Canes Get Signature Win Vs Clemson

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The month of October hasn’t been very kind for the Miami Hurricanes.

Miami dropped a heart breaking loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday, October 7,  23-20 when Coach Mario Cristobal called a running play that led to a fumble loss instead of kneeling down with about 30 seconds left in the contest. He owned up to the costly mistake a few days later.

A week later, The Hurricanes hit the road and lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels on October 14, 41-31 as QB Tyler Van Dyke sustained a lower extremity injury and was limited during the week of practice.

These pair of losses knocked Miami out of the polls as the Hurricanes headed into Saturday’s showdown vs the Clemson Tigers.

Prior to the game, Cristobal decided to not play Van Dyke as Emory Williams took the majority of the snaps during practice.

When you have a new QB, coaches tend to look toward the running game to take the pressure off and that’s what occurred.

On the opening drive of the contest, Clemson was driving the ball down the field but the drive stalled as the Canes forced a fumble into the Tigers end zone enabling the Hurricanes to take the ball at their own 20-yard line. 

It took all of 14 seconds for Miami to turn that turnover into points as running back Brashard Smith ran 80-yards for a touchdown to give the Canes a 7-0 lead and this would be the margin at the end of the first quarter.

Clemson proceeded to score 17 unanswered points as the Tigers led 17-7 by the end of the third quarter thanks to the combination of QB Cade Klubnik who went 18/34 for 314 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Wide receiver Jake Briningstool was targeted 10 times, had five receptions for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Briningstool looked so impressive that he could be on a future NFL roster playing on Sundays.

On a 79 degree night with clear skies, the Hurricanes showed no quit as they outscored Clemson 10-0 in the fourth quarter.

With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Williams hit Colbie Young for an 11-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 17-14. The time of the drive was 15 plays, 75 yards and 9:01

The Hurricanes followed this drive up with another one that went went 10 plays, 43 yards and lasted 5:15 leading to a 38-yard FG by Andres Borregales as the score was tied 17-17.

Both teams exchanged field goals in the first overtime making the score 20-20.

In the second overtime, Ajay Allen, who had 16 carries for for 54 yards scored his lone touchdown, but the decisive one, a three-yarder to give Miami a 26-20 lead, and a successful two point conversion increased it to 28-20.

This set the stage for Clemson’s next drive which would come up short as the Tigers were unable to score on three straight short running plays. 

On the game’s final play, needing no more than a yard for the end zone, Klubnik faked a handoff and rolled left, only to have no chance of getting past Miami linebacker Corey Flagg, who made the tackle and the Hurricanes sprinted onto the field in celebration.

A year ago, lost on the road to Clemson 40-10 where the Tigers tacked a touchdown on with 16 seconds remaining.

The loss means that Swinney has to wait until today before becoming the school’s outright leader in wins. He remains tied with Frank Howard for the most in Tigers history with 165.

Going into this game, Clemson had been 16-3 in the Swinney era in regular season games following a bye week, 47-10 in night games since the start of the 2015 season. Clemson had also blown out Miami in each of the last four seasons between between the schools by a combined score of 178-30.

As for the Hurricanes, they were 0-5 in home ACC games since the start of last season. That matched the longest home losing streak in conference games, dating back to the Big East Days. The Hurricanes dropped five straight ACC games at home during a stretch spanning 2007 and 2008.

Miami dominated the rushing yards by out gaining Clemson 211-21. Meanwhile, the Tigers doubled up the Canes in passing yards 314-151. Miami led in total yards 362-335. Time of possession went Miami’s way as the Canes led 34:54-25:06.

The Hurricanes were hit with eight penalties for 90 yards while Clemson mustered up seven for 38 yards.

The Tigers had four fumbles, two lost and one interception while Miami had a pair of fumbles but none of those lost to go a long with one interception.

There was no question that this was a hard fought, physical football game as a crowd of 48,562 observed. Miami improved its record to 5-2 while Clemson dropped to 4-3.

There were also representatives from the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, in addition to the Senior and Hula Bowls.

