Veterans Day In Florida State Capital

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

TALLAHASSEE, FL

I’ve covered some football games on Veterans Day in the NFL, but not in College Football until last weeks contest featuring the Miami Hurricanes at Florida State Seminoles on Saturday, November 11, 2023.

Prior to going to the game, I predicted on the External Bum Podcast on Friday that the 14 point underdogs, Miami Hurricanes would lose the game, but I was hoping the Canes would keep it close. Miami did just that as the Canes and Seminoles were tied at 10-10 at the end of the first half and lost 27-20.

Miami decided to start freshman QB Emory Williams to give the team a spark. The Canes figured his mobility could stretch the Seminoles defense. Williams did amass five carries for a negative seven yards but one of those carries was a sack. 

Williams was a factor in the passing game as he went 8-23-0 interceptions and had two touchdown passes for 175 yards and was sacked twice. One of those passes was an 85 yard strike to Jacolby George. His favorite target was George, who had five receptions for 153 yards and two touchdowns.

Leading the Miami rushing attack was Donald Chaney Jr. He had 12 carries for 85 yards with a long of 29 followed by Mark Fletcher Jr. He had 16 carries for 55 yards.

The numbers definitely told the story of this game. 

Miami definitely dominated on the ground 34 carries for 131 yards, while FSU had 31 carries for 57 yards, however, QB Jordan Travis was sacked for 30 yards. Trey Benson led FSU in rushing with 80 yards and a pair of touchdowns. One of his touchdowns was a 38-yard rush.

FSU more than made up for it in the passing yards as Travis was 19-31, 0 interceptions, 265 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked three times. Leading the receivers for FSU were Johnny Wilson, 5-82, Keon Coleman 4-24, one touchdown, JaKhi Douglas three for 69 yards and Jaheim Bell three for 41 yards.

Miami out gained FSU in total yards 335-322. FSU led in time of possession 30:40-29:20 and first downs 17-13. Miami was penalized seven times for 40 yards while FSU three times for 35 yards.

The Hurricanes had a chance to win the game late, but unfortunately Williams was injured and was carted off the field. The Canes turned to Tyler Van Dyke, but he wasn’t able to lead his troops to the end zone . Van Dyke was 2-7 for 29 yards and one interception.

Kicker Andy Borregales kicked two field goals, one of 27 yards and the other was 51 yards, plus converted his pair of extra points.

Florida State got more than it bargained for, not covering the 14 points and once again, escaped with a 27-20 win.

The talk after the game centered around Williams——————————injury and while Coach Mario Cristobal was pleased with the effort of his squad, a moral victory in the State Capital isn’t what he was looking for as you’re going to see and hear in the video enclosed.

He did say that he’s delighted as to what the Canes QB situation looks like in the future.

All of the videos are available from the Miami post-game press conference. 

This was my first trip to FSU and it was quite an experience. 

From the long walk starting with the Media Garage to picking up my credential, walking around the stadium taking a photo at the Bobby Bowden Statue to getting into the game and just observing the environment in the press box was worth the seven hour trip.

There was a long walk to the other side Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Walker Stadium going on the field and into the Miami Interview Room, engrossed into the sights and sounds of the sellout crowd of 79,560 fans.

If you like college football, this is a place you have to get to. It was that electric. 

Meanwhile, the loss dropped Miami to 6-4 while FSU improved to 10-0. They are ranked fourth in the College Football Playoff.

The Hurricanes, whom are bowl eligible wrap up their home schedule at Noon at Hard Rock Stadium face the Louisville Cardinals (9-1) for the newly created Howard Schnellenberger Trophy. The Canes will also honor for QB Gino Torretta, who won a Heisman Trophy while playing for “The U.”

Scott Morganroth can be reached at Southfloridatribune@Gmail.com and you can find him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth. To see all of his broadcasts, there is no charge to Subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Also, Scott has a new book called “Lessons From The Microphone” that can be purchased at Amazon or Kindle.

What’s Ahead For The Canes?

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Regardless of the opponents record there is no way you can take your opponent lightly in the Atlantic Coast Conference. 

The Miami Hurricanes found that out on October 7, when they lost to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who were 2-3 going into the matchup, and lost the game in the final seconds as by not using victory formation, the Canes lost a fumble that led to a 23-20 loss at Hard Rock Stadium. Head Coach Mario Cristobal owned up to his mistake a couple days later.

Would the Hurricanes (25) bounce back the following week in Chapel Hill facing the North Carolina Tar Heals (12)? That would not be the case as North Carolina Head Coach Mack Brown had his club up 35-17 by the end of the third quarter and cruised to the win. North Carolina won the contest 41-31.

To this point, the Hurricanes were 0-2 in ACC Competition and were looking to snap that streak against the Clemson Tigers, but they would have to do it without starting QB Tyler Van Dyke, who missed the game do to an injury.

Enter Freshman QB Emory Williams who was getting his first start. The youngster showed no fear and he completed 24/33 151 yards along with one touchdown pass, plus an interception.

He had some help from running back Ajay Allen, who had 16 carries for 54 yards and scored a touchdown.

Wide receiver Colbie Young caught six passes for 26 yards and a touchdown.

Clemson took a 17-7 at the end of the third quarter but Miami took over in the fourth quarter in the fourth quarter and overtimes out scoring Clemson 21-3 and pulled out a 28-20 triumph vs Dabo Swinney and his club.

