Monday Musings: FSU spin zone; Manny Bowl on deck

IIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTT’S MONDAY!!!!!!!!! And it’s a victory Monday, which is the best kind of Monday. And it’s an undefeated victory Monday, which makes it somehow an even better Mondasy. And it’s an undefeated victory Monday after running Florida State out of town on a rail, which makes it the BEST kind of Monday!

So, with that being said. Let’s hop into those driver seats, put on those orange and green helmets, fasten our seat belts, and peel wheels into the winding highway of Miami Hurricanes-related thoughts spiraling through my brain.

1) I said late last week that I wanted to see Miami win convincingly on Saturday. That was close enough.

It wasn’t dominating for parts, but it was still steady and the result was never in doubt. That was the kind of game that Miami needed, and they got it. Even on an off night for Cam Ward, who threw for 208 yards and no touchdowns for the first time in his Miami career. Still, grabbing the Philly special was a nice way to drop in the dagger and give a highlight moment on his way to New York City.

2) FSU fans passed around the bottle of copium after the game, I see.

The excuses, deflections, and spin zone have been heavy on social media. But I guess that’s what you get when your entire house of cards program gets blown to pieces by a small puff of wind by the NCAA selection committee last year.

Here’s a bad troll attempt, given most of the money during the week came in on Miami when it was less than 22 points, including on game day.

And, of course, Cam Ward didn’t have 400 yards and 4 touchdowns, so many of their fans are ready to hang a banner.

I will give credit to FSU playing a ton of man coverage on Miami’s wide receivers with two over the top at times and daring Ward to throw darts or run the ball. The latter option worked pretty well for the Canes though.

At the end of the day, Miami still was able to sledgehammer their way down the field with the rushing attack, which rolled up 230 rushing yards on 40 carries. Miami put up 36 points on an off night passing while still covering the spread for all but the tardiest of bettors.

So….congrats, I guess? FSU fans chuckled at Miami last year about any thought of a moral victory for losing by 7 in Tallahassee. I will likewise chuckle at these silly attempts to justify any kind of positive for them here.

Enjoy the rest of your one-win season.

3) Oh yeah, and Miami secured the title as best in the state.

The only team Miami hasn’t played that would qualify is UCF, and they’re LOL this year, having already lost to the Gators by 11 in Gainesville. Everyone knows how it went with the Canes in Canesville.

So yeah, that’s never a bad thing. And it’s something that surely Mario – as he did to end his postgame presser – will remind recruits of the Sunshine State from now through signing day.

4) Next up are the Duke Blue Devils and one Manny Diaz.

Talk about motivation coming in on their end. I thought that was going to be an 8-0 vs. 7-1 game between two ranked teams, but Manny ended up going for two and missing in overtime to end the game last weekend against FSU. Have to kick it there even if your FG unit’s struggled some.

Still, it’s a big game, and in my opinion, 20 points is an awfully big line. I’ll have my pick later in the week, but I definitely raised my eyebrow at that number when I saw it today. Duke’s defense is legit and has managed to keep most everyone this year to a respectable number. They haven’t allowed more than 21 points in regulation this year. That said, their offense is pretty iffy, having broken 26 in regulation once this year.

We’ll see if this could be another get right game for the Canes on defense before they hit the road for two of their final three games.

Go Canes!