After the game, Coach Cristobal and the players made available in the post-game press were unquestionably in a much better mood than they were after the Georgia Tech game. I asked Cristobal about the final play. Williams comments were unbelievable as he told every media member that what we were asking, “Good Question” and you’re going to see this in one of the videos.

The Miami Hurricanes face the Virginia Cavaliers today at Hard Rock Stadium at 3:30 PM with a chance to become bowl eligible.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can find him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.

Also you can see his broadcasts by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Catching Up With Marlins Jody Reed

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The best part about covering baseball on all levels, especially the Minor Leagues, are the relationships that you build throughout the years.

I’ve been very fortunate to work with the New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds and Texas Rangers Minor league clubs in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Tampa, FL, and Gastonia, NC. I covered the Yankees for the Hallandale Digest, Reds for the Tampa Tribune and worked as an administrator for the Rangers.

I have interviewed a lot of players and many of them reached the major leagues. Some of the ones that standout include Brian Butterfield, Rex Hudler, Joe Oliver, Dean Palmer, Sammy Sosa, Jose Rijo and many others. When they made it to the major leagues, our paths would cross during Spring Training as well as during the regular season. 

Other names worth mentioning are Kevin Rand, Lenny Harris and Barry Foote.

When I was working for the Tampa Tribune, my editors wanted me to write a story on local product on second baseman Jody Reed. At the time, he was drafted by the Boston Red Sox and was playing for the Class A, Florida State League’s Winter Haven, FL.

I did exactly that and caught up with him at Al Lopez Field, the home of the Tarpons. Reed was a hot prospect. He would make his MLB Debut on August 22, 1997 and would play in the majors for 10 seasons.

His stops were with the Red Sox (1987-1992), Los Angeles Dodgers (1993), Milwaukee Brewers (1994) San Diego Padres (1995-1996), Detroit Tigers (1997).

During his career, Reed hit .270, with 27 homers, and 392 RBI.

When the Marlins decided to make a managerial change replacing Don Mattingly with Skip Schumaker, there was an addition to the new coaching staff that stood out.

That was Jody Reed.

During this enclosed video, I had the opportunity to reminisce with Reed during the summer. This was a classic trip down memory lane.

As I mentioned early in this story, when you have great relationships in baseball, they last forever, these individuals don’t forget about you and as a result, wind up as interviews, photos, etc…

What makes baseball even better than many of the other sports is you can run across these people on all levels, especially the minor leagues.

One of my plans for 2024 is I’m hoping to write a book on the Greatest American Pastime. So stay tuned.

In the current book that I’m on the verge of completing, “Lessons From The Microphone” Tuning Into The Enduring Wisdom Of Visionary Leaders, there are a lot of baseball mentions, including Jody Reed.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.

Also, you can find his broadcasts on the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel. There is no cost to subscribe to the channel. 

Not The Homecoming I Expected

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

My first and last Homecoming I attended at Raymond James Stadium was when the USF Bulls defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats and I was covering this game for the Detroit Monitor.

The Head Coach for USF was Jim Leavitt, who was the first one in the history of the program. Leavitt piloted the program from its inception in 1997 until 2009, compiling a record of 95-57.

After the game, I approached Leavitt for a one-on-one interview by introducing myself to him. He was hesitant for the moment and I told him that I want to promote MY ALMA-MATER in MY HOMETOWN,  of Detroit, MI. You had two intense individuals and I had the most intense eye contact that you could have with anybody. Leavitt did agree to do the interview and we left as friends and exchanged hugs.

The best part of having an alma-mater is it’s a place that you choose and I’m proud of the fact that I got my undergraduate BA Degree in Communication in 1986.

USF will always have a special place in my heart and when I return to campus, I try to update some of my clothing and wear them when I can.

On Saturday, October 14, at Raymond James Stadium, it was neat approaching the stadium. 

There was a different feeling as I saw lots of people wearing the green and gold colors.

