Coral Gables. Last year was supposed to ‘expose' Miami. Remember our favorite jaded former #Seminoles quarterback #DannyKanell predicting the Canes wouldn’t even make a bowl? They finished 13-3 and played for a national championship. This year, Miami supposedly couldn’t replace its personnel losses. Now it’s 7-0 and No. 1—so blame the schedule, while ignoring the fact Miami is doing its job and the likes of Florida State, Clemson, Virginia Tech others aren’t holding up their end of the bargain, because in what world should the Noles, Tigers or Hokies be unranked teams when facing the Canes? There’s always another bullshit explanation as the target moves; anything to avoid acknowledging what’s being built behind the scenes here. And that’s the part even some Miami fans need to appreciate: in more than four decades following this program, I’ve never seen the university this aligned and on the same page, financially-invested in building a football powerhouse. The old joke was that UM never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity—and who could argue? Cheap hires. Half-measures. An operating model built on local talent covering institutional shortcomings. It worked until it didn’t and before we knew it, 7-5 became a lifestyle with a very liberal president who loved her medical school and saw athletics as a necessary evil. Cristobal didn’t leave Oregon’s money and resources to come home on a handshake and a nostalgia pitch; Miami finally committed to funding the ambition— because without that, he wasn’t coming home. And now look at who’s driving it. A white-collar world President in  #JoeEchevarria, who ran Deloitte LLP, before leading U-Health and ultimately the university—which he’s also doing like a CEO, more than an administrator. Listen to him discuss conference economics, media rights and Miami’s future; the man understands investment, leverage and what happens when your business outgrows its arrangement. Miami stayed out of the courtroom while Clemson and Florida State became the public faces of the ACC fight … and UM still benefited from the settlement’s television-based revenue changes, earning and keeping $20 million from its CFP run under the conference’s success incentives. Let somebody else lead the legal fight; be positioned to capitalize and deliver while others took their eye off the ball. Board chairman #MannyKadre helped deliver the cash-heavy Nike agreement worth more than $200-million over the next decade. #RudyFernandez, a Vice President and basically Echevarria’s right-hand man—he started his legacy helping bring Cristobal home and remains deeply involved in aligning university resources with football. While outsiders were fixated on the flashier John Ruiz, lower-profile power players like José and Jorge Mas were part of the circle helping shape Miami’s direction—and now @CanesConnection is benchmark for a well-oiled NIL machine. These people know how to build businesses and several know how to run professional sports organizations, as well. And the next athletics hire appears designed to strengthen that approach; the last reported shortlist consisted entirely of candidates with pro sports experience. Think franchise president: someone who can turn Miami’s brand into corporate partnerships and recurring revenue. That’s how you sustain this; turn attention into revenue, turn revenue into resources and ultimately give your coaches all means possible to keep winning big and loading up each new roster. For years, “Miami is back” was a television segment waiting to become a punchline after the next loss; fueled by the media, and consumed by rival fans—the early season vitriol when the Canes were hyped and the jubilation as the media tore the team down after a few later-year losses. That was then, this is now and success is becoming a pattern. Ten wins in 2024. Thirteen and a national championship appearance in 2025. A 7-0 start in 2026. Thirty wins across that stretch; that’s a hell of a long fluke. Does it guarantee a national championship this year? Of course not. There are still flaws to fix, players that need to get healthy, games to win and a late-season gear like last season, were Miami seemed to get stronger as the stakes got raised. But a bad quarter—or a bad Saturday—it doesn’t erase the operation behind this team. Miami has a born-and-bred head coach who views restoring this program as his life’s work, a president who understands its value and a leadership group willing to back the ambition with resources. The people making the decisions finally expect what the fans always held as the standard; and that in itself is nothing short of a miracle for a small private university in South Florida that has zero business competing with powerhouse state schools or public universities across the nation. Cristobal said it: Miami isn’t “back”—Miami is HERE—and even scarier for the haters, it’s not going anywhere by up from this point forward. The jaded bozos can keep counting empty seats or whining about schedules; the people running this program are building something that lasts and this fan base is only getting more emboldened after two decades of irrelevance. 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

My guy, Randy Shannon ran a Cover 2 Man every down with superior athletes 2001-2003. His defense started getting torched in 2004 when he lacked the talent. Shannon was no schemer; he out-talented the competition.

