Miami Preview

Who: #21/17 Virginia Tech Hokies (4-1, 0-1 ACC) vs Miami Hurricanes (2-2, 0-1 ACC)

Time: 3:36 PM

TV Coverage: ABC/ESPN (Mike Patrick, Craig James)

Venue: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, VA (66,233 – Grass)

Series History: Miami leads 17-11

• Last Meeting (2010): Virginia Tech 31, Miami 17
• The Hokies have won two straight, four of the last five, and six of the last eight in the series
• Miami won the first 12 games of the series from 1953-1994, but Virginia Tech has won 11 of the last 16
• When the Hokies are ranked and Miami isn’t, the Hokies are 3-0

Injury Report

• TE Eric Martin – Out (Shoulder)
• DT Antoine Hopkins – Out for Season (ACL)

The Opponent: It’s Miami week, but you couldn’t tell based upon the lack of hype for this game. Entering this two game stretch against Clemson and Miami, I thought the Miami game was more important, and that’s now definitely true based upon what happened last week. Neither Tech nor Miami can afford to go 0-2 in conference with Georgia Tech playing the way they are now.

The Canes enter Saturday’s game with wins over a depleted Ohio State and FCS foe Bethune-Cookman. Miami also has tight losses to Maryland and Kansas State, so nobody really knows who Da U really is. There’s really two Miami teams: the one that shows up for Florida State, Virginia Tech, and big games and the one that doesn’t care about the others.

• On Offense: Tell me if you’ve heard this before. A team has an experienced offensive line, a great running back, but lacks a threatening passing game. No I’m not talking about Virginia Tech, I’m talking about Miami. The Canes have one of the best running backs in the conference in Lamar Miller (5-11, 215, r-SO). Miller ran over the Hokies last season for 163 yards on just 15 carries. This year, he’s averaging 6.7 yards per carry, but isn’t getting a ton of touches (19 per game) that you think he should be getting.

  Miller gets a bunch of big runs thanks to the play of his offensive line. This is, by far, the best offensive line that Tech has faced this year. Across the board, the Canes have ridiculous size up front, averaging 317 pounds on their two-deep roster. This is not the most ideal time to face the Canes, as starting defensive tackle Antoine Hopkins tore his ACL against Clemson, forcing true freshman Corey Marshall into starting duties. Tech on average is about 70 pounds lighter (247 lbs) than Miami’s offensive line.

  By now, everyone knows about starting QB Jacory Harris (6-4, 200, SR). Harris has thrown for 570 yards, 6 TD, and 3 INT in three games (he was suspended for the Maryland game) this season. Obviously, the problem with Harris is throwing interceptions at the exact wrong time. He has a ton of talent, but he needs to cut down on the turnovers if he wants to lead the Canes to anything noteworthy this season.

  Travis Benjamin (5-10, 171, SR) is Miami’s leading receiver, catching 15 passes for 170 yards and a TD in three games after he served a suspension against the Terps in week one. Benjamin has fantastic speed, but hasn’t been able to break a big play yet this year. Allen Hurns (6-3, 190, SO) is the Canes’ second-best target, hauling in 176 yards on 13 catches and 2 touchdowns. Like in previous years, Miami has the talent of a top 25 team, but has failed to live up expectations on the field.

• On Defense: Speaking of not living up to expectations, the Miami defense has faltered where it counts: stopping the run. The Canes enter Saturday’s action ranked 105th in rush defense, giving up an average of 202.25 yards per game on the ground. Kansas State gashed Miami for 265 rushing yards and even FCS Bethune-Cookman had 219 yards on the ground and outgained Miami by nearly 100 total yards.

  Things aren’t getting better for the Miami defense, either, as they lost two defensive starters to season-ending injuries this week. First, starting LB Ramon Buchanan was lost when he suffered an injury in the Bethune-Cookman game and then yesterday, DT Marcus Forston, Miami’s best defensive lineman, suffered a non-contact injury that will end his season.

  So an already soft Miami front has gotten softer. On the line, Marcus Robinson (6-1, 250, SR) and Anthony Chickillo (6-4, 255, FR) start at defensive end. Robinson is solid, but not flashy, while Chickillo was a highly touted recruit coming out of high school, but is still rather raw. On the interior, Adewale Ojomo (6-4, 265, r-JR) takes Forston’s spot alongside Micanor Regis (6-3, 300, SR), the unit's lone returning starter from last year.