I really felt like I was back home and saw my former colleague, Joey Johnston, who does broadcasting for the Bulls as I entered the press box. We took a quick photo together. Next on the photo list was the Director of Communications Brian Siegriest. Brian put the South Florida Tribune on the Media Distribution list when we just started the publication. I really appreciated his faith in me that I was going to build something special and I wanted my alma-mater involved.

On this day, Jim Leavitt wasn’t in the building. He’s the defensive coordinator for SMU, but did have a one-year stint at FAU in 2020 in that same role.

The opponent for homecoming was, you guessed it, The Florida Atlantic Owls. With Central Florida leaving for the Big 12, FAU figures to be the new instate rival for USF and this is the Owls first year in the American Athletic Conference.

Going into the game, USF led the all-time series 3-1. The last time these two schools met was in 2013, and FAU defeated the Bulls 28-10 in Raymond James Stadium.

When I saw there would be no conflict with the Miami Hurricanes, there was no way I was going to miss this contest. 

While USF is my alma-mater, I also have a deep connection to FAU since I’ve been covering the Owls since 2007 when program founder and father figure Howard Schnellenberger was roaming the sidelines. My relationship with Schnellenberger was truly incredible going back to our days working together in 1982-83.

During the week, I was open on Social Media that there was no way I was going to lose this game.

This season, I’ve developed an excellent working relationship with FAU Football Coach Tom Herman. The ice breaker was he really liked my “Motor City Mad Mouth” Hat and I’m currently in the process of getting him one.

During the video enclosed in this story, you’re going to see how much fun we have when we talk and during the post-game Media Availability, we took a photo together.

As for the game itself, FAU led USF 21-14 at halftime. 

FAU QB Daniel Richardson had an outstanding afternoon by completing 31/38 passes for 382 yards, had three touchdowns and one interception. Richardson used his legs on one play by rushing for 22 yards.

Running back Larry McCammon had 18 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown while wide receiver Tony Johnson had eight receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown.

I’m not going to get into any major game details. Instead, we’ll enclose the final stats off of stat cast to list all of the details of what turned out to be a 56-14 rout of the Bulls, who dropped to 3-4.

Prior to the FAU game, USF traveled to UAB and the Blazers defeated the Bulls 56-35 in Alabama.

When I asked Herman off camera if the UAB game was a good way to scout the Bulls, he said a little, but pointed out that he’s more interested in gauging his teams’ progress all-season against every opponent.

The one thing that both homecoming games at USF had in common was the flamboyant exchanges with two coaches that were very enlightening and enjoyable.

When you compare the two football programs, FAU has an on campus stadium while USF will finally get one in 2026. I’m looking forward seeing this.

When I was attending classes at USF, our homecoming was at Men’s Basketball Games at the Sun Dome. How things have changed. 

But now that these two schools are in the same conference, I look forward to seeing them compete more often. I do remember a time when Kevin Cooney was the head coach of FAU’s Baseball team and I covered a game vs FAU, and we had a good time talking about my mixed allegiances.

The once common denominator is that when I do attend games featuring USF vs FAU, I wear neutral colors. That’s the way it has to be.

As for what’s ahead, USF travels to Connecticut and faces the Huskies at 3:30 PM ET looking to snap a two-game losing streak.

Meanwhile, FAU has a two-game winning streak and hosts the University of Texas San Antonio Road Runners (3-3) at 6 PM. FAU is 3-3 and the Owls are looking to increase their winning streak to three games.

But as the title of this story says, “Not The Homecoming I Expected” means I didn’t expect a rout of this magnitude but it was real special being back in on of my home town covering my alma-mater. This was a memorable day as I look at the entire experience, beyond the score.

I have to admit, that since I live in South Florida, I would have gone after my masters degree at FAU since the school has grown immensely if I was 10-15 years younger. 

But, my Niece Bria Morganroth is on the verge of getting her degree with the Owls.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can find him on Twitter @TribuneSouth. Also, if you want to see his broadcasts, then Subscribe to The South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel at no cost.