Hard to hear that "Hooo!" and take that wake-up call upside the chops when their head is in the sand and all that's showing is their ass.

Basic words and emotions from simpleton people who feel it's their duty to not "celebrate" a win because it wasn't up to some mythical standard. These are usually people who wasted all day in Facebook groups screaming about Miami rolling North Carolina, 45-17—arguing with their fans, talking shit, showing zero logic or common sense with low football IQs—who are subsequently embarrassed that the Canes "almost lost" and didn't win big ... so they immediately have to "get in front of it" to mitigate the damage and shit talking coming their way. "Bro, I don't need you to tell me—that shit was embarrassing and if we don't get it cleaned up, this team isn't going anywhere in the playoffs!!" Such a weird ritualistic way to diffuse the big baseless prediction that blew up in their faces.

I went off about it days ago. Kenan Stadium has been a house of horrors since year one in the ACC and that 31-28 loss—No. 3 Miami falling to unranked North Carolina (3-4) who was days from firing Carl Torbush. Lost seven of ten up there going into this weekend; most due to coaching incompetence—Randy Shannon owned by Butch Davis, while Manny Diaz couldn't beat his old boss Mack Brown. This wins were even dogfights; Al Golden almost blowing a big lead in 2011; a final drive stand to survive—while it took a monster Thursday night comeback in 2013—and a forced late fumble for undefeated Miami to survive a North Carolina squad that was winless-in-the-ACC and 1-6 at the time. The notion Miami would go in there and roll; it'd it'd literally have been the first time—the only wins were by 6 (2011), 5 (2017) and 4 (2013)—and now the Canes won by 3. Any win in Chapel Hill is a good win based on history and ghosts of this series' past. xitter.gq/ItsAUThingBlog/status/…

Same story with Shannon Dawson. Everyone was all over him for disappearing in the second half against Wake Forest. We can't talk about him trading blows with Bobby Petrino all night and Miami with only the one punt? Surgical in picking apart Pittsburgh last week? Big drives late against Florida State and some great calls in overtime to get that win? But boy it was A LOT of trashing the guy for second half play calling in Winston-Salem back in September and now it's all about trashing Corey Hetherman, while ignoring how legit this offense is playing—"IT'S 2024 ALL OVER AGAIN AND THIS DEFENSE IS COOKED IN THE PLAYOFFS!" A lot of our fans don't deserve nice things.

I was there; walking out of Sun Devil Stadium in the wee hours of January 3rd, 2003 and going back to the morgue that was the team hotel that night—it was night and day from the all nighter we pulled a year early in Century City at the team hotel after we left the Rose Bowl and just threw down after number five.

I like 3:30 pm ET better for the tailgating crew to get a bit more lubed up. There are a lot of fans who like to make a day of it that just aren't getting their shit moving that early in Miami for a 12pm ET kick—where you're leaving the house at 6:00 am ET if you want to tailgate and hang out before game-time. It is what it is for Duke, but that Virginia Tech game better be a 7:00 pm ET kick on ESPN.

