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2005-2006
College Football Season
CollegeJersey.com
Game Of The Week
Sponsored by:
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Preview:
Miami at Florida State
By Douglas
Kroll
8/31/05
Courtesy: CollegeJersey.com
The Miami Hurricanes
and Florida State Seminoles may hold the utmost respect for one
another, but once out on the football field, they flat out despise
each other. The ’Canes and Seminoles are set to kick off
the latest chapter of their fierce rivalry on Monday night, in
the biggest game of an action packed opening college football
weekend.
It will be the 50th all time meeting between the two football
powerhouses, and don’t expect anything less than what we’ve
seen from the teams in the past. The Hurricanes hold a 29-20
edge in the all-time series, including the last six games played.
Miami’s last loss came in 1999, when FSU won 31-21 in Tallahassee.
Since then, the Hurricanes have been able to squeak out some
of the greatest and most exciting games in school history.
The last four meetings have been decided by a total of 17 points;
the closest being a 28-27 win on a last second field goal miss
that sailed wide-left, and the largest was the last time Miami
traveled to Bobby Bowden field at Doak Cambell Stadium and won
22-14 in a monsoon 2 years ago.
This year’s version of the rivalry is an interesting one
in many aspects.
Match-up-wise it has been said that this is Miami’s year,
not only in the annual fight between the two, but in the national
scene as well. But with each team starting a new quarterback,
anything is possible.
The Hurricanes will start a very talented Kyle Wright, who has
thrown a total of nine passes in his college career. Head Coach
Larry Coker feels real good about his pick for the job.
“I think he’s a tough player, and he’s very athletic.
He’s got extremely quick feet,” Coker said. “He
gives us another dimension we didn’t have, and as I mentioned
before, he can run.”
The Seminoles have had a fierce fight for the starting quarterback
job all spring and fall long. Redshirt freshman Drew Weatherford
was named starting quarterback earlier this week. Weatherford
beat out fellow redshirt freshman Xavier Lee.
Whoever is under center for the Seminoles will be going up against
what can be argued as the best defense in the country. The Hurricanes
returned nearly every starter on defense this season, and after
last years battle with the injury bug, so many young players
got a chance to play, which will pay off huge dividends this
time around. Nearly every defensive position has interchangeable
parts, which is a direct result of the depth this squad will
have. Cornerback Kelly Jennings, who gets to replace Antrel Rolle,
agrees that this defense is packed with talent.
“We really have a lot of guys we can stick in now that can
step up and play,” Jennings said. “We don’t have
to replace guys; we reload.”
The offense will also return many names. The wide receivers are
a year older, and will be a huge key to Wright’s success
as a quarterback. Ryan Moore will look to rebound from a very
disappointing season a year ago, while Lance Leggett will try
and build upon an extremely impressive freshman campaign.
The FSU defense is no laughing matter, meaning it is not the
ideal situation for a new starting Miami quarterback to get his
first start. Two linebackers strike fear into any offense, Ernie
Sims and A.J. Nicholson. Especially in hostile territory in front
of 85,000 people, and who knows how many more on prime-time Monday
Night Football on ABC. Although this game on paper looks like
it may extremely sloppy, this rivalry has proven time and time
again, the paper means absolutely nothing.
Douglas Kroll is an independent contributor to College Football
Poll.com. |
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