Miami football wins games they are expected to on the road
Over the last ten seasons, the Miami football team has played very well in games they are expected to win on the road. Miami is 20-12 against the spread in those games. They covered seven of eight games as a road favorite in non-conference games over the last ten seasons.
It’s an impressive mark from the Miami football program when you consider all the turmoil the program has faced over the last ten seasons. Including interim coaches Jeff Stoutland and Larry Scott, Miami has had five Head Coaches in those ten seasons.
Stoutland is the only Hurricanes Head Coach that did not coach in a road game. His only game as the Miami Football Head Coach came in the 2010 Sun Bowl. Miami lost 33-17 to Notre Dame.
While the spread can be a different metric to measure a teams success, it does show that the Hurricanes play well in games they are expected to win. Doing so on the road is inherently more difficult.
The review of Miami’s road record as a favorite was a part of CBSSports.Com’s look at betting trends for each of the ACC’s 14 football members. The Miami football program was average by virtually every other metric against the spread over the last ten seasons.
In two seasons under Mark Richt, Miami is 19-7 overall, 11-2 at home and 1-2 in neutral site games straight up without the point spread. One of those neutral site games was last season’s Orange Bowl at the Hurricanes home Hard Rock Stadium.
The other loss was to Clemson in last season’s ACC Championship game in Charlotte. Miami’s lone win at a neutral site under Richt was in the Camping World Bowl over West Virginia following the 2016 season. That broke a six-game, ten-year Miami Bowl losing streak.
Their overall road record of 7-3 under Richt is impressive but needs to improve under Richt if the Hurricanes hope to get back to their lofty status as one of the best programs in college football.
Miami was able to improve significantly on the road in year one to year two under Richt. The Hurricanes went 3-1 on the road last season. That included the dramatic 24-20 victory at Florida State that ended a seven-year losing streak to their rivals up North.
Miami was a three-point favorite in that game according to ESPN. The late touchdown from Malik Rosier to Darrell Langham gave the Hurricanes and the bettors the victory.
The Miami football team opens this season as a three-point favorite against LSU at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The crowd will likely be partisan to LSU. It’s not exactly the same as playing in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.
Miami will play it’s first true road game of 2018 13 days later. The Hurricanes travel to Toledo. That should be one of their last road games against a team from a Group of Five Conference. The former regime under Al Golden scheduled them seemingly every season.
Miami played two seasons ago at Appalachian State and was scheduled to play last year at Arkansas State. That game was controversially canceled because of Hurricane Irma. The Red Wolves supporters felt Miami didn’t make enough of an effort to play the game.
Miami plays four more games on the road this season. They will almost definitely be favored to win at Virginia, Boston College and Georgia Tech. The favorite at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg will likely depend on how the Hurricanes and Hokies are playing entering that game.
This season could play out with Miami being favored in every game. ESPN’s Football Power Index has the Hurricanes favored in every game this season. That includes the one in Blacksburg which has often been a place of horrors for Miami.
Next: Miami Hurricanes games ranked 1-12 for 2018
However the season plays out, Mark Richt has the Hurricanes pointed in the right direction. Not being intimated on the road is a key to being among the nation’s best teams.