Head To Head Matchup: Quarterback

Both Miami and FSU have experimented with two different quarterbacks this season. For Miami. the season began with QB Kirby Freeman winning the starting job. The 6'3" junior played in the first two games of the season and was basically ineffective. He was pulled durimg the second game against Oklahoma and was replaced with 6'4" senior Kyle Wright. Miami head coach Randy Shannon said at the time that it was not going to be a round robin deal at quarterback. Said Shannon, "It won't one week be Kyle and one week be Kirby. It's going to be Kyle Wright's show. We're going to go with him and we're going to trust in him."Wright said he isn't concerned about his own stats or how he might improve his standing for next April's NFL draft.

"My accomplishments will come as the team goes," he said. "If we go out and win, it means I'm throwing the ball well, the receivers are catching it well, we're running well, the offensive line is protecting well and the defense is playing well. We just need to play like we did last week and keep trusting in each other."

Through the six games that he has played, Wright has thrown for 1,152 yards and 9 TDs. He also has thrown 8 interceptions which is one more than he threw in 2006. In the last game against Georgia Tech, Wright threw for only 56 yards and 1 TD. His longest pass was for 11 yards. In their humiliating loss to North Carolina, Wright threw 4 interceptions while passing for 2 TDs. To say that his play has been underwhelming is an understatement. Wright was the nation's most highly recruited quarterback coming out of a California high school in 2003. He was Miami's starting quarterback in 2006 but was sidelined for the final four games with a broken thumb. Wright had a record of 5-4 as the starter, opening the first nine games. Wright apparently will be without the services on Saturday of one of his wide receivers, senior Lance Leggett. Nole fans can only hope that Wright will not have his moment of glory against the Noles on Saturday.

The Noles have also tried two quarterbacks and even as of last Saturday, Xavier Lee was pulled in favor of Drew Weatherford who looked awful in his only possession of the game. Maybe someone can get the Randy Shannon quote to Jimbo Fisher regarding revolving quarterbacks. It now looks as if Lee will be the starter against Miami on Saturday. If there is in fact a quarterback controversy, it is not the case with the majority of Nole fans.

For the year, Lee has thrown for 764 yards and 5 TDs. He is completing almost 58 % of his passes. For the season, he has three picks. Against Wake, he threw for 283 yards, 2 TDs, and had 2 interceptions. This was not his best game but he was forced to throw on almost every down given the fact that the Noles could not run the ball. Lee will be facing a Miami pass defense ranked 26th in the nation. Carr may not be the go to receiver for Lee this week if the Canes double team him. Xavier will need to be poised and be able to make the right reads and look for receivers in single coverage.