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From the video below, it looks like Al Golden found the perfect way to deliver a message of their season and unique situation through a poem entitled "The road ahead or the road behind" by George Moriarty. Powerful message in here, and another great job by 3 Penny Films who handles the "Raising Canes" series.
Last week, the University of Miami announced a self imposed bowl ban that will keep Miami from playing in the post season for the second straight year. Asked if the bowl ban and ongoing NCAA investigation is something that he is worried about, head coach Al Golden responded by saying "I worry about everything." Golden notes that sentiment goes beyond just his players...it includes everyone that touches the program, and each individual that has invested their time and energy into accomplishing their team goals. "I worry about all the kids that sit in a room and the staff, our strength staff, our training staff, everybody. When we go on that field, there are usually 240 people on that field. So there are a lot of people involved, a lot of lives involved. But I can see what we're becoming and what we want to do with the program." Golden explained. "That vision pulls me a little bit stronger than some of these things that try and tear us apart. I think we're here for the right reasons, which is why you have a tendency to dig in and fight as opposed to flight." Golden notes in an Associated Press article that how they respond to the ban and investigation this weekend against a much improved Duke squad will likely define this team. "We can complain all we want but we can't change it. But the challenge for our team is we're going to be defined by how we respond to this. And the first test of that is Saturday against Duke. We can say whatever we want. We can say we have a great attitude, we're working hard, we're focused, but the test is Saturday at 12:30." If Miami can get to the 30 point mark tomorrow, watch out. In all six of their wins this season, Miami has scored at least 30 points, and are 16-2 when scoring 30 or more in their past 18 games. Also, the Hurricanes have converted their last 18 consecutive red zone trips into points (13 of them being touchdowns). One thing is for sure, Golden has a young team that has played pretty well. Their starting offense and defense have a combined 11 starters that are either freshman or sophomores (redshirts included). The success of the young players has shown that Golden and his staff have been able to recruit very well regardless of the NCAA cloud that has been hanging over the program. The U still has a lot to sell. They've got a beautiful campus in a great location, a football program that should return to prominence sooner rather than later, a recruiting pipeline that coaches from every state wish that they had direct access to, and a coaching staff that are committed to the university and care tremendously about the individuals that they bring into the program. With that formula already in place, it's only a matter of time before the program is competing at the level that Golden and his staff expect.
Miami won its sixth game of the year on Saturday, 40-9 over South Florida, and put themselves one win away from playing in their first ACC Championship. And then it was taken away Monday morning. For the second straight year, the Hurricanes have decided to self-impose a bowl ban in advance of NCAA sanctions stemming from violations revealed in an August 2011 Yahoo! report. In his second season at the helm, Al Golden has led the Hurricanes to bowl eligibility twice now with nothing to show for it. Golden had this to say following the announcement, "Come at me. Bury me all you want. Attack me all you want," Golden said. "These kids who have stuck it out, who have stayed here, who have never gotten one week in two years without hearing about all this nonsense, don’t blame them. And I appreciate all those kids that not only stayed here, but those guys that answered the bell, that answered the call to come here and fix this. And we will get it fixed." The aim of this column is not to criticize Miami for imposing the ban. Today's administrators, coaches and players are stuck in a rough situation, paying for sins committed long before they arrived in Coral Gables. Sanctions are certainly coming, and nothing would be worse than finding themselves in the situation Ohio State is currently in. It's the timing of the announcement that I question. I wasn't in the locker room or coaches' offices at Miami, but I'd have to imagine the Hurricanes' morale is low after climbing their way to six wins and the top of the ACC Coastal Division only to have the rug pulled out from under them. Announce the ban before the season and get everyone on the program on the same page. Miami should be in the clear to chase its postseason dreams by 2014, when Golden's first recruiting class is in its fourth season. By all accounts the Hurricanes should be able to compete for the ACC championship, and maybe more, by then. So the good