Miami Hurricanes October Reality Check

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

When you’re a Power Five School and have a history of winning like the Miami Hurricanes, when you’re winning, all it takes are some key wins to get National Championship consideration. 

The month of September saw the Miami Hurricanes defeat Miami (Ohio), Texas A&M, Bethune Cookman, and Temple. The Hurricanes were ranked as high as No.17 in the polls. The Hurricanes offense scored 38, 48, 48 and 41 points respectively during that stretch.

Their next opponent Georgia Tech on October 7, was coming off a 38-27 loss to the Bowling Green Falcons. So as conventional wisdom would lead you to think, this was a Miami rout waiting to happen.

But that’s why you play the games.

When you look at the game offensively, Miami led in total yards 453-250.

As I watched the contest, I was surprised that the Canes only led 3-0 at halftime. Where was this high-powered offense that could potentially produce future NFL players?

The one thing that will kill any team is turnovers as Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke completed 24/36 for 288 yards, one touchdown and tossed three interceptions. 

The Hurricanes also lost two fumbles including a play that will be talked about for years to come. In the waning seconds of the contest, with Georgia Tech out of timeouts, all Miami had to do was kneel down in victory formation and the Canes would improve to 5-0. Instead, Coach Mario Cristobal elected to run the ball and Donald Chaney, who had 24 carries for 106 yards with a 4.4 average fumbled the ball and Georgia Tech took over. 

The Yellow Jackets put together the miraculous winning drive of four plays, 74 yards in 25 seconds to win the game 23-20. The winning touchdown came when Georgia Tech QB Haynes King threw a 44-yard touchdown pass Christian Leary.

This was a contest that saw Miami dominate in first downs 23-13 and Yellow Jackets QB King was 12/25 for 151 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The Hurricanes self destructed as they were penalized six times for 80 yards. Miami led in Time of Possession 35:24-24:34.

Going into the game, Miami was a 19.5 point favorite and the over/under was 56.5. But that’s not the performance the crowd of 58,045 witnessed.

Instead, the fans saw a team lose because of a coaches gaffe and this loss saw Miami drop from 17-25 in the National Rankings. A day later, Cristobal owned his mistake that he should have had two kneel downs in victory formation. Unfortunately for Cristobal, this same mistake occurred when he was coaching at the University of Oregon.

This blunder was talked about during the following week in the National Media knowing full well that this loss took the Canes out of National Championship consideration and cost the programs millions of dollars in the process where they’re College Football Playoff aspirations took a hit.

After the game, I was in sponge mode and decided to let my colleagues ask the questions to the select players and Cristobal. All five videos totaled about 11 minutes combined. What was there to say about a heart-breaking loss that will be talked about for years?

I appeared on a couple of podcasts that week and I told the audience that the crowd was stunned, in addition to members of the media. 

But now the question would be, how would the Miami Hurricanes respond the following week in Chapel Hill, to face the No.12 North Carolina Tar Heels?

The Hurricanes held their own in the first half by taking a 17-14 lead into the locker room at halftime. But the third quarter was the difference in the ballgame as North Carolina scored 21 unanswered points to take a 35-17 lead and proceeded to win the game 41-31.

Van Dyke went 31/48 for 391 yards, had four touchdowns and two interceptions. Henry Parrish led the Canes in rushing with 13 carries for 73 yards while Xavier Resptrepo had 11 receptions for 96 yards and two touchdowns. In the Georgia Tech game, Restrepo had 12 receptions for 123 yards.

The key final number vs North Carolina are as follows: 

*Miami led in first downs, 28-24.

*North Carolina dominated in rushing 235-91.

*Miami led with passing yards 391-273.

*North Carolina led in total yards 508-482.

*Interceptions, Miami had two and North Carolina had zero.

*Penalties, North Carolina 14/147 and Miami had 7/60.

*Time of Possession, 30:04-29:56.

The Hurricanes loss dropped them to 4-2 and they head into tonight’s must win home contest vs the Clemson Tigers (4-2). Miami needs this win in the worst way as it wants to regain some national respect in an attempt to make it to a higher tier bowl game.

