Gameday blog: No. 13 UM vs. Florida A&M

SUN LIFE STADIUM -- The 13th-ranked Hurricanes and Rattlers open the season at 7:30 tonight. Feel free to participate in our discussion below. 

REWIND: The Hurricanes defeated the Rattlers, 48-16, last season and have combined to out-score FAMU, 355-to-49, dating back to 1980.

ABOUT FAMU: Florida A&M is coming off an 8-3 season in 2009. The Rattlers closed out the year winning four of their last five, including a 42-6 victory over Bethune-Cookman in their season finale. This year, FAMU is predicted to finish second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference behind South Carolina State. Five Rattlers also earned preseason all-conference honors this year, including leading tackler Alvin Graham and top receiver Isaac West. Graham is coming off a 69-tackle, 6.5 tackle-for-a-loss season while West had a team-high 641 receiving yards a year ago.

FOR THE CANES, THINGS TO KEEP AN EYE ON...
> If senior running back Graig Cooper plays. He's coming back from knee surgery and was listed first on the depth chart at punt returner. Coach Randy Shannon told several media outlets Cooper would play as long as the weather isn't bad.
> Keep your eyes open for freshmen. After this game a lot of them could end up red-shirting. Running back Storm Johnson and Lamar Miller are probably the first ones you will see -- on the kickoff team. Tight end Asante Cleveland could be the next one. The offensive line has three to watch: Seantrel Henderson, Brandon Linder and Malcolm Bunche. Defensively, linebackers Kelvin Cain and Jimmy Gaines should see some playing time on special teams and on defense in the second half.
> I'll be watching right tackle a lot tonight (where Jermaine Johnson and Joel Figueroa will be) as well as the overall play of the offensive line. Keeping Jacory Harris upright is the entire key to the season in my opinion. FAMU shouldn't breath on him. If they do regularly, it could be a long year.
> The Canes' pass rush. It wasn't very good last year. New defensive line coach Rick Petri is supposed to make them better. Allen Bailey and his cohorts should dominate in this game.

MY PICK: The goal of this game is simply to get out on the filed and work out the kinks while staying healthy. The Canes should do that and coast to an easy win. UM 55, FAMU 10.

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Comments

[ted]

first

[ted]

Against a team like FAMU the line play should be great on both sides of the ball, there should be a couple turnovers, and a big special teams play. I'm not worried about "stats" as much as the tempo of play and the overall mentality of the team going in. Are they business like (sign of a mature team) or do they play down to the competition? I think we show up tonight but Randy calls off the dogs early.....45-10....Go Canes!

[K-Man]

ESPN3

[you know how it is]

espn3 is the online thing.

unfortunately, espn probably is going to blackout the miami region

[rayrayamstrong26]

im not worried about the offense tonight i think they will put up their numbers and play well! The Defense is what i want to see come out and dominate the rattlers they shouldnt allow any more than 3 points and force 3 turnovers! if they dont make any big plays tonight we should be worried! the defensive line should be in the backfield all night which should lead to picks! GO CANES! its all about the U! tonight is the start of hopefully a special year! look out OSU!!

[S Lazar]

Score means nothing in this game. A few signs that will start to show the team and us what they have.

1. No sacks
2. No interceptions
3. Chase Ford catches 2 or 3.
4. No opposing KO returns past the 30.
5. No opposing punt returns for more than 5.
7. A couple of good punt returns for Miami. +20
6. No Miami blocked punts or field goals.

If these goals are reached the Canes are READY!!

[ballinboyz]

the game will be shown on espn3.com it is exclusive to espn3 which is bull. i suggest that if u live in south florida then u should go to the game and support our canes. for others like me who live in orlando and north then espn3.com is the site to watch it.

[Duce]

anybody have any other links to watch the game online? Im not sure if im going to be able to get ESPN3.

[ballinboyz]

p2p4u.net, justin.tv, veetle.com all stream nfl games so the should do college.

[James]

www.channelsurfing.net

[UMBrian614]

Can someone fact check for me? Wasn't it a punt return (or kick return) where Coop got hurt against Wisconsin?

[Duce]

right i used that Justin.tv a lot last year. Thanks.

[ooster]

all i wanna see today are turnovers. we should be +5 in the turnover margin after this game. we didnt have nearly as many takeaways as we should have last year.

on another note... the new pro combat uni's are atrocious.

[LetsGoCanes]

I want to see our guys dominate on both sides of scrimmage .Score won't be run up . After all , we're not gators . NOBODY GETS HURT .

[jra]

The season has begun. Win ACC Coastal Division, Win ACC Championship Game, Go to BCS Bowl Game. Other than the "U" losing J. Harris for the season there are No Excuses. 10-2 and a BCS Bowl game or season is a disapointment.
GOOO! CANES!

[The Mind is a terrible thing to waste!]

Gatard history began in 2005. Before that, nothing. Don't talk about it. Don't even acknowledge it.

Thatbis how small minded ignorance operates

Don't you have a Klan rally to go to? Don't look now, your trailer is on fire. Quick, grab yout STARCRAFTER text book and waive it INTERIORALLY.