Could the Hurricanes add another win against the Virginia Cavaliers (2-5), to close out October and reach Bowl Eligibility?

For the second straight win, the Hurricanes went to overtime and won 29-26 over the Cavaliers.

It was a tough night for Van Dyke who was 20/30 163 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT.

Ajay Allen was a factor in the ground game with 11 carries, for 67 yards and a touchdown. Miami’s leading receiver was Xavier Restrepo, who had three receptions for 48 yards.

But the man of the night was kicker Andres Borregales, who kicked three field goals and made his only two extra points.

This victory improved the Canes to 6-2 and the team reached Bowl Eligibility.

This set the stage for a road game on Saturday as Miami went to Raleigh, NC to face the North Carolina State Wolfpack.

Once again, it was a tough night on the gridiron for Van Dyke as he went 21/38 for 173 yards, 0 TD and three interceptions. 

Mark Fletcher had a solid game on the ground with 23 carries for 115 yards while Jacolby George had five receptions for 59 yards,

The big numbers that stood out was Miami was 4-15 in 3rd down efficiency, six penalties for 55 yards. The Hurricanes out gained NC State 292-231 yards and Miami led in time of possession 35:16-24:44. Miami also had a fumble loss. 

There is no doubt that this was one of the worst performances of the year against an opponent that no has the same record, 6-3. The Hurricanes lost the game 20-6.

Now the stage is set as Miami travels to Tallahassee to take on the Florida State Seminoles. Game time is 3:30 PM ET.

The Hurricanes open up as 14 point underdogs on the road at Florida State for Week 11.

There is No/Over/Under listed at open.

If the Hurricanes even have a chance to win this game, Van Dyke must play his best game ever.

Otherwise. If the struggles continue, No. 4 Florida State (9-0-0) could turn this game into a scrimmage.

There is no doubt there will be lots of bowl representatives and scouts in attendance at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Now the Canes have a chance to let the country know that the program is progressing under Mario Cristobal.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com 

You can find him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth and to see all of his broadcasts, Just subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

 

The New Game In Town

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Up until the past two weeks, I had never heard of the University of Fort Lauderdale (UFTL), but when an administrator brought it to my attention, then I became curious to see if this school had a football program.

After that, I went through the proper channels and proceeded to do some research on this school which is located in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Lauderhill, FL which is 30 minutes west off Sunrise Blvd.

The University of Fort Lauderdale has an enrollment of 450 students.

It competes in the South Region of Division I of the NCCAA and fields eight teams.

When I found out that this university is named the Eagles, it brought memories when I graduated high school from the Lakeland Eagles in 1981 back in Milford, MI.

The most intriguing part of doing this story is that I have a passion for covering new sports programs.

I started working with the Florida Atlantic Owls in 2007 and reunited with Head Coach Howard Schnellenberger, whom I worked with at the University of Miami in 1982. I’ve watched the progression of FAU as the Owls have grown into playing in the American Athletic Conference.

There is no better person to build this program than a local coach, who knows how to recruit South Florida.

Miami native Damon Cordell, 48, joined UFTL as head coach in 2022.

Prior to joining UFTL, Coach Cognell had many successful coaching jobs at the High School level and collegiate ranks such as West Virginia University (WVU) and the University of South Florida.

Cordell was a standout linebacker at West Virginia, lettering in 1997 and 1998. 

He posted 66 tackles as a senior and finished his career with 107. He earned his bachelors degree from WVU in 1999.

He went on to start at linebacker for the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League from 2000, 2001 and was part of the Lions 2000 Grey Cup Championship.

Cogdell’s best coaching stop occurred at Miramar High School from 2002-2013, serving as head coach and defensive coordinator since 2007, and defensive coordinator throughout his stint. He also served as the school’s athletic director.

Cogdell compiled an impressive 72-19 record as head coach and led Miramar to the 2009 Class A State Championship and a 2011 runner-up finish. 

He was selected the 2009 High School Coach of the Year by Nike, the Black Coaches Association of America, the Miami Herald and the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.

Cogdell was the first runner-up for National High School Coach of the Year by the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in 2012. Miramar’s 2009 defense gave up just 122 yards per-game, while the 2011 team gave up just 143.

He coached more than 50 players that went on to play collegiate football, including West Virginia standouts Geno Smith, an All-Big 12 quarterback in the second round of the NFL Draft by the New York Jets, and wide receiver Stedman Bailey, a first team All-American selected in the third round of the NFL Draft by the St.Louis Rams.

There is no doubt that Cogdell is the best kept secret in the coaching circles.

In addition to his role as head coach, Cogdell is the Athletic Director for UFTL. He’s the one tasked into building this program in the manner he sees fit. I can relate to what he’s doing because I’ve enjoyed taking a bad situation and turning it around, or building a situation from scratch.

On Thursday, Coach Cogdell and I spent time together and talked about his vision for UFTL.

Check out the video in this story. I know that many of us can appreciate where he’s coming from and the challenges he faces.

Cognell knows that he has a chance to set a good example for African American Coaches that aspire to inspire others to pursue their dreams.

There is no better place to start and this is “The New Game In Town.”

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

To see his broadcasts, there is no cost to subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.