March Madness CaneSport Style: Round 1, Games 9-12
Who says there is not gonna be March Madness?
We can't let the coronavirus take away March Madness.
So CaneSport has created its own tournament.
Miami Hurricane style.
Welcome to Round 1 with a field of 64 contenders aiming to be the national champion of Hurricane lore.
Over the the next couple weeks, we will eliminate the pretenders down to the Round of 32, the Sweet 16, the Elite 8, the Final Four and then the championship.
The subscribers at CaneSport.com will have the voting power on the message boards of CaneSport.com.
Who or what will emerge as the greatest Cane of all.
The coming days will provide the answer.
Today we introduce games 9-12. You will find links to Games 1-8 up above.
So get your votes in in the threads in the War Room message board and may the winners advance
Then we will move onward to the next round until we crown a champion.
ROUND OF 64
GAME 9. JIMMY JOHNSON VS. DENNIS ERICKSON: More impactful Cane coach
THE CASE FOR JOHNSON: Johnson was the cornerstone of the Hurricane football program that personified the team on the 1980's. After taking over the helm of the team that had just won the University's first National Championship in 1983, Johnson structured the football program from a fairy-tale underdog to a national powerhouse, dominating the nation. He coached from 1984-88, and in his last three seasons the Hurricanes finished in the top two and captured the 1987 National Championship (in 1986 the team enjoyed its first ever undefeated regular season but lost in the Fiesta Bowl). During his tenure UM set school records for consecutive wins, with 36, and consecutive road victories with 20. Johnson began Miami's NCAA-record 58-game home winning streak by posting victories in his final 26 games in the Orange Bowl. He went on to coach the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowl victories in five years and coach the Miami Dolphins for four years.
THE CASE FOR ERICKSON: Erickson took over before the 1989 season and won the National Title with an 11-1 record in his first year. Erickson is still the only head coach at Miami with two national titles, earning his second ring in 1991 following a perfect 12-0 season. During his head coaching tenure Miami produced 14 All-Americans, 43 NFL draft picks (including seven first round picks), an Outland Trophy winner, a Lombardi Trophy winner and a Heisman Trophy winner. While he was coach the Hurricanes set the NCAA Division-I record for consecutive wins at home with 58. Erickson's six years at Miami include some of the Green and Orange's most memorable victories: beating then-#1 ranked Notre Dame in 1989, the infamous Florida State Wide Right I in 1991 and Wide Right II in 1992, and a thrilling win at Penn State on national television that capped the toughest three-weeks of football scheduling in the country. During five of his six seasons, the Miami Hurricanes finished in the top-six in both national polls, winning two titles and two other times playing in the title game. Erickson's football teams never lost more than two games during the regular season, and he posted a 63-9 UM won-loss record. Erickson went on to coach the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, and later three other college programs.
GAME 10. WIDE RIGHT II IN 1992 VS. CORN ELDER MIRACLE 8-LATERAL PLAY: More impactful Cane play
CASE FOR WIDE RIGHT II IN 1992: A year after a missed field goal gave the Canes a win over the Seminoles, it happened again. In 1992 the defending champion Hurricanes led FSU, 19-16, with just seconds remaining. Both teams entered the game undefeated, with Miami ranked No. 2 in the nation and FSU No. 3. Dan Mowrey trotted onto the field to try and send the game to overtime. But his 39-yard attempt went wide right. Miami went on to finish the season 11-1, losing to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, and ranked No. 3.
CASE FOR THE CORN ELDER MIRACLE 8-LATERAL PLAY: It was one of the most improbable plays in college football history, and it came just after the firing of head coach Al Golden in 2015 after a 58-0 loss to Clemson. Miami trailed Duke 27-24 with a final kickoff from the Blue Devils coming Miami's way. And UM turned that into a miraculous eight-lateral TD. Dallas Crawford fielded the squib kick, lateraled to Corn Elder, who tossed to Jaquan Johnson. Then it went to Mark Walton, back to Johnson as Walton was falling to the turf, and then to Tyre Brady. Brady threw to Elder, who tossed to Crawford, and then Crawford - from the right side of the field at the UM 30-yard line - threw the ball all the way to the left side of the field to Elder. Elder raced up the left sideline behind several blockers with David Njoku making a key block. It ended as a 97-yard kickoff return for a game-winning TD. Referees spent almost 10 minutes reviewing the play, letting the touchdown stand.
