And Then I'll Rise and Fight Again.

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Soapy
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And Then I'll Rise and Fight Again.

Post by Soapy » 01 Sep 2019, 08:48

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How Manny Diaz has Miami thinking big again
Andrea Adelson - ESPN Staff Writer

Manny Diaz invented the Turnover Chain. Did you think the start of his Miami tenure would be boring?

Since taking over for Mark Richt on Dec. 30, Diaz and his new staff have created more buzz around a 7-6 team than many thought possible given the way the Hurricanes ended the season and lost the coach they all believed could save the program.

With 2018 firmly in the rearview mirror, Diaz made one thing clear to his players, staff, prospective recruits and everyone watching: This is the new Miami. There is even a hashtag for that: #TNM.

Diaz made good on his promises to fix the offense, hiring offensive coordinator Dan Enos away from Alabama while courting transfer quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Tate Martell. He brought top receiver Jeff Thomas back into the program, and though Hurts ended up going to Oklahoma, Diaz got Martell to join the Hurricanes from Ohio State. Diaz used GIFs on social media to tease the news, sending his fan base into mild hysteria while also raising the buzz to its highest levels in 15 months.

When the current team reported for offseason work, Diaz greeted the players with a WWE-style event meant to send a clear message.

"It was important to me that the players, when they returned, felt like they were all transferring to a different program on both sides of the ball," Diaz said in a recent phone interview.

Everything he has done has worked so far: Miami has emerged as a big story in this young offseason, as unexpected as Richt's surprise departure that set this all in motion. When we last saw Miami, a season that began with a No. 8 preseason ranking ended in embarrassment: a 35-3 loss to Wisconsin in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl that left Richt at a loss for words.

Diaz was off to Temple as its new head coach after serving as the Hurricanes' defensive coordinator; Richt was left to contemplate how to fix the myriad issues confronting him, from a fractured locker room to a quarterback situation that felt like it had no solution. Miami fans wanted answers right away, especially after a 10-0 start to the 2017 campaign had raised hopes and expectations to unattainable levels.

Rather than stick around, Richt decided he would step away, stunning many inside the athletic department. Athletic director Blake James knew he needed to get Diaz on the phone. Even though Diaz had just left, Miami remained his dream job. It did not take much convincing, and within hours, Diaz agreed to come back to Miami -- a decision that could have hurt his reputation for breaking a commitment to the Owls.

But what he has done at Miami has made it feel as if he had never left. Diaz had a clear vision for what he wanted to do with the Hurricanes. Truthfully, nobody could have had a clearer vision.

Diaz had a front-row seat inside the Miami program over the previous three years. He saw what Richt did to build the foundation and change the culture. But he also saw areas where he knew Miami absolutely had to improve. One was on offense, and the other was inside the weight room. That is why he has wasted no time in making the necessary changes, and the speed at which he has worked has served him and the program well, generating one positive headline after the next.

"You can tell there's a different energy in town," Diaz said. "Our players feel it. You can tell for sure with the recruits. It's like in a game. You just need a couple plays to flip momentum in a game. There's a couple commitments we have, the hires we were able to procure, and once the good news started coming about, social media can stoke the fire.

"But we just needed a couple things to turn, and I've got to give credit to some young men who went out there and committed to Miami. There will be more. We had a bad December, but we've been able to turn it around with a productive January. We also know no games are won in January. But we are at least showing we're addressing and we're fixing our issues, and ultimately, that's all you ever do."

Though Diaz had a familiarity with his players, and his players had a familiarity with him, the new Miami message was an important one to send from the outset.

"I wanted everybody in this program to come back outside of their comfort zone," Diaz said. "I wanted everybody to come back feeling like there was a little bit of an unknown, a little bit of uncertainty they'd have to battle their way through. It was change in a way that redefined how we go and how we operate and how we work."