It is hard to find any intelligent life in a trailer park, isn't it Gatards?

Posted by: Take out the | September 02, 2010 at 04:42 PM

[ted]

^^^ Good one dude....lol...klan rally

[MiamiMo]

S Lazar made some very good points. They are far more important than the score.

[aes]

Manny - If freshman play in this game than they can not take a redshirt, correct? Isn't that way Jeremy Lewis, John Calhoun could not redshirt in 2008; b/c they played against Charleston Southern? Thanks!

Go Canes!!!

[Bonez]

just that i would let yall know where u can find the game.

http://www.justin.tv/wootersports#/w/359625168

[expatinbrasil]

Lamar for 33 yards... perhaps the hype around him is for real

[expatinbrasil]

I like the fast pace that the CANES are using. Stamina may be a problem, but it certainly seems to be working so far.

[chevyboy79]

14-0 Canes...Hankerson has scored two touchdowns

[me.yahoo.com/a/6aRlv8sh0vvuhFoQIi._6EWQzwVp6JjBfM0-]

FAMU self destructs after crossing the 50 near the end of the 1st but the UM defense and the offense seem to have some kinks.

Hopefully they work them out before next week; still unsure how to take the number of repeated mistakes by Soph/Juniors/Seniors.

How the world does Figueroa get called for holding at the end of the 1st - against FAMU???

[ted]

sarasota cane: go kill yourself

[RICK TRUTH SPEAKER]

THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE TIUMPH. AMOS 9:13 THANK YOU LORD. GO CANES GO. AMOS 9:13

[RICK TRUTH SPEAKER]

PS: THAT SHOULD REFLECT. THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE TRIUMPH. AMOS 9:13 JESUS IS LORD. AMOS 9:13

[Laz]

What channel i the game on

[johnny]

ok this game ain't even worth watching anymore. espn3 for those of you who don't know, its online

[Rick]

Nobodies watching this game in Tampa Bay. Brighthouse doesn't do ESPN 3. This is bullsh*t. UM is screwing the fans!

[BIG CANE]

ESPN-3 SUCKS, SUCKS....no single @!#$%^&*

[jehrlichmd]

it's espn that is screwing the fans. they want to charge for a subscription and then suck more money out of brighthouse, which will just be passed onto us as increased cost for internet. this is what net neutrality should stop. the signal should go through no matter where it is from or where it is going. big business just can't get enough of our money.

[BIG CANE]

Bring on the SUCK-eyes...............

[inimounts]

aj looks really awful. disappointing

[johnny]

right now, I'm praying that jacory stays healthy all year.

[BIG CANE]

Positive vibes, positive vibes........

[CRad]

It is a combination of ESPN and Brighthouse screwing up the Tampa Bay market. My neighbor has Verizon and he lets me get on his network so I can watch the game. Jacotu looked good tonight. Defense is stout. I am worried about the backup QB play.

[CANE CLASS OF 94]

WHAT's GOING ON GUYS..! CHEER UP, WE HAVE GREAT SEASON AHEAD OF US WITH A GREAT TEAM AND A BETTER COACH. AS I SAID BEFORE, COACH SHANNON IS A NATURAL BORN LEADER. GO COACH AND GO CANES!!!

[steelers_canesfan]

Back-up QBs not so good...

[Ert3jf]

Jacory was extremely impressive. The back up QB's are frighteningly bad.

The run defense must improve when we go to Ohio State.

[stretch]

#77 HUGE!!!!

[duvalcanesfan]

Good game CANES!! Like what i see. The talent on the team remind of the 99-02 teams. a lot of depth. Backup QB position has a lot of work to do. They left too many points on the field. Should have scored 60. All in all impressive. I'm really excited about the shut out. Go CANES!!

[Go Canes]

That was a fake Sarasota folks, that was the murder-joking racist troll that wrote that, while stealing another person's ID.

45-0, and nothing that loser Curse of Art Kehoe says will change that.

[rrodriguez0207]

we have to keep going like that to rise up the rank.......

[db21]

Ray Ray looked like Sean Taylor on that run back. Watch this highlight at 3:10 to see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgTm8nAeq7Q&feature=related

[ballinboyz]

offense looked great!!! i think we need a little work on D but they still looked great. did anyone see the blocked fieldgoal on ohio??? they ran it back for a TD!!!

[inimounts]

does anyone feel that this is the most important game in 8 years by far? anyone that was around the nc, or has been around columbus as i have been the last eighr uears, knows what this game means, what it is.

[Its_Over_for_U]

Glad to see the 'Canes can't make room on their schedule for their younger bigger brother, FIU. Great win against a great team in FAMU.

U scared. U know it. U can run but U can't hide. The I is on the RISE!!

[luisalamambisa]

Great win. O looked good. D needs a little work but they showed up after the time out. I was really impressed by the fan turnout. Columbus, Ohio here we come!!!

[Junkie]

AJ Highsmith is terrible at QB!!! Whipple is the backup for now.