Miami Hurricanes Need to Play Well on Special Teams and Key Downs

Virginia Tech goes more with a committee on their kickoff returns. James Clark averages 26 yards on five returns. Henri Murphy 22.6 on five and Travon McMillan 25.5 on two returns. The Hokies 24.5 yard average on kickoff returns ranks 21st in the country.

The Hurricanes kickoff return coverage has a lot of room for improvement. They are going to have to be much better against the Hokies or risk having a special teams touchdown. At the very least Virginia Tech might have a chance to break one to put them in scoring position.

Miami is 110th in the country in kickoff coverage. Teams are averaging 23.74 yards on kickoff returns against the Hurricanes.

The area that Miami might have the biggest advantage Saturday night is the kicking game. Michael Badgley is one of the best kickers in the nation. He is tied for 20th nationally with an 85.7 field goal percentage. He has made 12 out of 14. His long this season is 50 yards.

Virginia Tech Kicker Joey Slye has been far more inconsistent than Badgley. He has made only 13 or 20 field goals. That puts him 78th nationally at 65 percent. Slye has made only two of six from 40 yards and beyond.

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Special teams and key situations are often overlooked when a team has had as much success as Miami. As the games get tougher tightening up those situations become more important. One key play often makes the difference when two highly ranked teams meet.