From: v262xxve@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Timothy C Pitts)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.college
Subject: Re: Correction about '87 FSU-Miami game
Date: 27 Aug 92 18:15:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <1992Aug26.210311.3307@spss.com>, nichols@spss.com (David Nichols) writes...
#A recent post somewhat misstated the Miami comeback against FSU in
#'87. That is, they were not down by as much as claimed going into the
#fourth quarter, and they didn't score 20 unanswered points.

I assume you are talking about my post.  If that is the case, you are wrong
on both counts:  Miami *was* down as much as I claimed they were and Miami
*did* score 20+ unanswered points.

I wrote:
}One word of advice from a long-time Miami fan:  never underestimate Bowden's
}ability to let his players get overconfident.  Miami has beaten FSU more
}times than I can remember after the FSU team got complacent (e.g., down by 
}~16 at the end of the third in '87, Miami tore back to score 20+ unanswered
}and win the game).

Now, you may argue what ``at the end of the third'' means, but I think it
is a fair representation of what happened (perhaps ``toward the end of the 
third'' would have been better wording).  Consider:  Miami scored on a
49-yard touchdown pass with 1:49 remaining in the third. 

#The halftime score of the game was 19-3 FSU.
[. . .]
#Miami scored their last touchdown and kicked the extra point to take a
#26-19 lead,

Hmm.  
Miami trailed 3-19 at one point in the game.
Miami led 26-19 at a later point in the game.
Hence, Miami scored 23 unanswered points.
Is that or is that not ``20+ unanswered points''?
Of course, FSU scored a touchdown after the last Miami score, so I guess
you could consider that an ``answer'', but Miami did score 23 points to
FSU's 0 in a 13 minute period.  Again, the only problem with my statement
might be the wording, probably should have said ``straight'' rather than
``unanswered''.

#      It should have been more
#like 31-0.

I might be willing to give you 26-0, but I don't think that FSU would have
scored 31.  The Miami defense was doing pretty well that day except that
they couldn't figure out Sammie Smith:  he accounted for virtually half the
FSU yards alone.  It was only the inability of the offense to move the ball
that kept Miami out of the game (whether that was because of the FSU defense
or not, I don't recall:  I tend to think it was more a confidence problem
as I remember a lot of easy catches simply dropped).

#thoroughly and totally dominated in that first half; more so, probably
#than they've been before or else, at least in the last decade.

Well, this may be nitpicky, but I can say I have been at at least one game
in which they were more thoroughly dominated:  '84 in the OB vs. FSU, final
score 38-3.  Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl was also pretty dominant.

#In the second half Miami scored three times. All three were on long
#(over 50 yards) plays with blown coverages 

Again, this is nitpicky, but you want to pick 'em with me, I'll pick 'em
with you, only one of the plays was over 50 yards:  the 73-yard Walsh to 
Irvin game winner.  The other two were 49- and 26-yards, respectively.

___

Timothy C. Pitts             
Canada US Trade Center
Department of Geography
University at Buffalo        
V262XXVE@UBVMS.BITNET
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.college