Hello. Before I commence with this, I’d like to reinforce what a few of my colleagues here have been saying this week. There are still at least 11 (and unless all hell breaks loose, really at least 12) games left on the schedule. No matter how disappointing and frustrating that Louisville game was, the season is far from over. Miami has a couple of relative tune-ups lined up the next two weeks before another tough road game at Nebraska and a critical home game against Duke. Let’s turn the page. Onwards.
Game Details
Florida A&M Rattlers (0-1, 0-0 MEAC) vs. Miami Hurricanes (0-1, 0-1 ACC)
Saturday, September 6, 7 pm, ESPN3
Radio: WVUM 90.5 Coral Gables (wvum.org worldwide); broadcasted by me (!!)
Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL
Line: None
Passing Offense vs. Florida A&M
If nothing else, this should give James Coley no choice but to open up the offense and let Brad Kaaya sling the ball around the field. Florida A&M is really bad—like Savannah State bad (although they did beat the Tigers 27-14 last year). In 2013, the Rattlers finished 3-9 in a season that included a 76-0 loss to Ohio State and a 29-10 home loss to our old friend Bethune-Cookman.
Because of this, we don’t need to go into too much detail here. Last week, the Rattlers fell on a Hail Mary to Jackson State and surrendered 269 passing yards on 42 attempts (6.4 YPA). This is actually pretty good against a team that finished 8-4 last year, but obviously Miami is an entirely different animal than Jackson State. Freshman mistakes could gives the Rattlers a few breaks, but there’s nothing to be concerned about here for Miami fans.
Key Matchup: No injuries please
Really the only thing that matters in this game.
Rushing Offense vs. Florida A&M
Simlarly, Miami should have no trouble here. Florida A&M did a decent job here against Jackson State, giving up 4.4 yards per carry, but Jackson State doesn’t have Duke Johnson. What I’m going to be watching here is the right side of the offensive line. Against Louisville, all of my worst fears about hearing Gadbois was struggling to hold off true freshmen for the RT spot in camp were confirmed. Isidora’s game was certainly nothing to write home about either. Hopefully the offensive line as a whole can take the next two games to regroup and find some chemistry before heading to Nebraska.
Key Matchup: No injuries please
Self-explanatory.
Passing Defense vs. Florida A&M
After a pretty solid day for the defense against Louisville, they’ll look to keep it going against an inept Rattlers squad. Senior dual-threat quarterback Damien Fleming is the guy for FAMU and he threw for 188 yards (7 YPA) and two scores against Jackson State. He can make things happen with his legs too, but we’ll cover that in the next section. In terms of receivers, look out for DeSean McKenzie, Daniel Williams and Tobias Singleton, who combined for 14 catches and 172 yards last week.
That said, Miami’s defense really should have no problem with this attack. The defense did look much-improved against Louisville and I fully expect Florida A&M to fail to score at least against the starters.
Key matchup: No injuries please
Maybe the more times I type this, the better the chance that no injuries will occur.
Rushing Defense vs. Florida A&M
The Rattler’s leading rusher against Jackson State was Fleming, who went for 59 yards on 10 carries, including an 18 yard scamper. The starting running back in Gerald Hurns, who picked up a measly 3.5 yards per carry on 18 touches. If Florida A&M is going to move the ball at all in this game, even for one drive, it will probably only happen if Miami loses contain on Fleming and he’s able to scramble upfield.
Key matchup: No injuries please
NO INJURIES PLEASE.
Special Teams
Sophomore Colby Blanton returns to take the punting duties for the Rattlers. He averaged an okay-not-great 39.5 yards per punt on 76 attempts as a freshman last year. For what it’s worth, he did have a 77-yard punt last week. The kicker is senior Chase Varnadore, who was a solid 15-of-18 a season ago. On kickoff returns, sophomore DB Jules Dornevil should get the majority of the duties; he averaged 22.3 yards per return last week. Junior CB Devonte Johnson looks like the guy for returning punts.
For Miami, you know the drill. Goudis is solid; Vogel was quite good last week but got the benefit of a few nice rolls. Hopefully nobody gets injured returning a kickoff or punt. It should be noted that Stacy Coley looked extremely dangerous returning punts against Louisville, which would obviously be a welcome development.
Key matchup: No injuries please
Yep.
Three Offensive Keys To Victory
1. Open up the offense for Kaaya. This is less of a key to victory in this game than it is for future ones. The more meaningful passes he gets a chance to throw tomorrow, the better he’ll be in the games that matter.
2. Nobody get injured.
3. Seriously, nobody get injured.
Three Defensive Keys To Victory
1. Keep contain on QB Damien Fleming. Him scrambling should be the only way FAMU can score, at least against the starters.
2. Nobody get injured.
3. NOBODY GET INJURED.
Prediction Time
- Coley lets Kaaya throw the ball downfield; he has some freshman moments but goes for over 250 yards with 3 touchdowns and a pick.
- The Hurricanes score a touchdown on special teams.
- More Hurricanes fans call for Jake Heaps to start after he looks good in relief. I subsequently chuck my laptop out the window of my house.
- Miami wins, 55-10