I mean this wholeheartedly, but what happened to a large swath of this @CanesFootball fan base as of late? U-enthusiasts went from living in an unattainable ’80s-era past—where nothing but dominance and annual title contention was accepted—to a bunch of betas who pontificate and doom-post non-stop in these fan-driven social media groups. I saw more logic and common sense on late-’90s message boards when Miami was down 31 scholarships and NCAA probation wrecked half a decade—than I’m seeing with this undefeated, No. 1 team. These pages are now flooded with people holding court like they see something the rest of us don’t; daily warnings that this isn’t a championship-caliber defense. Thanks, Lombardi ... the rest of us SO wouldn’t see these weaknesses without your incessant online rants. “𝘞𝘌 𝘚𝘖 𝘞𝘖𝘜𝘓𝘋𝘕’𝘛 𝘉𝘌𝘈𝘛 𝘎𝘌𝘖𝘙𝘎𝘐𝘈 𝘐𝘍 𝘞𝘌 𝘗𝘓𝘈𝘠𝘌𝘋 𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘔 𝘛𝘖𝘔𝘖𝘙𝘙𝘖𝘞!!!” When then thank God that a potential playoff matchup is at least two months away. A year ago this week, Miami was 6-2 after losing at SMU—out of the ACC hunt and needing to win out just to have a shot at an at-large berth. Remember where that season eventually went? Months back, half this fan base wanted to give #CoreyHetherman a lifetime contract—petrified he’d leave for a head coaching gig—yet these same emotional wrecks want him out after #BobbyPetrino picked apart his defense like a buzzard on some roadkill on a hot South Florida day. So much of this “we’re in trouble if we don’t fix the defense” venting feels like self-protection. Fans spend their week arguing with rivals and prediction Miami would roll, then scramble to rip their own team before somebody throws those predictions back in their faces. I’ve gotten hooked on @RomanCane’s Student Of The Game breakdowns; actual Xs and Os explaining what happened, the predicament Hetherman faced and what needs to change—as the Sunday morning quarterbacking from a portion of this fan base has gotten insufferable. (Take 20 minutes and watch him unpack Chapel Hill: youtube.com/watch?v=Dq2gGA2D…) Petrino had Miami’s tendencies figured out. Motion to identify coverage. Quick throws exploiting safety rotations. Running backs isolated against linebackers or a defensive end. Counter looks forcing pass rushers to honor the run—buying #BillyEdwards time to make Miami pay. Sometimes the Canes got the matchup they wanted and lost the rep. Guys didn’t win one-on-one up front. Defenders got sucked underneath, leaving receivers open behind them. Screens hurt again. Coverage, tackling, angles and wrapping up weren’t consistently good enough. Does anybody rambling away in these groups think they see flaws the staff doesn’t? That coaches and players aren’t already breaking down those mistakes and getting back to Greentree to address them? One guy was ranting the other day that coaches “need to be accountable.” Is there a coach who preaches accountability more than Cristobal? Who sounds less satisfied when his team doesn’t execute? The same “back to work” mantra, same angst, win or lose. An intense head of this program that won two national championships as a Miami player; Cristobal understands the responsibility and the standard, as well as the outside noise that comes with both. Ro’s breakdown makes the work clear: better disguise, fewer predictable tendencies, a hard look at coverage assignments and better execution when guys ARE positioned to actually make a play. None of that guarantees a fix. Last year showed how much has to go your way just to get into the playoffs, let alone reach a title game. Hence the whole “1-0 every week” and the relentless work that comes with it. Many of us have said it: plenty of Miami teams over the past two decades lose at Wake Forest, lose to Florida State and absolutely lose that back-and-forth battle at North Carolina. Instead, Miami held UNC to three before halftime and got #MarquiseLightfoot’s strip sack, recovered by #JustinScott—the game’s only turnover—when it desperately needed a stop. Can this jaded bunch take anything good from a comeback win in a house of horrors? Miami had lost seven of its previous ten in Chapel Hill, and even the wins in 2011, 2013 and 2017 were dogfights, while UNC entered this one on a five-game winning streak. But those holding court in the Facebook groups predicted a 45-17 blowout—so 38-35 becomes an embarrassment they need get in front of and explain away. Look around college football. Where’s the juggernaut? Conference teams are beating up on each other and traditional powers are going down every week. Auburn went into Athens and beat No. 1 Georgia, then lost consecutive games to LSU and Ole Miss. BYU beat No. 2 Notre Dame, then lost at UCF—which promptly got wrecked 41-9 by Baylor under an interim coach. Ohio State lost Julian Sayin, yet its defense got torched at Southern Cal. Kentucky is getting all the love right not, but don't forget that 45-17 Alabama laid on their defense—that same Alabama defense that let Florida State score 36 while Ashton Daniels threw for 377, but his 298 yard day at Miami was the only one that drew massive criticism. What happened one Saturday doesn’t dictate the next; the whole, tired transitive-property bullshit fans cling to has never meant less. I don’t care whether you have full faith or zero confidence in this defense. Miami has a staff—and a head coach—that understands the assignment and won’t be outworked trying to solve these problems. Be frustrated with it and clamor for better—but let's lose the whole authoritative energy and air of superiority when trying to take the piss out of anyone here trying to enjoy some wins and this first trip back to No. 1 since the 2003 Fiesta Bowl. The defense produced three second-half sacks Saturday. Dawson’s offense kept answering, creating opportunities and trading blows with Petrino all night. Weren’t we just bitching about the offensive line and Miami's offensive coordinator disappearing late at Wake Forest? We can criticize that, but won't make his offense the focus in this road win against Belichick’s team? Sometimes the offense has to carry you. You’re allowed to win those games, too. And after a week hearing how penalties would doom Miami on the road? Three flags for 30 yards. We're just going to ignore that, while leading it with when the Canes are a hot-mess on the penalties front? There’s too much parity to treat every conference dogfight as proof your season is fraudulent. The other sideline has players, good coaches and a week’s worth of film—while we've seen for decades that the Hurricanes coming to town represents a lot of team's "Super Bowl". Wake Forest, Florida State and North Carolina threw the kitchen sink at Miami; the Canes won all three—and anybody who's watched this program the past two decades knows this team is 5-3 right now in that old economy. There’s a final regular-season month to improve while continuing to win. Earn a top-four seed and Miami’s first playoff game is nearly two months away. Demand better defense. But quit pretending the November version is all this team can become. Remember the hangover a year ago today after waking up with this team sitting at 6-2 after that brutal choke-job at SMU—and then look where things went over the next ten weeks; scrappy in ACC play to finish the regular season 10-2, the CFP berth and then watching beat Texas A&M, take out Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl and outlasting Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl—one drive short of winning a national championship as a 10-seed. Months ago, Hetherman needed a lifetime contract. Now it’s “For Sale” signs and a moving truck. The defense needs more consistency? Sure. But so do a lot of you. 1-0 every week. Back to work. Beat Notre Dame.

