Miami Hurricanes Football: ‘Canes Offense Should Shred UNC’s Defense
While most of us are getting ready for our Halloween candy hangover, The Miami Hurricanes (5-3, 2-2) will be back at home preparing to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels (4-4,2-2) this Saturday in another game that the Canes absolutely need to win to help keep their ACC Coastal hopes alive. If you’re still looking a little green on Saturday morning because you overdosed on candy, you’ll blend right in at SunLife stadium where the Canes are doing a #KellyTough Green out in support of Jim Kelly. It’s only Halloween, but Miami was already feasting on turkey last Thursday when they blew out the Hokies 30-6 in Blacksburg.
This week, The Canes are a two touchdown favorite, according to Vegas, and should be able to put up a massive amount of points against an absolutely horrendous UNC defense. Out of 128 FBS teams, UNC ranks 125th in scoring defense, 109th in rushing defense, and 119th in passing defense. Miami’s rushing game was clicking on all cylinders last week and the Canes’ explosive passing game will keep the Tar Heels on their heels.
It all starts with the Miami’s ability to run the ball. The Canes are rushing for 249 yards per game in their wins compared to just 84 yards per game in their losses. The Canes have had some big injuries on their offensive line, but so far the backups have stepped up and done an incredible job. Nick Linder in particular has been dominant as a true freshman and now Trevor Darling will have the opportunity to do the same as he replaces the injured Ereck Flowers. The Canes just bullied a highly ranked Virginia Tech defense last week and rushed for 364 yards. Now the Tar Heels, who are surrendering over 200 yards per game on the ground, will have the spooky and scary task of trying to stop the three headed monster of Duke Johnson, Joe Yearby and Gus Edwards. Yearby didn’t play against VT due to a hamstring issue, but is healthy now and should have an impact against UNC. Duke Johnson is coming off of a career best 249 yard rushing performance and Gus Edwards is finally starting to run like the downhill power back that he can be. The Canes should be able to rack up the rushing yards and really control the game against UNC.
If the Tar Heels try to stack the box to slow down Miami’s ground game, Brad Kaaya and the Canes’ receivers will have no problem exploiting the 119th ranked passing defense. Kaaya didn’t have to do much last week because of how dominant the Canes were running the ball, but he made some big throws to keep the chains moving when it was needed. Even after throwing for just 94 yards and 1 touchdown last week, Brad Kaaya is still top 3 in the ACC in just about every passing category. The Canes’ passing offense is extremely explosive and its true freshman QB keeps learning and getting better. Kaaya threw 7 interceptions in his first 4 games, but has only thrown 2 in the 4 games since. Phillip Dorsett, the FBS leader in yards per reception, can have another big game at home. Dorsett thrives in home games, where he is averaging nearly 100 yards per game and over 38 yards per reception. UNC has already given up 5 games of 280+ yards passing and if they try to take away the run, they will likely give up a 6th.
The Miami offense is loaded with fast, talented play makers that are sure to scare the Tar Heels more than any costume they’ll see over the next few days. Offensive coordinator James Coley will come out and try to establish the run against UNC and supplement it with some deep shots on the outside. If the Miami Hurricanes’ offense gets going early, it will be a very frightening sight for the Tar Heels.
The Canes should have a pretty big crowd at Sunlife this weekend considering that it is homecoming, Jim Kelly day, and part of the FSU 2 game ticket plan. Kickoff is at 12:30, be sure to be there, be loud, and wear green.