College football Week 1: Canes surpass unimpressive Gators as state’s best team

* Click The Road From Pain To Glory for my college special-section column on UM coach Randy Shannon. See Week 1 Canesfan Satisfaction Meter poll results in post directly below this.

NO. 13 MIAMI HURRICANES 45, FLORIDA A&M 0: The U clobbers Rattlers as huge test at Ohio State looms:

Even though opponent was inferior and everyone expected a routine victory, 45-0 is still impressive. So was Jacory Harris' 210-yard, three-TD first half before sitting out the second half in a show of sportsmanship by coach Randy Shannon. Next: At Ohio State. Thursday got the season off to a great start. The next game could define the season.

Click The Return of J12 for my column off the game on Jacory Harris' reassuring performance.

Original post: Looking ahead is all the rage in South Florida as the 2010 college football season launches. I mean, c'mon! I figure Canes coast here, win by five touchdowns or so. FAMU would do well to keep the final margin around 20 points. Point is, this is for Miami the college version of a preseason game, a dressed-up tuneup for Sept. 11 at Ohio State. Sorry, Rattlers. Nothing personal. Love the band!.

Other Week 1 state-school FBS games:

FAU 32, Alabama-Birmingham 31: Huge stunner-win Thursday night for wise old King Owl Howard Schnellenberger, who is back hoping to make some noise in the Sun Belt. Opening road upset over Conference USA's UAB marks a nifty start fashioned on a blocked 28-yard field goal. Hoot hoot!

No. 4 Florida 34, Miami-Ohio 12: The Urbanators begin Life After Tim Tebow with a soft-opening Swamp date against a RedHawks squad they should have beaten by 40, and it was too close for too long. Call it a so-so debut for new QB John Brantley, and an indication Miami's Hurricanes look right now like the best team in the state, a title UF has owned for awhile.

No. 20 Florida 59, Samford 6: New coach Jimbo Fisher settles in as Noles begin Life After Bobby Bowden, the eased-out legend off the sidelines for the first time in 35 years. FSU cruised as it sould have over a minor opponent behind QB Christian Ponder. How sweet it would have been if Bowden's old school upset the school that let him go, but no such fairy tale.

Central Florida 38, South Dakota 7: UCF Knights easily controlled their Division 1AA foe and may have found a quarterback in Rob Calabrese.

South Florida 59, Stony Brook 14: Bulls take advantage of soft tuneup for next week's date with Gators.

Idle this week: FIU. The Mario (Cristobal) Brothers prep for a Sept. 11 opener vs. Rutgers. .

Week 1 national Top 25 matchups: No. 6 Texas Christian beats No. 24 Oregon, 30-21; No. 21 LSU beats No. 18 North Carolina, 30-24. Game of Week: No. 3 Boise State vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech, Monday 8 p.m.

COTE TOP 30

We started this last season and it returns, despite popular demand. Note: Our rankings are cumulative and give equal weight to each week of season. Our initial 2010 preseason rankings also list team's final '09 ranking:

Rank--'09  Team   Points

1--3     Alabama   90

2--6t    Ohio State   87

3--4     Boise State   82

4--1     FLORIDA   81

5--2     Texas   80

6--5     Texas Christian   73

7--19    Oklahoma   72

8--11    Virginia Tech   69

9t--24   Nebraska   65

9t--13   Iowa   65

11--14   Oregon   59

12--16   MIAMI   57

13--27   Wisconsin   56

14--18   Pittsburgh   49

15--12   Georgia Tech   44

16--53   Arkansas   40

17--9    Penn State   39

18--30   North Carolina   38

19--6t    Louisiana State   37

20--41   FLORIDA STATE   35

21--10   Southern Cal   33

22--38   Auburn   26

23--28   Georgia   25

24--26   Oregon State   24

25--29   West Virginia   18

26--8    Cincinnati   14

27--22   Utah   12

28--32   Stanford   10

29--21   Houston   6

30--36   South Carolina   5

Matt Leinart released by Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals have released quarterback Matt Leinart. Coach Tim Wisenhunt informed the former USC standout Saturday of the team's decision.


Arizona Cardinals - Matt Leinart - sport - NFL - Quarterback

Hold off on judging Mariotti

Maybe we shouldn't be so quick to condemn Jay Mariotti.


Jay Mariotti - Business - ESPN - AOL - Chicago Sun-Times

For La Russa, others, time for a change

For Tony La Russa and others, age isn't the issue. It's just time to go.


Tony LaRussa - Albert Pujols - Glenn Beck - La Russa - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Weekend Watch List: Boise State once loved, now loathed

With that memorable Fiesta Bowl, Boise State was a loveable toy. Now as the Broncos boast legitimate title hopes, they pose an actual threat and the big boys aren't enamored anymore, Dennis Dodd says in Weekend Watch List.

Canesfan Satisfaction Meter: 95.0%

Calling all artsy types! Logo contest!:

We're looking for a Canesfan Satisfaction Meter logo that incorporates those three words or CSM as an acronym, along with artwork or colors that are all about The U. E-mail your creation to gcote@miamiherald.com and if we choose your design, it will appear with each week's poll throughout the season, with credit to you. Enter now! [UPDATE: Have already received three quality, potentially winning entries. Good stuff. Keep 'em coming!]

[Main gamepost on UM's season-opening victory may be found directly below this in blog. And post on Dolphins-Dallas game may be found directly below that].