Joe, I wholelheartly couldn't give less of a fuck what you read or don't read—and the fact you had to chime in proves you're the bozo in this equation. Your basic-as-fuck little "I ain't readin all dat" meme—big paragraphs and case-building is a problem for a lot of our fans. I bet you suck at cornhole, too. We're done here. Thanks, pal.

I mean it's wild as they just saw last year where Florida was screaming about Lane Kiffin all fall, threw the kitchen sink at him and had to settle on Jon Sumrall of Tulane. This isn't the era of big named guys making big timed moves anymore. I don't pretend to know who Florida State will get, but you'd have to bank on some up and comer at a smaller school, or at best a coordinator from a bigger program. Who really sees some big P4 guy leaving one big gig for Tallahassee? They choked last year not canning Mike Norvell mid-season and getting James Franklin. That was their best shot at a home-run hire—but they played poor, hoping to revive their guy—while trusting there was a bigger fish down the road.

I mean Danny is spiraling-out at this rate. It was all fun and games last year when Miami was climbing and he felt like he was on the front-end of it by mid-season; beating the drum for the Canes over the Irish—and about-face after his preseason cold-take that 'The U' wouldn't make a bowl game. He also expected a bounce-back year for Florida State after upsetting Alabama in the opener an and wasn't ready for a wheel's off 5-7 on the heels of 2-10—and then they kept Dead Mike Walking going into 2026. Resorting to Indiana "kicked your ass" rhetoric for a six-point title game loss, where Miami had the ball and was driving for the win—on a night a back-up tight end whiffed on a block and an special teams gaffe cost the Canes a touchdown—the argument is getting childish on his part at this rate. No, Florida State doesn't have that Indiana Big Ten money—nor do they have over 800,000 living alumni (largest in the nation)—financially backing their program and giving back the way the Hoosiers have. Not to mention they don't have their anomaly that is Curt Cignetti; that weirdo, right-fit, on-brand wizard who rolled in and found a grift—and a Heisman-winning quarterback—to give him that team-of-destiny perfect season last year. Miami is now 32-6 since the 2024 season-opener; Florida State is 10-22 over that same span; lost three to the Canes over that stretch, haven't won on the road since November 2023 at Florida and went over a year without an ACC win. Hardly a shock that our guy is punching air right now...

