Posted:
#1
I'm on the U tonight.
First if all, moving from a very weak American Conference to the ACC is going to be tough for Lville. Having to deal with the loss of star QB Bridgewater to the NFL is a huge blow. Losing seven starters from a very underrated defense a year ago is massive. All three factors working in unison makes me think this year's Lville team as one of the most overrated teams in the country, and I think they'll lose outright against an revenge-minded Miami.
Lville was a pretty good team in a very bad conference last year, and weren't really tested at all during the season facing exactly zero ranked teams. That lack of competition won't be a problem any more as they move over to the ACC and it starts with a bang as miami is looking to avenge an embarrassing 36-9 loss in the Russell Athletic Bowl the last time both teams took the field. But this is a much different Lville team tonight, however, having to replace a ton of talent on both sides.
Lville quarterback Will Gardner has just 12 pass attempts (and five rushing attempts) in his career, and this is a very complex offensive system run by Petrino that takes time to learn. Not a good spot for Gardner to make his starting debut with a national audience tuning in against a Miami defense that returns seven starts and will be much improved from last year. The biggest difference in this Lville team from a year ago, however, is on the D side of the ball, and that D is what really carried Lville to their 12-1 record.
Miami RB Johnson was very impressive as a freshman last year, racking up 920 rushing yards on 6.3 yards per carry. Those numbers are great by themselves, but considering he missed the final five games of the year and put those stats together in just 7 games make them really stand out. Hurricanes were a perfect 7-0 heading into their matchup against FSU (where Johnson was hurt), and having him back on the field will solidify this scoring unit. Huge step up in class this year for Lville moving to a "real" conference, and this team is getting far too much respect based on their current roster. Hurricanes find away to win this game outright and avenge last year's bowl loss!
I'm on Miami large
+4. Bought it up just in case
0
Hot Forum Topics
