It Just Got Tougher............

Miami fans tend to have a condescending view towards the ACC in Football. The view of the league was that it was made up of Basketball schools and that Miami would dominate the league when entering it. That has obviously proven to not be the case as "Basketball schools" like North Carolina, Maryland and NC State have had success against the Canes. Now enter Duke into the picture. Duke is the resident doormat of ACC Football twice this decade going on multiple season long losing streaks in league play.

Last week we discussed how poor Miami's staff was when compared to other ACC programs. Now elevate Duke to a high level as far as coaching. David Cutcliffe is simply put in almost three decades of watching College Football one of the best offensive minds I have seen. He understands the rhythm passing game and how to script plays based on a Quarterbacks tendencies. He developed Heath Shuler, Peyton Manning, Tee Martin Eli Manning and Eric Ainge. He also made a bowl game in six of his seven years as the Head Coach at Ole Miss. Simply put for a lowly program like Duke, he was a dream hire.

So where does this put Miami? The Hurricanes already have some of the worst talent in the league and have an unproven staff to boot. This staff was hired specifically to bolster recruiting but from a game day perspective they are as unseasoned as any staff I have seen the last few years at a so-called "major" program. If Duke becomes competitive that's even worse news for Miami than some of the other developments this off season like the very capable Paul Johnson going to Georgia Tech. This also begs me to question Florida State's decision to elevate Jimbo Fisher to be the next head coach years in advance. Personally if I were in Miami or FSU's position and I had the chance to grab a proven winner like Johnson and Cutcliffe I do it rather than taking chances on career assistants.

I'm stunned by Duke's sudden commitment to Football, but it's good for the ACC even if bad for Miami.