Well they won’t be tougher than Pitt. But I agree on the restFor the lack of a better description, this team will be much tougher than Pitt. Can’t afford to come out flat.
What makes them tougher than Pitt? Genuine questionFor the lack of a better description, this team will be much tougher than Pitt. Can’t afford to come out flat.
Shouldas of today per ESPN. this is a game that we will win by 21 points. I feel good about it.
They are currently 42nd out of 77 in defensive YPP allowed.
They played Duke in Week 1, and won 38-20.
Since then, they gave up 41 to Clemson (no shame in that), 38 to NC State and 40 last week to Wake.
Wake really rolled them up....they scored 4 TDs and kicked 4 FGs. 8 scoring drives in the game. Hartman completed 16/27 for 309, and both their backs had plenty of success. UVA really didn't stop them much all night, Wake scored TDs on their first 2 drives and basically did what they wanted the entire game. It was Wake's highest YPP in a P5 game (7.00) since early 2018.
On defense they're going to try to do what Pitt, Clemson and UAB all tried to do with varying levels of success. They'll gang up to stop the run, bring the safeties down and let their corners go one on one with our weak receivers. They have a couple OLBs that can rush the passer but their down linemen are nowhere near Pitt quality and same for their DBs. Good chance for a young receiver to make a name for himself this week. Our line shouldn't be as stressed against their front as they were against Clemson and Pitt. UVA just doesn't have the horses.
On offense, they're going with a 3 headed monster of backup quarterbacks. They have a pass first guy who is reasonably accurate but isn't athletic and doesn't throw the ball downfield at all. They have a running quarterback who transferred from Mississippi State. He was a Mullen recruit and is definitely a threat in the running game. He's a big guy with decent wheels. He hurt his throwing shoulder pre season but wasn't much of a passing threat even with a healthy arm. Then they have a true freshman who's a good athlete with a strong arm but looks lost a lot on the field and probably isn't quite ready to be on the field. (which means he'll throw for at least 250 yards against us) I kid, I kid...sort of. The don't really have much skill talent. They rely on using the running QB as a wildcat option a lot. This is probably the worst offense we've faced so far (FSU has at least shown signs of life recently).
I look for Miami to handle this one fairly easily. Not a giant blowout but a 2+ touchdown victory is very possible. Bronco is a solid coach who does a lot with the limited tools at his disposal. They're just not a really talented team though so they have to play lights out to win against almost anyone in the ACC.