Can Miami football reach ten wins during the 2018 season?
The over-under on wins for the Miami football team in 2018 is ten wins. Can the Hurricanes equal or surpass their win total from 2017? What will it take to accomplish that?
There is a strong likelihood that the Miami football team will be favored in every game this season. The only game that there is a chance they will be even or an underdog is at Virginia Tech. That game will likely depend on how the season plays out for both teams. The other games should go as expected for Miami and their opponents.
The Miami football team starts the season favored to defeat LSU by three or 3.5 points. The game is being played at a neutral site in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It will be highly partisan Tigers crowd. LSU’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge is 445 miles from AT&T Stadium the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
CBSSports.Com recently examined the outlook for all 14 ACC Football teams. CBS’ Chip Patterson projects that eight of the 14 schools including Miami will exceed their projected win total for the 2018 football season.
Florida State is one of the ACC schools predicted to exceed their projected win total for 2018. Patterson predicts that the Seminoles exceeding their over/under in wins depends on their season opener against Virginia Tech.
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A Seminoles win against the Hokies would help out Miami greatly in their challenge to repeat as ACC Coastal Division Champions. Virginia Tech and Florida State play in Tallahassee on Labor Day night. Miami has to travel to Blacksburg in November.
Patterson likes the Hurricanes significantly more than the rest of the Coastal. He projects the Hurricanes defense to lead a repeat division title this season. Patterson expects the Miami defense to be one of the best in the ACC and nationally in 2018.
He forecasts that Miami will have no issues defeating LSU and Florida State. Patterson considers the U’s biggest challenges to be their road trips to Boston College, VA Tech and Georgia Tech.
According to Patterson Miami should be a contender for ACC titles yearly under Mark Richt. Patterson mentions that the first three recruiting classes during the Richt tenure has the Hurricanes positioned to challenge for ACC titles.
His entire calculation on the Hurricanes winning ten or more games is below.
"10 wins: The main premise for my confidence in Miami’s win total is the belief that there is a degree of separation between the Hurricanes and the rest of the division. Jaquan Johnson and Shaq Quarterman are going to lead one of the best defensive units in the league, if not the country…The takeaway from the last two or three recruiting classes is that Mark Richt has built the Hurricanes to be contending for ACC titles on an annual basis. I think Miami will beat LSU in the opener and take down Florida State, leaving trips to Boston College, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech as the biggest hurdles for CFP and ACC Championship Game contention."
It can be argued that the Hurricanes have an easier schedule than last season. Florida State is not nearly the program they used to be and they come to Hard Rock Stadium. The Hurricanes also replace Notre Dame with LSU. The biggest hurdle is likely to be the trip to Blacksburg.
Next: What is Miami football's most important 2018 game?
Miami could easily be 11-1 entering the ACC Championship game. It would likely be a rematch against Clemson. Even if the Hurricanes lose at Virginia Tech they would still have an excellent chance repeating as Coastal Division champions.