Why didn't anyone tell me that fight night had been moved to Saturday? I was watching "Sports Center" Saturday night and saw the highlights of a gruesome fight. Not in the boxing ring, mind you, but on the college gridiron.

With nine minutes left in the third quarter of the first ever match-up between the University of Miami and Florida International University, the two teams decided to reenact a classic fight of Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier.

...On second thought it was more like Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield; the night Tyson bit Holyfield's ear off.

Miami symbolizes Mike Tyson, whose hey-day had passed by the time he fought Holyfield in 1997. The Hurricanes have seen their proud history, including a 1999 National Championship, deteriorate. The Canes fell out of the AP Poll for the first time in 107 weeks earlier this season and haven't been the same team since losing 40-3 to LSU in last year's Peach Bowl. Long before this Saturday they had been given the nickname: "Thug U."

Florida International can not be compared to respectable boxer, Evander Holyfield. They have only had a team for six seasons and, at 0-6, were far from a formidable competitor for "The U." However, the brutality of this fight mimicked the brutality with which Holyfield's ear was bitten off.

According to Miami, they were actually Holyfield in the fight; they were innocent, like Holyfield.

"It's something they started," Miami quarterback Kyle Wright told reporters.

"It's not our fault," Miami safety Kenny Phillips, told reporters. "Whatever it was, it wasn't us."

Despite Phillips' opinion, it's hard to sympathize with these Miami players. Phillips' teammate in the secondary, Brandon Meriweather, was filmed repeatedly stomping on the back leg of a fallen FIU player. The focal point of the fight though was Miami's Anthony Reddick. As the melee started, Reddick removed his helmet and used it to bludgeon a FIU player over the head.

To be fair, this was definitely a two team fight. Miami holder and backup quarterback, Matt Perrelli, was tackled to the ground by FIU's Chris Smith and was promptly kicked in the head by Marshall McDuffie. McDuffie was one of the original players to start the fracas, after Miami converted an extra point for a 14-0 lead.

This fight was appalling. That is why it can be compared to Tyson biting off Holyfield's ear. For this to happen in any sport at any level, let alone college athletics, is disgusting.

"College football doesn't need it, FIU doesn't need it and certainly we don't need it," Miami coach Larry Coker told reporters. Thanks for the insight, Larry.

FIU athletic director, Pete Garcia, has made his stance clear and FIU has dealt with problem forcefully.

"I don't care whose fault it is," Garcia told reporters after the game. "At FIU we don't condone this kind of behavior."

Yahoo! Sports reported Monday that McDuffie and Smith were kicked off the team. Furthermore, although the NCAA suspended 16 other FIU players for one-game, the school has reportedly extended their suspensions indefinitely. FIU also mandated that every player and coach associated with the team participate in a community service project.

"For us, one incident is one too many," Garcia said when the disciplinary actions were announced.

Miami, still hoping to piece together a bowl season with a 4-2 record, has been less decisive in their actions. It has suspended twelve players for one game, and suspended Reddick indefinitely.

Miami is at a point now where it can make the right decision or it can make the winning decision. Miami should get rid of Reddick, just like FIU got rid of Smith and McDuffie. It should also get rid of Meriweather and should increase the suspensions of the rest of the players, just like FIU has done. As it stands now, Reddick will be the only Miami player to miss more than this weekend's game against 0-6 Duke.

Miami stands an excellent chance at beating doormat Duke without these players. Then, "Thug U" would have them all back for No. 13 Georgia Tech on October 28. It would be a disappointment to college football for a team to act this disgracefully and suffer no negative effects.

At this point, Coker might as well fire himself. "The coaches will be held accountable for any violation of [sportsmanship]," athletic director Paul Dee told Yahoo! Sports after he held a post-game meeting with the coaching staff to re-emphasize sportsmanship.

In other words, Coker is accountable for this brawl being as he is the head coach. This is not the first time Coker's team has had problems. In last year's Peach Bowl drubbing, they scuffled with LSU players near the end of the game. Earlier in the year, Miami taunted Louisville by jumping on their Cardinal before the game. Louisville fought back, appropriately, by sending the Canes' home with 31-7 loss which dropped Miami from the AP Poll. Indeed, Coker's Canes have been working hard to maintain their "Thug U" title.

It appears Coker is just about done at the University of Miami. Not only because of the lack of his team's discipline but also because of Miami's failure to win big games. Miami was expected to compete for a national championship and is not even ranked in the top 25.

It's time for Coker to do the right thing. Nothing would be more impressive and gain Coker more respect then if he were to suspend these players for a longer period of time, like FIU has done. Whether it would save his job in Miami or build respect among potential employers, extending the suspensions of these players would change the negative image surrounding Coker.

Among all the hard decisions, one of the easiest was Comcast Sports SouthEast's decision to fire Lamar Thomas. Thomas, a former player for Miami, was one of the few to condone the actions. As a colorman for the game on CSS, he said on the air: "Now, that's what I'm talking about. You come into our house, you should get your behind kicked. You don't come into the OB (Orange Bowl) playing that stuff. You're across the ocean over there. You're across the city. You can't come over to our place talking noise like that. You'll get your butt beat. I was about to go down the elevator and get in that thing...I say, why don't they just meet outside the tunnel after the ball game and get it on some more? You don't come into the OB, baby. We've had a couple down years but you don't come in here talking smack. Not in our house."

Confused? Don't worry. I have no idea what that means either, nor why he seems to have such insight as to what started the fight. Luckily we won't have to hear from him anymore. He was kicked off the air for such a terrible display. Now, it's time to kick the players off the team for such a terrible display.

NOTE: This blog was written as an assignment for the Journalism 499: Sports Commentary class at the University of Southern California, taught by Joshua Adande.

Brawl Breaks Out
Game Story
Suspension Report
Lamar Thomas Fired