It's change that everyone knows was needed. But when the season opens against Florida on Aug. 31 in Orlando, Miami will have to prove what Diaz firmly believes: that this program is much closer to its 10-3 season in 2017 than to the disappointment the Hurricanes all just went through.

"The great thing about college football is things can change so quickly," Diaz said. "Look at how Notre Dame walked out of our stadium 15 months ago and how we walked out, and what the next 15 months had in store for both teams. What happened in 2018 was unacceptable, but it's over. We can't fix it.

"But what we can do is control the now, and that's really what the wrestling thing was about and that's what the new Miami is about: We get to define it, who are we, how are we going to work, how are we going to operate, what's the leadership of this team going to look like? You really do have a chance to redefine who you are and make something different of yourself."


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And Then I'll Rise and Fight Again.

Post by Soapy » 01 Sep 2019, 08:50

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Settings
Video Game: EA Sports' NCAA Football '14
Gaming Console: Playstation 3
Gameplay Difficulty Level: Heisman
Recruiting Difficulty Level: Heisman
Quarter Length: 8 minutes
Gameplay Speed: Normal
Gameplay Sliders: Jarrod21's Heisman Black Sliders
Rosters: TBD

Dynasty Restrictions
- Cannot convince players to stay.
- Players cannot be forced to play through injury.
- Can only recruit two JUCO players per recruiting class.
- Can only redshirt freshman that are third or worst on depth chart.


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And Then I'll Rise and Fight Again.

Post by Soapy » 01 Sep 2019, 08:50

Season Recaps

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Post by Soapy » 01 Sep 2019, 08:50

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Miami Hurricanes Football History
The Miami Hurricanes football team represents the University of Miami in the sport of American football. The Hurricanes compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships (1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001).Miami is ranked fourth on the list of All-time Associated Press National Poll Championships, tied with Southern California and behind Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Alabama.

Miami also holds a number of NFL Draft records, including most first round selections in a single draft and most consecutive drafts with at least one first round selection. As of the 2011 National Football League season, UM had the most players active in the NFL of any university in the nation, with 42. Two Hurricanes have won the Heisman Trophy and nine have been inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame. The team plays its home games at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Championships
1983: 11-1, AP and Coaches National Champions.
1987: 12-0, AP and Coaches National Champions.
1989: 11-1, AP and Coaches National Champions.
1991: 12-0, AP National Champions, Big East Champions.
1992: 11-1, Big East Champions.
1994: 10-2, Big East Champions.
2000: 11-1, Big East Champions.
2001: 12-0, BCS, AP and Coaches National Champions, Big East Champions.
2002: 12-1, Big East Champions.

Program Traditions
- Touchdown Tommy is the cannon that is fired off when the team runs out of the tunnel, after every point that the Hurricanes score, and the conclusion of a victory.
- One of the Hurricanes' best-known traditions is the team's entrance scene. The team enters the field through a large cloud of white smoke billowing from its entrance tunnel, amid a tape of a hurricane blasting over the sound system.
- In 1997, the university established the 'Ring of Honor' as a way to honor outstanding players who have passed through the Hurricane football program.

Rivalries

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The rivalry dates to 1951, when the Hurricanes defeated the Seminoles 35–13 in their inaugural meeting. The schools have played every year since 1966, with Miami holding the all-time advantage, 31–29. Upon the conclusion of their 2003 regular-season schedules, the teams represented their respective conferences in the 2004 FedEx Orange Bowl (Miami being the champions of the Big East, and Florida State being the champions of the ACC). Miami won the bowl game 16–14; it was the only time the schools have met in post-season football play. The 60 meetings between the teams of FSU and Miami eclipsed the rivalry between the Hurricanes and the Gators (from the University of Florida) following their 2010 game; the series of games between UM and Florida is Miami's second-longest at 55 games.

