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Finally a sigh of relief can spread across the Hurricane nation, the first game of the season will not be against FSU. Though we all knew it was coming it is a huge relief to look across the schedule and see those three letters more than halfway down the list. Instead this season we start off with something a bit more doable coming out of summer camps, a home game against Marshall.
Though a decent basketball team, Marshall shouldn’t provide much of a challenge, especially compared with the last few season openers. There won’t be much time for them to breathe and get their feet wet because a week later the Hurricanes will be on a plane to Norman, Oklahoma to face the Sooners for the first time since the 1988 Orange Bowl, which Miami won 20-14.
Despite being plagued by injuries and suspensions the Sooners were still able to pull out an 11-2 record, before slipping up in their bowl game against Boise State 43-42 to finish 11-3. Next for the Hurricanes is a game most experts and pundits though should be canceled, a home game against FIU. Honestly, the worst thing to do for two teams that are so close to each other is to call it quits and not play this game. It’s more of an admission of an inability on both the players and coaches’ part to get over the brawl and just play some football. If all goes well in this game I’d like for everyone to shut up about “The Brawl” and start taking a closer look at Hofstra. Home still up next for the ‘Canes will be Texas A&M, another tough Big 12 opponent. A home game against Duke and a short trip to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina and the Hurricanes come home to their next real challenge. Georgia Tech has been slowly proving themselves as a tough defensive minded team, with the seeming inability to finish out a season. After starting the season 9-2, the Yellow Jackets couldn’t seem to find a W the rest of the way. On their sixth straight week of football to start the season, the Hurricanes will have to travel to Tallahassee to face the Seminoles. Always a tough game, the lack of any bye weeks, and the fact that it’ll be coming off a home game against the defensively tough GaTech Yellow Jackets, this years match up doesn’t seem too much easier than a season opener…it’s still slightly less domineering though. After two home games against NC State and Virginia the Hurricanes cap the season off with their two toughest road games of the season against Va Tech and the BC Eagles. A short week between the FIU and Texas A&M games, plus 6 straight weeks of ball before their first and only bye week makes the next Hurricanes season one of their toughest. In all, the Hurricanes could be facing as many as 6 ranked teams, though probably not season long ones (I can’t see FSU or Miami being ranked in the top 25, despite the amount of talent on both teams). |