'CANESFAN SATISFACTION METER' MAKES 2010 DEBUT: Welcome to the second season of the Canesfan Satisfaction Meter poll, our continuing weekly gauge of how Miami Hurricanes football fans are feeling about the team and the program's direction. This first poll follows Thursday night's 45-0 season-opening home victory over Florida A&M. A new poll will appear in a separate blogpost within minutes of the conclusion of every Canes game.

Official Week 1 results: 95.0 percent satisfaction (69.8% "very," 25.2% "somewhat"). My interpretation: Probably should be even higher. The weak opponent likely accounts for many of the somewhats, and there always are going to be a small percentage of haters who always vote contrarily, especially involving The U. 

Criteria for voting is your own, but I suggest you consider the most recent game's performance, the season as a whole, the program's direction, and your overall degree of optimism -- all in the context of reasonable expectations.

Polls never close -- you can still vote -- but results are certified official the morning after one full day of voting, in this case at 9:40 a.m. Saturday.

Vote now and share your thoughts on how Game 1 affected your decision.

[Note: In the first season of the CSM, the final overall satisfaction rating was 41.7 percent following the bowl loss that left UM with a 9-4 record. The breakdown was 7.5% "very" satisfied and 34.2% "somewhat."

[Follow at Twitter.com/gregcote]

PS4: Dallas 27, Dolphins 25; Henne, pass defense looking shaky as preseason ends

Note: Thursday was a rare occasion (see List below for how rare) when Dolphins and Hurricanes played football the same day. SEE OUR CANES-FAMU/COLLBALL WEEK 1 POST DIRECTLY ABOVE.

* Click Henne In The Passing Lane for today's pro special-section column by me. (Our Chad Henne poll continues accepting votes in the blogpost directly below this).Click Cote Ranks The NFL for the section's team-by-team preseason rankings, 1 through 32.

ARE YOUR DOLPHINS READY FOR THE REAL DEAL?:

Miami ends the preseason 2-2 with last night's last-second loss in the Big D, and it isn't the defeat that is most troubling. It is that the pass defense gave up 304 yards to somebody not named Tony Romo. And that QB Chad Henne (6-for-11) did not bounce back from last week's poor game to the extent fans might have hoped.

The unsettling sense is that Miami is not ready for the regular season based on what we have seen but believes it can "flip a switch" now that the games count. Luckily, opening with Buffalo (even on the road) offers some wiggle room. But after that the schedule gets tough fast.

Everything, starting with Henne and the pass defense, must get better. Now.

By the way, I don't buy the Classic Second-Guess that Tony Sparano should not have played his starters so long and should now be blamed because tackle Jake Long suffered what is hoped to be a very minor injury. That unit needed cohesion. Not sure it found it. But it needed to try. 

Pregame note: Jeff Ireland and Dez Bryant reportedly had a "pleasant conversation" and made amends. "Who the crap cares!" blogged Greg Cote.

Original post: Won't be surprised if Miami's starters play a bit more tonight at Dallas than is typical of an exhibition finale because I know coach Tony Sparano thinks winning this game -- or at least playing much better than last week -- is important. Has nothing to do with his and Bill Parcells' past with the Cowboys. Has everything to do with the Dolphins needing to erase the sour taste of their poor showing last week and enter the regular season feeling better about themselves.

A strong showing by QB Chad Henne will go a long way. Also curious if Miami shows a bit more of a concerted running game than we have seen, along with a glimpse of its largely hidden blitz package. Even if not, fans can be assured of a better, more physical effort than was seen in last week's stinker.

LATEST DOLPHIN BETTING ODDS: Fresh out the oven Thursday from Bodog.com, Miami is 8.5 on the wins over/under, 30-1 to win the Super Bowl, 16-1 to win the AFC, and 4-1 (behind Pats' 6-5 and Jets' 5-4) to win the AFC East. Notable individual over/unders: Chad Henne, 3,500 yards, 20 TD passes. Ronnie Brown, 850 rushing yards, 9.5 TDs. Ricky Williams, 750 rushing yards, 7.5 TDs. And Brandon Marshall, 95 catches for 1,150 yards, 9 TDs.

THE LIST: DOLPHINS, HURRICANES ON SAME DAY: Tonight marks only the seventh time in 44 shared seasons since 1966 that the Dolphins and Hurricanes have played football the same day:

Dec. 23, 1967 (Sat.): Dolphins v. Houston; UM-Colorado/Bluebonnet Bowl

Sep. 28, 1968 (Sat.): Dolphins vs. Kansas City; UM at Georgia Tech

Aug. 28, 2003 (Thu.): Dolphins at New Orleans (exh.); UM at La. Tech

Nov. 23, 2006 (Thu.): Dolphins at Detroit, UM v. Boston Coll./Thanksgiving

Dec. 31, 2006 (Sun.): Dolphins at Indy; UM v. Nev./MPC Computers Bowl

Aug. 28, 2008 (Thu.): Dolphins at New Orl. (exh.); UM vs. Charleston So.

Sep. 2, 2010 (Thu.): Dolphins at Dallas (exh.); UM vs. Florida A&M

[Follow at Twitter.com/gregcote]

Brown, Holmgren need to work it out

And then you'll understand the man who is Jim Brown.


Jim Brown - Cleveland Browns - Mike Holmgren - United States - History

Now or never for Palmer’s Bengals

Bengals, Palmer have run out of excuses for postseason failures.


Carson Palmer - Cincinnati Bengals - sport - NFL - Football

Preseason Top 25: Here’s what you’ve been waiting for

Drum roll, please ... On college football-mas eve, Dennis Dodd is finally here with his last preseason Top 25. The top two? The only teams that went undefeated last season, naturally.

Next Page »