During the 1980s and '90s, the series emerged as one of the premier rivalries in college football. Between 1983 and 2002, the Hurricanes and Seminoles combined to win 7 national championships and play in 14 bowl games with a national championship at stake. The 1988 game starred 57 future NFL pros on the combined rosters. Since 2004, the year Miami left the Big East Conference to join the expanded 12-member Atlantic Coast Conference, the universities have been conference foes, though they are placed in separate divisions within the conference. This alignment creates the potential for the two teams to meet for a second time in the ACC Championship Game, should each win their respective divisions in any particular season. Such a rematch has yet to happen after 9 years of ACC Championship Games, as of 2013.

The series has consistently drawn very high television ratings with the 2006 Miami–Florida State game being the most-watched college football game—regular-season or postseason—in ESPN history, and the 2009 and 1994 meetings being the second- and fifth-most watched regular season games, respectively.

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Miami's rivalry with Florida dates back to 1938, making it the oldest rivalry among Florida's "Big Three" of Miami, Florida, and Florida State.[126] The Hurricanes defeated the Gators, 19–7, in the first meeting between the geographic rivals. The Seminole War Canoe was carved in 1955 out of a cypress struck by lightning and was given to the winner of the annual football game. The canoe is meant to symbolize the fighting spirit of the Seminole people that is often on display during games between the Hurricanes and Gators. The canoe is now on permanent display at the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame on the Coral Gables campus.

Miami holds the edge in the all-time series with a 29–26 record against Florida. The two schools met every year from 1944 until 1987, but have not played regularly since then. Florida canceled the annual series after the 1987 season, when the requirement of the Southeastern Conference for member schools to play eight conference games induced the University of Florida to fill out the non-conference portion of its schedule with teams that do not require a home-and-home arrangement, except for Florida State.

From 1986 to 2003, Miami won all six of the games between the schools, including victories in the 2001 Sugar Bowl and the 2004 Peach Bowl. Florida snapped its 23-year drought against Miami with a 26–3 win over the Hurricanes in 2008. The last scheduled game between the two was September 7, 2013 at Sun Life Stadium,[130] Miami won 21-16.

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While not the most regular rivalry for either school, Notre Dame's games with Miami, dubbed by Irish fans in the late 1980s as "Catholics vs. Convicts" still stand out as one of the most heated feuds in college football history, which included a 58-7 blow out by the Hurricanes in 1985 and a failed Jimmy Johnson two-point conversion attempt to go for the win instead of tying the game in 1988. After not meeting for two decades, the schools faced each other in the 2010 Sun Bowl, with Notre Dame prevailing 33–17. The Fighting Irish hold a 17–7–1 edge. Miami and Notre Dame renewed their regular season rivalry at Soldier Field on Saturday, October 6, 2012, with Notre Dame winning 41-3. They will begin a new series of games in 2016.

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And Then I'll Rise and Fight Again.

Post by Soapy » 01 Sep 2019, 08:51

Recruiting Classes

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And Then I'll Rise and Fight Again.

Post by Soapy » 01 Sep 2019, 08:52

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And Then I'll Rise and Fight Again.

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Post by KimJongBaze » 01 Sep 2019, 10:56

Hurricane Season?

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And Then I'll Rise and Fight Again.

Post by Soapy » 01 Sep 2019, 11:03

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Florida vs. Miami Preview
Andrea Adelson - ESPN Staff Writer

Miami linebacker Shaquille Quarterman walked into his local supermarket on a Tuesday over the summer to pick up some taco seasoning. As he glanced through the shelves, a lifelong Hurricanes fan walked up to him.

He told Quarterman he was a season-ticket holder, with instant recall about every game he had attended, listing off Santana Moss, Devin Hester and other players he had watched make memorable plays. Then the conversation turned to the season opener against the No. 8 Gators (7 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPN), and the renewal of the first in-state rivalry in Florida.

Though the teams play only rarely now, Hurricanes fans are clear in their dislike for the Gators, who ended the annual series in 1987 for scheduling reasons. The fan looked at Quarterman and told him point-blank: You have to win this game.

