The 2008 NCAA Football Kicks-Off with a bang for the Miami Hurricanes Football Team 2008 roster. The Canes whipped up a starling display of offensive vigor. They basically rolled over their opponent in this 52-7 trashing of Charleston Southern University Buccaneers.
The Canes played their hearts out in their first ever home match in their new home ground – The Dolphins Stadium. True to the label of being the number 1 signing class of 2008, the new faces in the Canes lineup proved their mettle with outstanding performances in their opening match.
Miami took to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Scoring in all their three possessions. They collected a massive 172 total offensive yards. 84 yards from passing and 88 more from the rushing game. The Bucs, on the other hand, managed only a28 total offensive yards in the first quarter. All their drives ended in punts.
The Hurricanes took their feet off the pedal in the second half. The team could only muster 72 yards of total offense. They scored once. They also fumbled once to match the Bucs in turnovers. The Buccaneers, once again failed to make much in the second quarter. They only made a total of 15 yards.
At the breather, Miami led CSU by a hefty 28-0 scoreline.
After the break, the Canes continued business as usual. They scored in their first possession of the second half. G. Cooper scrambled and whizzed past everyone off a CSU punt to score his first punt return TD. CSU tried hard to level things on the field. They managed to score their only TD of the match in their third possession of the quarter. UM, however, scored their second of the quarter in their next possession to make it a 42-7 scoreline. Both teams were pretty much level in terms of yardage in the third.
Miami turned stepped on the pedal a little bit more in the fourth. They scored on both their possessions. A field goal in their first possession, and a TD in the second. Chalking up a total of 96 yards. Much of it on the ground from running plays to eat up the clock. The Miami D also stood up hard to allow the Bucs only 12 total yards of offensive plays. The Bucs had -4 yards passing and only 1 first downs in the final quarter.
At the end of the game, Miami totally outmatched their opponents in terms of yardage with a 416-126 total yards gained. Miami gained a lot of impressive numbers in this opening match. The 21 point first quarter score is their highest in a period since 2006. It was the Canes’ highest scoring game. Matching their 52-7 win over Duke in 2005.
It has to be noted, though, the Buccaneers really is not a ranked team. They have only had 2 winning seasons in their history. Thus, the win does not carry a lot of weight in terms of rankings. The Hurricanes football team will face their true test in next week’s match. They are paying a visit to Florida who is currently ranked at No 5.
How will the once mighty Hurricanes fare against Florida? Will the fresh new Miami team be able to stand the pressure of playing against a highly ranked team? Will the new faces crumble under pressure?
We shall see what happens come next weekend. Stay up to date all you Miami fans.
Go Canes!!
