Bethune-Cookman @ Miami (FL) preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 5, 2015 ) Bethune Cookman 0, Miami 45

Miami kicks off the season at home Saturday with a tune-up game against instate foe Bethune-Cookman. Optimism is high for Mark Richt's Hurricanes after they closed the 2016 campaign with five straight victories, including a bowl win, and the 18th-ranked team in the nation has the pieces to challenge for its first ACC Coastal Division title.

There's no doubt these Hurricanes are loaded, particularly a defensive front seven that helped limit opponents to 18.5 points per game but for Miami to take the next step, the biggest question mark is at quarterback after Brad Kaaya opted to depart early for the NFL. Junior Malik Rosier won the job in a tight battle with sophomore Evan Shirreffs but he has only one career start under his belt, a 272-yard, two-TD performance versus Duke in 2015. "(Malik) did stand out above the rest," Richt, Miami's second-year coach, told reporters. "It wasn't an unbelievable amount, but it was apparent that he was having the best camp." Rosier will have a chance to ease into the starting role against a less-than-formidable Bethune-Cookman defense before the schedule heats up.

TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network. LINE: None

ABOUT BETHUNE-COOKMAN (2016: 4-6): The Wildcats took home at least a share of the MEAC championship four straight years between 2012-2015 but injuries crippled the team last season and they got off to an 0-5 start. Fifteen starters return for third-year coach Terry Sims, including senior quarterback Larry Brihm Jr., who threw for 1,370 yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. The schedule has its challenges, though, as Bethune-Cookman opens with four straight road games so the hope is the Wildcats are battle tested for conference play.

ABOUT MIAMI (2016: 9-4): Rosier won't have to do it alone this year as he can lean on a tough ground game powered by star running back Mark Walton, who ran for 1,117 yards (5.3 yards per carry) and 14 scores a year ago. Rosier's development will also be aided by a talented stable of receivers, although breakout star Ahmmon Richards may sit out the opener with a hamstring injury. But the real force behind the Hurricanes' resurgence is a young defense that was turned loose in Richt's first season, amassing 38 sacks and 108 tackles for loss, numbers that may need to be duplicated to take pressure off a rebuilt secondary.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Hurricanes capped Richt's debut season with the team's first bowl victory (31-14 over West Virginia) since 2006.

2. Last season, Richards broke former Miami great Michael Irvin's 31-year-old freshman receiving yardage record with 934 yards.

3. Miami has overwhelmed Bethune-Cookman in their three meetings, including 45-0 the last time they met in the 2015 season opener.

PREDICTION: Miami 51, Bethune-Cookman 0