It's been almost 31 years since the Miami Dolphins packed the team charter for a Super Bowl. That year's Ultimate Game, the 19th such event, sold easily as a potential classic with more points than a Big East basketball game -- the 14-2 Dolphins with NFL record resetting second-year quarterback Dan Marino vs. the 15-1 San Francisco 49ers with a pretty good offense themselves.
Beyond that simplistic comparison, I saw game San Franciso almost couldn't lose. For all Marino's greatness, the Dolphins were one-dimensional. They couldn't run. They'd be going up against a defense that won the NFC title game in a shutout; a defense whose secondary, perhaps the best ever, was the true propulsion in the 49ers rise from doormat to dynasty three years earlier; a defense with two or three devastating pass rushers.
Meanwhile, every part of the 49ers presented multiple threats. Joe Montana operated the West Coast offense expertly, led the NFC in passing and could run (he'd rush for 59 yards in the Super Bowl). Both running backs, 1,200-yard man Wendell Tyler and Roger Craig, could catch out of the backfield. And they'd get to see a Dolphins defense that had just given up 28 points to a 9-7 Pittsburgh team quarterbacked by Mark Malone.
Conclusion: the 49ers would score as much as they needed to win and might score as much as they wanted. I announced "I'm giving Miami and 4 points" in Calculus class. By the fourth quarter of the 38-16 Dolphins loss, I was making "you going to have my money tomorrow?" phone calls.
Relevance to Old Dominion vs. FIU Saturday: That's exactly the feeling I have about this game after more than a cursory look. This is FIU's rout to lose.
If I'm wrong, I'll be here in the postgame blog eating my crow with salt and Bob Evans sausage. But that'll mean Old Dominion will have performed to a level it hasn't this season and FIU will have contracted an ineptitude virus causing football incontinence all over Ocean Bank Field.
Don't be fooled by Old Dominion being, as Monarchs coach Bobby Wilder pointed out last week, 5-5 in their 10 Conference USA games over the last two seasons. Or by David Washington switching back to quarterback from wide receiver, then going 25 of 43 for 365 yards and four touchdowns against Charlotte "a good football team with good players," according to Wilder.
This is why those of us who hear and must transcribe such claptrap took a few minutes to mourn when Steve Spurrier walked away. Whether or not we covered him, we thanked God/Adonai/Allah/Jah for a coach who had little use for false modesty, fake puffery of opponents or speaking to the media (and, by extension, the public) as if a little research couldn't puncture the balloon launched by all that hot air. Spurrier's words weren't the New New Testament, but they weren't the coaching equivalent of teenage girls calling each other's new outfits "cute."
I can't tell you how many times I heard "very good" to describe UTEP's players and team the week before FIU hosted the Miners. "Very good" is a team in the Top 25 or at least a contender for a conference title. It's not a banged up, handicap parking space-eligible team with one FBS win (in OT against an annually pathetic program) and losses by 31, 49 and 19 points.
Charlotte's players probably give great effort. Clearly, they've made great strides to be any kind of competitive in only Season No. 3 after restarting the football program. But that's not "a good football team with good players." Good football teams with good players don't give up 73 points as Charlotte did to Middle Tennessee State. Charlotte's wins are against Georgia State and Presbyterian, which sounds more like a local high school and probably has less talent than two or three local high schools down here.
And trying to link last year's fast finishing Old Dominion team to this year's should get you a job selling stuff on 3 a.m. infomercials. Last year's team had enough offense to play everybody on the schedule close, save Marshall, and pull a few upsets. This year's team got steamrolled by Appalachian State 49-0, NC State 38-14 and gave up 309 yards rushing to Charlotte.
You're going to tell me some team only in their junior year as a program, first year in FBS, can punk Old Dominion for 309 yards rushing (323 on 67 carries of Real Rushing, minus the sacks) at Old Dominion, but FIU can't pound the rock on ODU at La Cage? That the Panthers can't run the ball on the Monarchs the way they did on UTEP, then hit the Monarchs over the top, just as they did UTEP?
Also, career backup Washington lights up Charlotte, so I'm supposed to believe he'll do that to an experienced group that's got a tad more talent than Charlotte?
Translation: FIU will score as many points as it needs and might score when it wants.
FIU 48, Old Dominion 27.
But that's one black man's opinion. I could be wrong.
VOLLEYBALL
A nice five-set takedown at FAU Friday night puts FIU (13-8, 6-3) a step closer to solidifying a spot in the Conference USA tournament. The Owls hadn't lost a conference match at home this season before Friday.
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