news is, there's light at the end of the tunnel. It's a long, long tunnel, though. Miami has hit a recent rough patch in the schedule, losing their past four of five. Beyond just the wins and losses, Al Golden is frustrated with having to discipline players this late in the season, when they should be focused on winning games and getting better on each side of the ball. "Every team battles it. I just don’t want to be battling it in November. I mean, you’ve either got a headset on or earplugs or you just don’t listen to what anybody else is saying in the building, because for two weeks now that’s all we’ve been talking about.” The past two weeks answering questions about suspensions and behavior issues have felt more like a television show than a football program at times Golden noted. “It’s been TMZ since I’ve been here. Let’s be honest, right? It’s been tough on the coaches. It’s been tough on me.” One of the the most frustrating parts for Golden and his staff has been taking time away from instructing the entire team to hash out the mistakes of a few players. With that said, it's important to set the standard of expectations for the future players of the program. "I say to the team all the time, you’re sitting in a room with 110 guys and 107 of them are doing everything right and it’s two or three guys that [mess] up. Now you’re in there yelling at the whole team. We have to make sure we don’t drain everybody else’s energy because a couple of guys aren’t doing what they need to do." "You have to break the cycle. You can’t hand that down as acceptable to the next generation of Miami Hurricanes." Golden explained in the Miami Herald. Noting that players always respond better to their peers, Golden and his staff put together a "unity council" that is comprised of a few players from each class who handle themselves the right way on and off the field. Defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio explained the unity council philosophy. “Always, players respond better to their peers. Sometimes you hear the same thing over and over again from a coach, but when one of your guys — the guy that you live with, you’re in the dining hall with, you hang out with — tells you the truth and keeps it real, they respond better. Guys have to be proactive in that area, and that’s something we have to improve on." “Our job here is to develop them as human beings. If we were worried about ourselves, we wouldn’t suspend them. You’re suspending them in hopes that it will help them. You try to save everybody, but eventually they don’t save themselves. The last thing is to give up on somebody. We’re not pro football coaches. We’re college coaches.” D'Onofrio added. This season has been a trying time for the Hurricanes on and off the field, but the staff understands the big picture. When you're dealing with college aged kids on a day to day basis, some of them will make knuckle-headed decisions. As coaches it is our responsibility to help them learn from it, and make sure that the everyone involved with the team understands the expectations of being a player within your program. Also, good move by the staff in creating a "unity council". Developing an effective way to communicate with your the leaders among your team is a great way to allow players input into the major decisions involving the program, and it also allows coaches a great pulse on everything involved with the team.
With another full slate of games ahead of us tomorrow, here's what we'll be keeping an extra close eye on throughout the day. LSU at Texas A&M (12 p.m. ET, ESPN): This is an opportunity for a statement game for Texas A&M. Kevin Sumlin and Kliff Kingsbury's explosive offense (tied for sixth nationally in total offense, 7.09 yards per play) faces John Chavis' second-ranked LSU defense. If Texas A&M pulls out the win, it will be because quarterback Johnny Manziel (24 touchdowns through six games) found a way to solve an LSU defense that has surrendered just 13 scores this season. These programs have met 50 times previously, although Saturday will be the first meeting in College Station since 1995. Texas A&M wants to re-kindle this rivalry, but the only way to to do that is with a win. Rutgers at Temple (12 p.m. ET, Big East Network): Raise your hand if you knew this was a battle for the top spot in the Big East standings. Steve Addazio has led Temple to a 2-0 start in the Owls' return to the Big East despite ranking last in the league in total offense and total defense. Addazio's team relies heavily on the run (2.1:1 rush-pass ratio), while Rutgers ranks second nationally in rush defense at 60.8 yards per game and 2.25 yards per carry allowed. Both of these teams' success lies in forcing turnovers (Rutgers leads in the nation in turnover margin, Temple is No. 12), so whoever can carve out an advantage in that area will likely win the game. Iowa State at Oklahoma State (12 p.m. ET, FX): A year removed from winning the Big 12 championship, Mike Gundy's team is still trying to sort out exactly what it is. The Cowboys lead the country