It’s been a fun ride covering UM hoops over the past couple of years on Category 6. The good news is that this isn’t the end of our efforts to promote UM sports – particularly basketball.

We’re teaming up with our friends over at SB Nation in the creation of a new site.

The name Seventh Floor Blog is being retired. I don’t know much about the technical side of it, but the transition should take less than two months. Hopefully it changes over sooner. Sorry, can’t reveal the name yet.

What is going to come out of this fusion? We think the best UM sports site in the world. The re-imagined site will cover football, baseball, basketball (of course), and even Charles Robinson and his nefarious deeds. We may also cover additional UM sports in the future. SB Nation is also instituting a new, state-of-the-art platform over the next month or two which will make being an informed, engaged fan or journalist that much easier.

Category 6 isn’t going away – we’re being merged into a more powerful form. Like Voltron. Remember him? Weren’t there two types of Voltron?

Voltron!

Anyway, the same content we hope you’ve enjoyed on your visits to Category 6 will now be at SB Nation. Whether you came here for the informative stuff or the more comical items, none of that is going to change except that you’ll have more ‘Canes content to peruse. Thanks for visiting Category 6 and we hope you’ll enjoy the Voltronesque nature of the new site.

The Miami Hurricanes return to action Saturday,  (Noon EST, FX/WQAM) with a trip to Manhattan, KS to take on the # 22 Kansas State Wildcats. Last season K State defeated the ‘Canes 28-24 in a dramatic struggle at Sun Life Stadium. In that contest former UM QB Jacory Harris’  game winning scramble attempt, was stopped at the one yard line on 4th down in the final minute. And while KSU returns most of their key performers from last season, including all-purpose QB Colin Klein, UM’s team will look completely different. Freshman RB Randy “Duke” Johnson stole the show in Miami’s opening win against BC, rushing for two long, spectacular TDs that proved to be the difference in the 41-32 win. Fellow freshmen WR Malcolm Lewis, RT Ereck Flowers, and S Deon Bush all also contributed in the win. Another new starter, Junior QB Stephen Morris, was also very solid.  The Wildcats opened their season with a 51-9 victory over Missouri State, that was surprisingly close into the 3rd quarter.  KSU also features former 5 start Miami recruit, LB Arthur Brown.

Miami and K State battled it out last year.

Here is our full Q&A with bringonthecats.com. Be sure to check out their site for our answers to their questions later this week.

C6:This is a tough question for us to ask. How good of a player has LB & UM transfer, Arthur Brown become?

BOTC: To state the obvious, he’s become an all-conference performer. He also leads his unit by example as much as anything. I don’t know enough about what happened with Brown at Miami to speculate as to why he is so much better in Manhattan than he was in South Beach. But he’s a quiet guy who doesn’t seem to enjoy the spotlight, so maybe he enjoys being closer to home in a place that’s nothing like Miami. Or maybe it’s just that he came back to a program that had nothing at linebacker, and he was able to just go out and play and not worry about whether anyone was looking over his shoulder. He clearly has the talent and physical ability.

C6: After watching last year’s K State/UM game, we were really impressed by QB Colin Klein. What are prospects as a pro? Which NFL QB is he most reminiscent of?

BOTC: He probably won’t be an NFL quarterback. In almost every way, he’s exactly like Tim Tebow. Big, strong player, tough runner, decent speed, good attitude, suspect passer. He saw some action as a wide receiver for K-State two years ago, so he could project as a tight end or possession receiver at the NFL level.

Colin Klein tries out a jump pass.

C6: What are the expectations of the Wildcats this season? Which newcomers/freshmen are expected to make an impact?

BOTC: I couldn’t decide between predicting 8-4 or 9-3 before the season. Either of those records would be acceptable. This team has the ability to go 10-2 again and compete for a Big 12 championship, but that’s going to require steady progression on both sides of the ball.