I’m not the guy who posted a claim that only my fan base called controversial, saying anyone who disagreed with me is some biased fan of the other team. You want to bitch about the call, go right ahead—but the whole “anyone arguing otherwise is a Miami diehard” and implication that any unbiased party would absolutely agree with you—that’s where you went off the rails. ✌🏽

But, but, but it’a THEIR’S, guys!!! It’s not a rental! They own it … only to get owned in it!! 😂

It's wild, man. It's the Facebook groups that have gone so off the rails; these engagement-driven, needy morons who pontificate—as if the see everything through a lens the rest of us can't; going as far as screaming coaches "need to take accountability" (as if Cristobal and staff ever do any less.) "If we played Georgia tomorrow they'd kill us!!" Cool. At best, Miami would play Georgia in two months, if one makes the top four and the other it outside that window—and if both are top four teams, you're not meeting until early January in a quarterfinals or a national title game—so what say we focus on Notre Dame, Duke, Virginia Tech and Boston College. It's wild a we went from that jaded older Gen X'er or Boomer who spent the past two decades comparing everything to the one-of-a-kind, magical '80s—and now it's this jaded, know-it-all Millennial type who is just so inherently miserable and part of this tear-down culture on social media that they can't-not doom-post non-stop. You look at the history of these usual suspects on these pages and it's the same handful of guys that just spews negativity; this is immediately 2024 all over again with a world-class offense and a trash defense and they're gonna tell you (and the coaches) what's up. The same mouth-breathers who months back were petrified that Corey Hetherman would get a head coaching gig this off-season—they now want to pack his bags and run him off. It's fucking wild how low IQ and over-emotional the average college football fan has gotten, while Miami fans are proving to be a special breed—and the public service they think they're doing telling all of us what's up, acting like we don't see what they see (we just process it differently)—it's taken any joy out of being No. 1 or 8-0, or the simple fact this is a 5-3 team at any point over the past two decades, with Miami losing to Wake Forest, Florida State and North Carolina.

I mean “lol” all you want. Doesn’t make me wrong. And if we’re playing the age-game for street-cred, I’m 52 and started going to the Orange Bowl in 1979 as a kid—section R, row 62—and I’ve covered the Canes for over three decades. ✌🏽

Yes, let’s start there. Which stage of grief are you currently in? I’m guessing “denial”.

Such a moronic take in an era where the ACC gets their annual $109-milliom cut at a P4 member of the College Football Playoffs—regardless if they get any team in the final 12—and where as a conference the ACC lets its teams keep all postseason earnings, which is why Miami pocketed their entire $20-million from the 2025 title run—so there is literally ZERO financial upside for the conference here. Toss in that the ACC has treated the University of Miami like a third-class citizen since joining in 2004; North Carolina and Duke the only two elitist programs voting against expansion—and now all talk is around Miami’s president calling the ACC second-class with its payouts, looking into joining the Big Ten, or going Independent. So sure, it’s TOTALLY plausible that the ACC—who literally has zero financial upside if Miami does well—is totally throwing it for the Cands, in a game in Chapel Hill against conference darling North Carolina. At a time UM is literally trashing the second rate payday and saying it’s leaving the ACC. Where was all that “protecting Miami” last year when sticking with a broken tiebreakers (based on opponent point totals) and sending other conference favorite Duke to the ACC Championship as a five-loss team, over two-loss Miami? Literally ran the risk of having no team in the top 12 once Duke beat Virginia, unless the committee chose Miami as an at-large over Notre Dame—and somehow that wasn’t “bad for business”? Laughable post-game coping here.

You’re spiraling, homie. Log off.

Sooo … a guy at TarHeel247 ISN’T biased when he says it’s not pass inference, but anyone disagreeing is a Miami apologist. Wild take. Now show the other angle where homeboy is clearly grabbing Toney’s jersey with his right hand.