in total offense by a wide margin, nearly 34 yards per game over No. 2 Baylor. But their most impressive win to date is over Louisiana - Lafayette, and they come into Saturday off a 20-14 win over 1-5 Kansas in which the Jayhawks outgained OSU 398-371. Paul Rhoads' team will try to make this game close and low-scoring. Iowa State is 19-1 in Rhoads' tenure when holding teams under 24 points, and 3-21 when giving up 24 points or more. Iowa State is also 10-6 under Rhoads in games decided by a touchdown or less. South Carolina at Florida (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS): Mark Richt and co. will be rooting hard for the Gators, as a Florida win essentially sets up a winner-take-all matchup for the control of the SEC East at the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party next week. Meanwhile, a South Carolina win means Steve Spurrier's team will just have to get by Tennessee and Arkansas to clinch a trip to Atlanta for the second time in three years. The Gamecocks have won two straight in this series while limiting the Gators to just 26 combined points. BYU at Notre Dame (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC): This game will likely play out like seemingly every Notre Dame game this season - gritty, close and low scoring. Both of these squads rank among the nation's top seven nationally in scoring defense, allowing just over 22 points per game combined. Bronco Mendenhall has an opportunity to put a peacock-sized feather in his team's cap as a win would put the Cougars in a great position to finish 2012 at 9-3 and a top 25 ranking. On the other sideline, all that's on the line for Notre Dame is keeping intact its first 7-0 start since 2002 with a primetime showdown at Oklahoma on the immediate horizon. Nebraska at Northwestern (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2): Bo Pelini's struggling defense faces perhaps the most diverse attack in the Big Ten. Any hopes either team has of playing for the Big Ten title likely dies with a loss on Saturday. Expect Nebraska and its Big Ten-leading scoring offense to try to outscore Northwestern, while the Wildcats will attempt to exploit the Cornhuskers' penchant for turning over the football (No. 104 nationally in turnover margin. Oh, and there's this:
Kansas State at West Virginia (7 p.m. ET, FOX): Bill Snyder's tough-as-nails bunch travels to face West Virginia in the friendly confines of Milan Puskar Stadium. The last time Dana Holgorsen's team played at home it lit up Baylor for 10 touchdowns. A Kansas State victory puts the Wildcats firmly ahead of the pack in the Big 12, while a loss for West Virginia ends the conference and national title aspirations that seemed so promising just one week ago. West Virginia's highly publicized offense is more productive of the two but Kansas State's is actually more efficienct, churning out 0.65 points per play to WVU's 0.58 points per play. Florida State at Miami (8 p.m. ET, ABC): Consider this a referendum for two young coaching tenures. Both teams need wins to stay in the hunt for the ACC Championship but, most importantly, both teams need a win over each other. Al Golden is looking for his first victory over FSU, while a loss by the Seminoles means nothing short toppling Florida can make this season a success. Jimbo Fisher's team dominates the ACC statistically, leading the conference in total offense, total defense, scoring offense, scoring defense, pass efficiency, pass efficiency defense and rushing defense. They also place second in the ACC in rushing offense behind Georgia Tech, but possess the conference's best yards per carry average (6.28). Baylor at Texas (8 p.m. ET, ABC): Texas returns home reeling after consecutive losses to West Virginia and Oklahoma. Mack Brown's teams traditionally play their best football following Oklahoma, going 13-1 immediately after the Red River Rivalry. Baylor carries in a two-game losing streak of its own, surrendering a total of 17 touchdowns in losses to West Virginia and TCU. Baylor leads the nation in passing offense with nearly 400 yards per game faces a Texas defense that has allowed Big 12 quarterbacks to go 65-of-101 for 903 yards with eight touchdowns against two interceptions. The numbers aren't much better for Texas' rush defense as opposing Big 12 offenses have carried 133 times for 810 yards (6.1 ypc) for 10 scores. Solace for Texas comes in the fact that Baylor brings in a defense ranked among the bottom four nationally in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense and pass efficiency defense. Expect an old-fashion Big 12 shootout that lasts deep into the night. Washington at Arizona (10 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks): After a 3-0 start Rich Rodriguez is still searching for his first Pac-12 win. Washington is also looking for its first victory since the upset of Stanford on Sept. 27. Scott from our staff will be on hand in Tucson. Follow him on Twitter @FootballScoop for his observations of the game.
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