UM’s Randy Shannon talks Consistency, Groins

Pretzel Logic

A day after a 45-17 home loss to 23rd-ranked arch rival FSU on Saturday night, University of Miami head football coach Randy Shannon spoke to reporters about the game and his team’s prospects going forward. Said Shannon of the nationally televised undressing, “We have some things we can really, really build on.”

Though suddenly-disgruntled fans are calling for his ouster, it is highly unlikely Shannon will lose his job this year – or ever – given his 4-year, $4.8 million extension in May and UM President Donna Shalala’s notoriously stingy ways. With the in-conference loss to FSU, the Hurricanes fell to 3-2 (1-1 in the ACC) and dropped out of both polls for the first time this year. Miami is now 21-19 against BCS teams under their current coach, but a perfect 3-0 against Bowl Subdivision teams.

In addition, the ‘Canes sold out Sun Life Stadium for the first time Saturday, yet it is uncertain if they will duplicate attendance for their Oct. 23 game against North Carolina.

A crowd between 75,000 and 22,000 is expected.

The following are Shannon’s word-for-word responses during Sunday morning’s press conference with reporters from Rivals.com and the Miami Herald:

Coach, how would you evaluate last night’s effort?

We didn’t do very well on both sides of the football. We had some running plays, but we weren’t consistent. I have to be more consistent, more demanding.

What does this loss mean for your team?

That’s one loss in the ACC.

Can you give us an update on [injured starting quarterback] Jacory [Harris]?

A groin is a groin.

There were over 200 state recruits on the sidelines last night. How’s this going to affect recruiting?

It’s overstated. Everyone’s going to get their players.

So you’re saying a blowout loss to your biggest rival has no effect on recruiting?

Florida State will get their players and we’ll get ours. It doesn’t change.

This is the first time in three plus seasons you’ve ever blamed yourself for a loss…

Offensively, we were able to run against Clemson. Why weren’t we able to run against Florida State? Is it the run plays, pass plays, the personnel, what is it? We have to find out what it is and fix it, get better off it. That’s why it’s on me.

Do you foresee major changes coming?

No. You can’t cut them or trade them, get anybody off the waiver wire… We have a good football team.

What’s the biggest problem with mental preparation?

The consistency, where is it? The same play, same defense, we get a tackle for a loss. Then suddenly the same play, same defense, they get a running play. The consistency, we have to demand more out of them and I have to demand it out of the coaches to get it out of the players.

The team seems to repeat the same simple mistakes…

That’s the consistency part of it. We’ll get it fixed.

But these are recurring issues. This is the second time in a month your team hasn’t been competitive…

Like I said the last time we lost a game, we’ll be a lot better. And we will. The greatest thing about it is ACC play now. You get in a rhythm of doing certain things now.

Was the team mentally prepared to play yesterday?

I thought they were.

You have to be shocked by the performance.

You want to win. But we still have some things we can get done. If we do what we have to do and take care of the opportunities we’re going to have the next couple of weeks, we’ll put ourselves in the right situation.

Jacory was 19 of 47 for 225 yards and an interception…

I thought he managed well for what he had to get done.

But the offense was in a lull all night.

When that happens, always bad things happen.

Do you think the media backlash from Jacory’s poor play of late has taken a toll on him?

I don’t think it’s taken a toll on him. It’s a Jacory lovefest right now.

[Linebacker Colin] McCarthy is a fifth-year senior. That personal foul was a killer.

You expect a lot out of everybody on the team, seniors to be able to control themselves and things like that.

How do you deal with fan complaints?

I don’t hear any of it.

Do you want the rallying cry to be facing FSU again in the ACC title game?

No.

You had a lot of dropped passes. Is there any one thing that’s a problem catching balls?

They are what they are.

[Saturday's opponent] Duke hasn’t had a winning season in 15 years. Your thoughts?

It’s a tough place to play. You have a 150-yard walk to get to the field, the fans. You know how the stadium is going to be. It’s one of those places that can lull you to sleep just because of the atmosphere. Every year I’ve been up there we’ve had tough times at Duke.

- Robbie