There aren’t really any newcomers who are expected to have an impact. This is a team built on its returning experience. We have about four defensive tackles that we know nothing about, and one of them is going to have to step up and prove capable of stopping the run. Converted quarterback Justin Tuggle may be the third linebacker, and if he plays above replacement value, that will be a bonus. Allen Chapman replaced David Garrett at cornerback and had a bad first game against Missouri State, so we need him to step up.

Offensively, Tyler Lockett returns from injury. He led the country in punt returns last season and was becoming a threat at wide receiver before he lacerated his kidney (yeah, ouch) against Oklahoma State. Backup quarterback Daniel Sams is a freak athlete who may see some time in the Wildcat formation.

C6: Which players on UM do you see as a potential match-up problem for K State?  Who will be the key performers for K State if they are to beat Miami?

BOTC: Your running back, Duke Johnson, concerns me. He put up big numbers against Boston College. Our defense, especially up the middle on the defensive line, is our biggest concern. If Johnson gets rolling, this game will be a slugfest for 60 minutes. Other than Johnson, I know so little about Miami’s personnel that I probably can’t give you much of an answer here.

Duke Johnson and the O Line celebrate.

C6: Who is the greatest player in K State history on offense? defense?

BOTC: On offense it’s a close call (for me) between Michael Bishop and Darren Sproles. Bishop broke the mold for college quarterbacks when he nearly ran (off the zone read) and chucked (to several NFL caliber receivers) K-State to the national title game in 1998. Sproles was the short running back with the ridiculous moves who teamed with Ell Roberson to take K-State to the 2003 Big 12 championship. When push comes to shove, I have to go with Sproles.

On defense, there are a lot of worthy candidates. Players like Mark Simoneau, Darren Howard, Jeff Kelly, Terence Newman and many others will all be thrown around. But this award probably has to go to linebacker Gary Spani, who played from 1974-77. He played on some pretty bad teams, and still leads K-State in total tackles for a career. He’s also the Kansas City Chiefs all-time leading tackler.

C6:How do you see the game playing out?  What is your prediction, who wins and by what score?

BOTC: Neither K-State nor Miami answered a ton of questions in Week One. K-State led an FCS team 9-6 deep into the third quarter. Miami let Boston College hang around for three quarters before putting the game away. This strikes me as a low-scoring, grind-it-out game where a big play here or there, whether it be a long touchdown run/pass, a big turnover, or a punt/kickoff return for touchdown could make the difference. Toward that end, I’ll say K-State gets an interception from Nigel Malone and a punt return from Tyler Lockett in the second half to break away for a 31-17 win.

Our Prediction: K State’s physicality will give UM fits early on, and Colin Klein and John Hubert will score early to give the Wildcats the lead. But UM will fight back, and Stephen Morris will connect will Allen Hurns to cut the deficit in half. After an Anthony Cantale FG, KSU will kick deep, and Phillip Dorsett will take one back to house. The teams will continue trading hay makers until a late Duke Johnson catch and run off a screen give the ‘Canes the lead for good.  Miami prevails 27-24.

The ‘Canes are poised for a 2-0 start.

Thanks again to Tye with http://www.bringonthecats.com/ for collaborating on this preview with us.

Enjoy!!

Thanks again to Brian!!!

The ‘Canes D celebrates.

Here’s our full breakdown:

The Good: Solid Game by Stephen Morris 28/45 207 1 TD 1 INT. Balanced Offense (208 yards rushing, 207 passing). Allen Hurns 8 receptions 81 yards looked the part of a #1 WR. Freshman WR Malcolm Lewis showed his ability with a nifty 18 yard TD catch and run on a wide receiver screen. Fellow freshman RT Ereck Flowers was very solid in his debut. The offensive line as a whole was as good as expected. Miami’s goal line stand late in the fourth with them up 41-30 showed the kind of toughness Al Golden has been preaching.  And of course “Duke”. (More on that shortly)

Malcolm Lewis dives in the end zone.

The Bad: The pass rush was pretty much non-existent. Chase Rettig looked far too comfortable throwing for 441 yards and 2 touchdowns. Overall not too much to complain about as the young ‘Canes showed a lot of poise, winning on the road.

Chase Rettig had a clean pocket most of the day.

