Not only was the Canes' defense savaged in Saturday's 41-39 loss to the Noles, now comes word that starting defensive end Eric Moncur and starting outside linebacker Colin McCarthy are out for the season with leg and shoulder injuries, respectively.

That hurts, but in reality, at 2-3, this season is no longer about wins and losses for me. It is about playing the young guys and letting them shine and then signing another top recruiting class in February with the hopes of winning the ACC and more in 2009.

The freshmen are already shining for Miami. Against the Noles on Saturday, freshman WR Travis Benjamin - who has been touted in this space previously - ran for an 18-yard TD, caught a pass for a 51-yard TD and returned 6 kickoffs for 185 yards, more than 30 yards per try.

In addition, freshman linebacker Sean Spence - who has been a star since he stepped on campus for spring drills - intercepted a pass and scored a TD.

Freshman WR Aldarius Johnson caught 5 passes for 55 yards and is the perfect power receiver to complement the speed of Benjamin.

Of course, the Canes' defense, which looked so good shutting down Florida a few weeks ago, made an average FSU quarterback in Chris Ponder look like a stud. Ponder ran for 144 yards on Miami - unforgivable.

FSU built a 24-0 lead before Miami recovered and actually had a shot to win. But the Canes were held to a field goal after getting a turnover deep in FSU territory in the final minutes, and FSU answered with a TD drive to realistically end Miami's hopes.

Miami has now lost to its two biggest rivals this season - Florida and Florida State -and  also to its former head coach, Butch Davis of North Carolina.

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