  At linebacker, Sean Spence (6-0, 225, SR) is Miami’s best defensive player, leading the team in tackles despite being suspended for the first game of the season. Aside from Spence, the linebacking corps leaves much to be desired. Jordan Futch (6-3, 235, SR) takes Buchanan’s spot and despite being a senior, he’s appeared in just 26 games in his career. Jimmy Gaines (6-3, 225, SO) is extremely inexperienced at middle linebacker and has little to offer in the stat department.

  Miami is solid against the pass, thanks to a strong secondary. The secondary gets a welcome addition this week as Ray-Ray Armstrong (6-4, 215, JR) returns from his four-game suspension. Armstrong will get some time at strong safety, moving JoJo Nicolas (6-1, 195, SR) to his natural cornerback position. Hard-hitting safety Vaughn Telemaque (6-2, 202, JR) returns at free safety, but expect him to creep towards the line of scrimmage in an attempt to stop the run.

Players to Watch:

• Virginia Tech
• RB #4 David Wilson
• Last Week vs Clemson: 20 carries, 123 yards, 0 TD
• Last Year @ Miami: 10 carries, 28 yards
• This Season: 107 carries, 639 yards, 5 TD
• DT #96 Corey Marshall
• Last Week vs Clemson: 1 QB hurry
• This Season: 3 tackles, 3 solo, 1 for loss, 1 sack, 2 QB hurries
• Scheduled to make first career start Saturday
• Miami
• RB #6 Lamar Miller
• Last Week vs Bethune-Cookman: 14 carries, 102 yards, 2 TD
• Last Year vs Virginia Tech: 15 carries, 163 yards, TD
• This Season: 76 carries, 511 yards, 4 TD
• LB #31 Sean Spence
• Last Week vs Bethune-Cookman: 8 tackles, 6 solo, 2.5 for loss, 1 sack
• Last Year vs Virginia Tech: 10 tackles, 7 solo, 2.5 for loss, 1 sack
• This Season: 28 tackles, 17 solo, 5 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble

Matchups to Watch:

• Lamar Miller vs David Wilson
• Battle of the two best running backs in the ACC. The guy who has the best game will provide a good indication of which team will come out on top in the game.
• Tech Running Game vs Miami Front
• Miami ranks in the bottom 15 percent of run defenses in the nation. Clemson came in last week ranked 90th and Tech was unable to sustain drives against the Tigers defense. The Hokies need to do a better job of keeping drives alive and getting the running game going to set up easy passes for Logan Thomas.
• Miami Offensive Line vs Virginia Tech Defensive Line
• Miami has the size and experience advantage over the Hokies d-line. The Canes don’t run the ball as much as the Hokies do, but when they do, Tech needs to ensure that Lamar Miller doesn’t bust a big play and swing the momentum in Miami’s favor.
• Special Teams
• Do I need to say much more? I think this is pretty obvious. Special teams need to show up…plain and simple.

Keys to Victory:

• Virginia Tech
• RUN THE BALL
• Do you sense a theme throughout this preview? The Hokies need to run the ball effectively if they want to win. The playcalling in the first quarter against Clemson was diverse and was working, minus the two turnovers. Then, things turned stagnant. Let’s see some more zone reads and cutback plays. And let’s not see power sweeps to Josh Oglesby on 3rd and 1.
• Rebound
• If the Hokies want to make it to Charlotte, they need to win this game. Tech needs to put the Clemson loss behind them and defend its home turf. The Hokies have a trademark of bouncing back after tough losses and I’m expecting a gutsy performance on Saturday.
• Miami
• RUN THE BALL
• Well, would you look at that. Miami hasn’t shown the dedication to the run that they should given the talent of Lamar Miller and the unpredictability of Jacory Harris. Miller ran wild against Tech and the Canes have a huge advantage up front again. The game plan should be quite simple.
• Stabilize the Roller Coaster
• Miami has alternated wins and losses their first four games of the season, mixing quality performances with less-than-quality performances. The Canes usually get up for the Hokies and they’ll need to steal one in Blacksburg if they want to challenge for an ACC title.

Projected Score: Virginia Tech 16, Miami 14