The Ugly: Dropped Passes and Penalties (9-78 yards). Look for Coach Golden to tighten the reigns and this to improve.

Player of the Game: Easy one here. True freshman Randy “Duke” Johnson. 7-135-2, including TD runs of 54 & 52, and a huge 4th and 2 conversion as well. His debut couldn’t have gone much better. Johnson’s TD runs were spectacular. On the first he showed the blend of speed, power, and elusiveness that made him a top recruit, easily breaking several arm tackles. The second was the result of some good blocking and a special cut back. Johnson finished it off with pure speed, outrunning a defender who appeared to have an angle.

Duke played huge on Saturday

Turning Point: Denzel Perryman’s 41 yard interception return for a TD tied the game at 14 and swung the momentum Miami’s way.

Noteworthy: Miami is now 24-5 all time against BC. The ‘Canes were a very proficient 11-21 on third down conversions. UM also won the turnover battle 3-1. Canes fans were in full support in the social network world. The amount of messages, tweets, and overall enthusiasm of UM fans was impressive.

Notable quotes:

OL Shane McDermott

On QB Stephen Morris…

“Stephen did a great job today, he took control of the huddle, read the defense perfectly, and did a great job leading us. We’re really looking forward to the next game.”

 Head Coach Al Golden

On overcoming early adversity….

“I couldn’t be prouder of a group. We are down 14 in the ACC, in a terrible environment. You know we were rattled a little bit, dropping balls and off-sides and things like that and just to hang in there. They did a good job. That was good. You think about where we were last November against their team and basically their whole team coming back and we lost virtually all of ours.’’

WR Phillip Dorsett

On Stephen Morris’ play…

“Stephen has matured this off-season, we have seen all the leadership traits in him and we knew he would eventually take control of the game. We had a game plan set up for him and he stuck with it and we ended up coming out with a win.”

On Duke Johnson’s impact in the game…

“His play was a huge momentum boost, without those two big runs who knows what would have happened to the outcome of that game. He has shown flashes like that out in practice every day so we knew he was going to have a great game.”

Here are the highlights of the game:

In the first game of the Category 6 Simulated Season, ACC football rivals took to the gridiron. Miami trounced BC 45-14. The simulated game saw Stephen Morris go 7-18 for 101-yards and 2 touchdown strikes, one to Allen Hurns and a 47-yard strike to Cleveland down the seam. Morris was knocked out of the game with a shoulder contusion and is listed as probable for the match-up against Kansas State next week.

QB Stephen Morris was able to manage the simulated game effectively.

Miami’s offensive line proved to be the dominating force in the game as Mike James powered for 106-yards on 23 carries. Freshman Duke Johnson strained his quad turning the corner and is listed as doubtful for next week’s big game. In limited action, Johnson ran the ball 4 times for 15-yards. Eduardo Clements filled in admirably, picking up 88-yards on a very efficient 16 carries. Morris showed off his legs on 7 runs for 38-yards.

Mike James powered his way through BC’s defense all afternoon

With such a dominant performance by their offensive line, Miami didn’t need to attack BC’s defense through the air too often. Hurns led Miami with 6 catches for 51-yards. Kendall Thompkins caught 2 passes for 20-yards. Before leaving the game, Johnson was the recipient of a screen pass for 13-yards.

Denzel Perryman was ferocious in the middle of the field. He managed to snag one of 3 ‘Canes interceptions.

Miami’s young and speedy defense made life a living hell for BC QB Chase Rettig. Rettig completed 9 of 24 for 147-yards and two touchdown strikes. However, he also completed 3 passes to Miami defenders. Denzel Perryman, A.J. Highsmith, and Vaughn Telemaque each had a pick. Telemaque added insult to injury with his as he jumped a skinny post and took it to the house with a convoy of linebackers and lineman leading the way.

Personally, I don’t think the game will be this lopsided, but I’m still going with Miami to get the win on the road. Miami’s offensive line is one of the ‘Canes biggest strengths and that advantage should allow the ‘Canes to beat up on teams with average to weak defenses consistently.