College Football: When the dust settles, Miami will be number one

By Keith Thronson Sports Central Columnist

The Florida Gators have been voted the number one team in the preseason AP Poll and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, just ahead of the Miami Hurricanes. Are the Florida Gators a better team than Miami? Miami received 33 first-place votes in the AP poll compared to Florida's 20, but still came in second. Figure that out, if you can. Miami defeated Florida in last year's Sugar Bowl 37-20. Can they beat Florida again in 2001?

The 2001 Miami Hurricanes may be a major storm to contend with this year. They were impressive in 2000 as they finished the season 11-1. As I stated earlier, they blew Florida away in the Sugar Bowl. If that victory didn't convince you, just wait until Miami meets Washington on September 15th. As you all know by now, the Washington Huskies upset the Miami Hurricanes last year 34-29. I bet my house it won't happen again. Miami will be out for blood this year. Huskies blood, as a matter of fact. Washington must play in the Orange Bowl this year.

Miami has a new coach in Larry Coker, a man who replaces Butch Davis, who is now coach of the Cleveland Browns. Coker was Miami's offensive coordinator last year. A former Miami Hurricane TE named Rob Chudzinski takes over as the new offensive coordinator. Therefore, Miami will stick with its successful pro set scheme.

QB Ken Dorsey will head up the offense - and it's a potent offense at that. Miami led the Big East in offense last year. Miami has eight offensive starters returning - eight who played in last year's Sugar Bowl victory. Dorsey threw for 2,737 yards and 25 TDs in 2000. He only threw five interceptions. He is certainly a Heisman candidate as he is a very intelligent passer and makes very good decisions, as you can tell by the low number of interceptions he threw.

There is concern on who will backup Dorsey? It will either be freshman Derrick Crudup, who is an extremely talented athlete, or junior Troy Pasek, who only saw limited action in three games last year. I have faith in Miami that they will not be left hanging if anything happens to Ken Dorsey.

Ken Dorsey lost two of his great receivers to the NFL. Santana Moss and Reggie Wayne. There is still plenty of talent on this Miami offense, enough to make a run for the national title. TE Jeremy Shockey (6'6", 250 lbs.) is large and has sure hands. He was All-Big East last year. Senior Daryl Jones returns. He had to play in the shadows of Santana Moss and Reggie Wayne last year, but figures to make a name for himself in 2001. Junior Ethenic Sands is the other receiver.

Clinton Portis and Najeh Davenport will make up the backfield. Portis, the team's number two running back last year, rushed for 485 yards. Davenport is large and can play either tailback or fullback. The Hurricanes have a very talented freshman by the name of Willie McGahee - he could easily start if needed.

The offensive line is anchored by two All-American offensive tackles. That being Joaquin Gonzalez and Bryant McKinnie. They will provide the needed protection for QB Ken Dorsey, to make the big plays downfield. The offensive line returns four starters from a group that only allowed eight sacks in 2000.

Miami has a pretty tough schedule this year. They open Sept. 1st at Penn State. They play Washington at home Sept. 15th. Yes, revenge can be sweet. Then the very next week they must travel to Pittsburgh to play the Panthers. Then on Oct. 13th they must travel to Tallahassee to play Florida State. They beat Florida State last year 27-24 at home. On Dec. 1st, Miami will play at Virginia Tech. They beat Michael Vick's Virginia Tech last year 41-21. So Miami has many obstacles to hurdle, before staking claim to the number one spot in the country.

So, what about Miami's defense? Are they good enough to shut down the offenses they must face in 2001? Head coach Larry Coker hired ex-Miami Dolphin assistant Randy Shannon as defensive coordinator after Greg Schiano departed to be the head coach at Rutgers. You know how good the Miami Dolphins defense is. So, I don't think we will have to worry about the Hurricanes defense too much. They ranked fifth in the Big East last year in total defense.

Miami lost key personnel at defense to the NFL draft. Linebacker Dan Morgan, safety Al Blades, and defensive tackle Damione Lewis have gone on to play in the NFL. Can they be replaced? Probably not right away, but Miami has some good young talent to try and fill these vital gaps down the road. Strong safety Edward Reed, a Thorpe Award candidate, who received first team All-American honors, has great field vision and an awareness of the ball. He could be the leader of this defense. Also, he will have cornerback Mike Rumph working along with him. Philip Buchanon is a very good cover man.

Miami will still generate enough pressure up the middle to cause offenses grief. Defensive tackle William Joseph (6'5", 290 lbs.) and Vince Wilfork are great against the run. They can get in a quarterback's face, too. Defensive ends Cornelius Green and Jamaal Green combined for seven sacks last year. Both are juniors this year and should be much improved. Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma has the responsibility of trying to fill Dan Morgan's departure to the NFL. Sophomore D.J. Williams may compete against him for this very important assignment.

Special teams could be a concern with the loss of Santana Moss, but I'm sure Miami will find someone that has the ability to break a game wide open. Miami is never at a loss for talent, that's for sure. Same goes for the Florida Gators. Field goal kicker Todd Sievers, who has good range, converted 11 of 16 field goals last year, and 52 of 58 extra point tries in 2000.

There is no guarantee that Miami and Florida will meet again this year in any Bowl game, but I have a feeling they will. I'd love too see them play each other in the Rose Bowl, which hosts the BCS national title game this year. Anytime they play each other, you can be sure there will be plenty of fireworks and long balls thrown. Florida's Steve Spurrier must still have nightmares of that Sugar Bowl loss last year, and you know he would love to face Miami again to exact his sweet revenge. See you at the game.