GAME 11. 2001 MIAMI HURRICANES VS. 1986 MIAMI HURRICANES: Most impactful team ever
THE CASE FOR THE 2001 MIAMI HURRICANES: Some call the 2001 Miami Hurricanes team the greatest in college football history. Not only did that team win every game, including a 37-14 blowout Rose Bowl win against No. 4 Nebraska, but the level of NFL talent on the roster was absurd. There were 38 players eventually drafted off that team, and 17 were first rounders (six taken in the first round of the 2004 draft). Among the personnel: WR Andre Johnson, S Seam Taylor, TE Kellen Winslow, OL Bryant McKinnie, DB Antrel Rolle, LB Jon Vilma, TE Jeremy Shockey, DB Phillip Buchanan, LB DJ Williams, OL Vernon Carey, DT Vince Wilfork, RB Willis McGahee, S Ed Reed, CB Mike Rumph, RB Clinton Portis, WR Roscoe Parrish, RB Frank Gore and QB Ken Dorsey. The team averaged 42.6 points while giving up just 9.75 points. The defensive domination was to the point that UM allowed only 13 touchdowns and scored eight of its own on turnovers. Among the wins: 49-27 against No. 14 FSU, 65-7 over No. 12 Washington and 59-0 against No. 14 Syracuse.
THE CASE FOR THE 1986 MIAMI HURRICANES: The 1986 Miami Hurricanes team may not have won a national title, finishing 11-1 with a final 14-10 loss in the Fiesta Bowl to Penn State, but this was a team that cemented the swagger and style of UM football to the nation and really helped brand The U. Either you loved the Canes or you hated them. When the team arrived for the bowl game, a couple of players were dressed in Army fatigues. The team walked out of a steak fry put on by Fiesta Bowl organizers with Jerome Brown infamously saying "Did the Japanese eat with Pearl Harbor before they bombed them?" But UM lost that bowl game when five interceptions sunk the Hurricanes' cause. Despite the loss there's also an argument this was one of the greatest teams in UM history. The regular season saw UM win every game by 12 or more points, including over No. 1 Oklahoma, 28-16 and No. 20 Florida State, 41-23. The roster saw 34 players eventually drafted by the NFL, and among the big names on that roster were Vinny Testaverde, Steve Walsh, Michael Irvin, Alonzo Highsmith, Jerome Brown, Bennie Blades, Melvin Bratton, Daniel Stubbs, Randy Shannon, Cleveland Gary, Brett Perriman and Dan Sileo.
GAME 12. KELLY JENNINGS VS. ANTREL ROLLE: More impactful Cane CB
THE CASE FOR KELLY JENNINGS: Jennings started 41 games for the Hurricanes during his 2001-05 career, recording 116 tackles and six interceptions. He redshirted in 2001, then had 25 tackles and an interception off the bench as a redshirt freshman. He followed that up starting five games in 2003 and totaling 18 tackles, and in 2004 he became a full-time starter and had 40 tackles and two INTs. His final season he had 32 tackles and three interceptions, becoming one of the nation's most highly regarded cornerbacks. He was drafted in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft with the 31st overall pick by the Seahawks. Jennings played five pro seasons and had 240 tackles and two interceptions.
THE CASE FOR ANTREL ROLLE: By his third year as a Cane, teams were throwing anywhere but Rolle's way. He was a dominant shut-down corner. In Year 1 at UM he was one of only four true freshmen who saw extensive action during the 2001 National Championship season. Most was on special teams, but he did get his first collegiate interception against the Washington Huskies. As a sophomore starter in 2002 he earned All-Big East first team honors and had 66 total tackles, six for loss, and 2 sacks. He followed that with 51 total tackles and 2 interceptions in 2003, and in 2004 he had 58 tackles and an INT and was a consensus first team All-American, winner of the Jack Tatum Award as the best defensive back in the country, and a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. He held two ACC All-American receivers in check: Larry Fitzgerald (26 receiving yards) and Calvin Johnson (10 yards). The 8th overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2005 NFL Draft, Rolle spent 11 years in the league and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection and a 2012 Super Bowl Champion. He ended his NFL career with 834 tackles and 26 interceptions.
