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| Brock Berlin(Photo Credit: AP) |
Written By: Nathan Skinner
Canes Rising Contributor
Editors Note: This series is replacing Forgotten 'Canes, which is on hiatus. This series will look at classic games involving The U.
On Labor Day, Miami will face Louisville. As we all watch and wonder whether Brad Kaaya can lead Miami to victory, we should also remember another quarterback who faced Louisville, Brock Berlin. Berlin had the unenviable task of succeeding Ken Dorsey as the starting quarterback at The U. He was expected to be the next legend, the next cog at "Quarterback U", and he came up short. Brock had some legendary moments, he won a lot of big games, but he was the right quarterback at the wrong time. He followed a legend, who oversaw a golden era. It's doubtful that any quarterback could have followed Ken Dorsey and matched his accomplishments. Berlin may be the only Miami quarterback to have never lost a game to the Gators, or 'Noles. Even with that on his resume, Berlin will always be an underrated 'Cane.
The Miami machine was starting to leak oil when Berlin stepped into the breech. The program, which had once dominated the competition was starting to look like a program that had grown complacent, a program that hadn't adjusted to the changing college football landscape. Programs like Louisville, led by a vibrant coach named Bobby Petrino were seen as the next wave, the new breed. Miami came into the 2004 season as a team that was entering a new conference, a new era. The team was favored to win the ACC, and was seen as a possible title contender. The 'Canes had lost a ton of talent, but returned a lot of highly touted athletes, and was seen as a program that could reload, and still dominate. Following an emotional opening week win against FSU, Miami cruised to big wins over weak competition. Louisville came into this game with an exciting offense led by signal caller Stefan Lefors. The 'Cards were ranked 17th coming into the Orange Bowl, and looking for a defining victory. This game ended up being an instant classic, a game that not only showed the country that Louisville had arrived, but also how much Miami had eroded since the 2001 championship run.
The game had it all. Louisville came out and showed that their offense was for real, riddling Randy Shannon's highly prized defense. The 'Cards didn't just do one thing well, they did everything well, and exposed the flaws of the Shannon defensive philosophy. Petrino later remarked that he was shocked that he never saw adjustments from Shannon. Miami was experiencing issues on offense as well. Brock Berlin just couldn't get anything going through the air, and Miami was having issues protecting Brock. Starting right tackle Eric Winston was injured, and it was obvious that Miami was having trouble finding a suitable replacement. At halftime, the 'Canes were down 24-7, and it may have been even worse, had Louisville cashed in on some easy scoring plays. The second half saw Miami score on a dazzling punt return by Devin Hester, and a riveting comeback by the much maligned Berlin. Miami won the game 41-38, and remained undefeated. The 'Canes ended up finishing the season 10-3, with a convincing win over Florida in the Peach Bowl. Louisville's loss to The U was the only blemish on an 11-1 season that was capped with a top 10 ranking.
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