At the Georgia Tech Game, there were representatives from the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, three from the New York Giants. From a Bowl standpoint, there was a representative from the Senior, two from the Pop Tarts and one from the Tax Slayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville.

I’ll be curious to see who comes out tonight at Hard Rock Stadium as game time is 8 PM.

But as I’ve mentioned, this is a must win for the Hurricanes against a program that has been a national power under coach Dabo Swinney. 

We have videos in this story and encourage you to watch them.

It was a tough night, but heart-breaking losses are a part of all sports even though they sting the most at times like this.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can find him on Twitter @TribuneSouth and see his broadcasts by Subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Tale Of Two Games

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

When the Miami Hurricanes defeated the Texas A&M Aggies 48-33, on Saturday, September 9 at Hard Rock Stadium, the Canes sent a message to the college football world.

Coach Mario Cristobal earned a signature victory in his second season and Miami will be a force to be in reckoned with during the 2023 campaign.

Miami had a quick turnaround as it faced visiting Bethune Cookman on Thursday, September 14 at Hard Rock Stadium. 

When you go into a game that figures to be lopsided, how do you prepare for it?

The only way that Miami could and jump out to an early lead and hope the lead is big enough so you can rest your regulars without the risk of injury.

When these two teams met on September 3, 2022, Miami thrashed Bethune Cookman 70-13. During the week, I wondered if Miami would score 80 points. But that wasn’t the case.

The only thing this game had in common with the Texas A&M game was the amount of points that Miami pinned on the visiting Wildcats and that was 48. Miami mauled the Wildcats 48-7. By the end of the first quarter, the Canes led 14-0 and led 34-0 at halftime.

Tyler Van Dyke had another fine game as he went 19/23 for 247 yards and passed for two touchdowns. When the game is a rout, it’s a good opportunity to use the backup quarterback and Emory Williams went 9/11 for 102 yards.

On the ground, Donald Chaney had seven carries for 73 yards, Ajhay Allen amassed 12 carries for 68 yards and Henry Parrish added seven carries for 52 yards. Chris Johnson had seven carries for 40 yards. The Hurricanes ground attack was definitely balanced.

Xavier Restrepo led all Miami receivers with six receptions for 120 yards. Brashard Smith added three catches for 55 yards, Colbie Young had five catches for 55 yards and Jacolby George had five catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.

From a team standpoint, the Hurricanes out gained Bethune Cookman 589-165. Miami’s time of possession was 35-02-24:58. The Canes had 32 first downs and the Wildcats had eight.

When the contest was over, the Canes were glad to finish 3-0 in their first three contests at home, 3-0. Cristobal and the players available to us knew they took care of business at home as you’re going to find out in the videos included in this story.

As I mentioned, Cristobal had an opportunity to see more players which could come in handy as Miami sizes up its depth.

Miami was also looking forward to hitting the road the following week by going to Philadelphia for a road contest versus the Temple Owls.

With what many would call a mini bye-week since the Bethune Cookman was played on a Thursday, Miami cruised to a 41-7 win over Temple. 

The offensive leaders for Miami included Van Dyke who went 17/24 for 220 yards, Parrish had 16 carries for 139 yards and two touchdowns and Restrepo caught seven passes for 41 yards and two touchdowns.

In the month of September, Miami scored 38, 48,48 and 41 points and finishing the month 4-0.

The schedule worked out for Miami and myself. The following week, Miami had a bye and I had surgery as well as both of us would get ready as the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets bring a 2-3 record to town.

This game is at 8 PM on the ACC Network and another victory gets the Hurricanes closer to Bowl Eligibility.

The Month of October after Georgia Tech has three TBD’s, To Be Determined on the game times but you can rest assure that playing at North Carolina, hosting Clemson and Virginia will tell us a lot of how the Canes have progressed in as I mentioned before, the second year of Cristobal.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and to see his broadcasts, there is no cost to Subscribe to The South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.