"He didn't give me an option," Quarterman said with a big smile.

You can bet the feeling is mutual on the other side in the teams' first meeting since 2013. But more than picking up in-state bragging rights -- until they both play Florida State later in the season -- there are much bigger stakes on the line when they kick off in Orlando on Saturday night to open the 150th season of college football.

For Florida, the game is about proving preseason expectations are very much for real. For Miami, the game is about proving Manny Diaz has his program headed in the right direction. For both, championship implications cannot be ignored, even if we are talking about Week 0.

"This makes guys want to prepare a little bit harder," Florida receiver Josh Hammond said. "We've been through Coach [Dan] Mullen's system. We know what to expect. We're coming off a top-10 season, a New Year's Six bowl win. All offseason, all camp, we've grinded and had that mentality that we can be one of the better teams in the country to go compete for a playoff spot if we want it."

Teams have proved they can survive a loss and still play for and win championships. But what happens in the opener against a major nonconference opponent can also have a large impact on a team from a momentum, confidence and emotional standpoint.

Let's rewind a year. Miami was in the same spot as Florida is now: coming off a surprising 10-3 season, ranked in the preseason top 10, opening against LSU in Arlington, Texas. Miami was the favorite, but the Hurricanes were never in the game and lost 33-17. The flaws we all saw on offense continued to show themselves throughout the season, and the Hurricanes simply could not recover, going 7-6. Head coach Mark Richt resigned after the season.

Let's rewind two years. Florida went into its opener against Michigan in Arlington with a preseason top-25 ranking, coming off an appearance in the SEC championship game and what appeared to be a momentum-turning bowl victory over Iowa. But the Gators were also noncompetitive and lost 33-17.

They finished 4-7 and Jim McElwain was fired midseason.

Let's also use their mutual rival, Florida State, as an example. Two years ago, the Seminoles went into their opener against Alabama in Atlanta as the favorite to win the ACC and a popular choice to make the College Football Playoff. They lost the game and quarterback Deondre Francois, and needed a rescheduled game against Louisiana-Monroe to keep their bowl streak alive. Jimbo Fisher left for Texas A&M before the season ended.

The trend as it relates to schools in Florida is not a great one. But the experience last season might be instructive for Diaz, who was Miami's defensive coordinator at the time. Diaz knows all the issues that plagued the Hurricanes both on the field and in the locker room, and has used this offseason to try to get his players to be more focused and accountable.

"It's going to be a highly emotional night," Diaz said. "Both teams will be supremely motivated to play against each other. Who can keep their competitive will through adversity? Because it's going to be a night with all kinds of adversity, for both sides. And that's why it's about finding the right mix of guys that don't blink in that setting. We have to find out who are the guys that will fight their way off the ropes. Both teams are going to land some blows. When you get put on the ropes, you have to fight your way out of it."

Miami did not do a good job of that last season, and Florida did not do a good job of that early in 2018, either. Many even wrote off the Gators after a rare loss to Kentucky in September. But Florida slowly learned how to win, even though there were bumps along the way, including a poor performance in a loss to Missouri.

By the time the Gators engineered a comeback to beat South Carolina, the confidence seemed to bloom. Florida scored 40 or more points in its final three games, including big victories over Florida State and Michigan, two teams that had their number in recent seasons.

"We know where we were last season. We know we have guys to possibly win it all," Florida linebacker David Reese II said. "We're as talented as anybody in the country. It's the challenge of, can we work hard day in and day out every day?"

Anyone who tunes in Saturday night will get to see for themselves. They will also get to see a high-stakes game, and a rivalry renewed and reintroduced to a new generation.

Players included.

"I just don't too much like them," Quarterman said. "That's how a rivalry works for me. The alumni come and whenever I get a chance to speak to them, they say, 'What's your record since you've been here?' They're talking about Florida State, and in the off chance you play Florida. Did you win or did you lose? That's where it's at with me."

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