The Miami Hurricanes were rolling along with a 7-0 record last year, but then the injury bug hit and they finished the year on a 2-4 slide, including a 36-9 blowout loss to Louisville in the bowl game. This year the Canes have 14 starters back and are primed to make a run at the Coastal Division in the ACC. Schedule & prediction below.
The Canes averaged a solid 33.8 ppg last year, but they have a shot at being better this year, even with the loss of QB Stephen Morris. Redshirt freshman QB Kevin Olsen will take over and even though leading WR Allen Hurns is gone, they do have the nest 6 top pass catchers back, including Phillip Dorsett, who missed most of last year with a knee injury. Duke Johnson had 920 yards rushing last year before being lost in game 8 for the rest of the season and he is back, along with Dallas Crawford, who ran for 558 yards and 12 TDs last year. The OL is very solid with 3 starters back and is rated 2nd in the ACC and 17th in the nation. The defense for the Canes had many problems last year, but with all 3 units being ranked in the top 6 in the ACC by Phil Steele, this looks like a much improved group. The DL is the weakest unit on this side the ball, even with Anthony Chickillo back, who had 7.5 TFL last year. Leading tackler Denzel Perryman leads a deep and talented LB corps, while playmakers abound in a secondary that brings back 3 of 4 starters, including Tracy Howard, who led the team in INTs with 4.
The Canes had a great year going last year until the loss of RB Duke Johnson. Now Johnson is healthy and so is WR Phillip Dorsett, which is huge for this team. QB Kevin Olsen is a freshman, but he was the #4 ranked QB coming out of high school, so I still see this as a powerful offense, while the defense will be much improved. The Cane do draw Louisville and FSU from the Atlantic and have road games vs VA Tech and Georgia Tech, but also do get FSU, North Carolina, Duke and Pittsburgh at home. Watch out for this team this year as they will be a challenger in the ACC Coastal Division. KEY TREND: 1-14 ATS off BB SU & ATS Wins.
2014 Miami Hurricanes Football Schedule
Mon, Sep 1st, 2014 at Louisville
Sat, Sep 6th, 2014 Florida A&M
Sat, Sep 13th, 2014 Arkansas State
Sat, Sep 20th, 2014 at Nebraska
Sat, Sep 27th, 2014 Duke
Sat, Oct 4th, 2014 at Georgia Tech
Sat, Oct 11th, 2014 Cincinnati
Thu, Oct 23rd, 2014 at Virginia Tech
Sat, Nov 1st, 2014 North Carolina
Sat, Nov 15th, 2014 Florida State
Sat, Nov 22nd, 2014 at Virginia
Sat, Nov 29th, 2014 Pittsburgh
Info gathered From Phil Steele's CFB Preview and Athlon Sports
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