Miami football schedule 2020: A quick look

The ACC announced a new football schedule for the Miami football program on Wednesday that includes Clemson and drops Duke. How does that alter the expectations for the Hurricanes in 2020?

The Miami football program has high expectations for the 2020 season with major changes on the offensive coaching staff and through the addition of several transfers on the roster. The ACC announced a new 10 game conference schedule for the 2020 season with several changes for the Hurricanes and conference rivals.

Gone from the Miami football schedule is Duke. Games at Clemson, Louisville and North Carolina State have been added for the Hurricanes in 2020. Miami will play 10 ACC games in 2020 up from the customary eight-game ACC schedule. Also changed for the 2020 season is the elimination of the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions.

Notre Dame will be an ACC Football member for the 2020 season their first ever as part of a conference. Miami does not play the Fighting Irish in 2020. Miami will play home games against Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Pitt and Virginia. Miami was previously scheduled to host FSU, UNC and Pittsburgh.

The Georgia Tech and Virginia games were re-scheduled from Charlottesville and Atlanta to Hard Rock Stadium. The 2020 road games for the Miami football team will be at Clemson, Louisville, NC State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. The Hurricanes were previously scheduled for games at Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

Wake Forest was one of the two ACC crossover games originally scheduled for Miami as part of the traditional eight-game conference schedule. Miami defeated Louisville 52-27 last season in a game that former Miami quarterback Jarren Williams tied an ACC record with six touchdowns passes.

That was the pinnacle of Williams’ Miami football and for Dan Enos as the Hurricanes offensive coordinator. Both have been replaced since the end of the 2019 season. D’Eriq King hopes to elevate the QB play for Miami in 2020 and new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee is expected to improve the Hurricanes offense.

2019 ACC Football Standings

Miami is scheduled to play at NC State in their non-FSU crossover game in 2021 an at Clemson in 2022. No announcement has been made about the times and dates for games in 2020 or how future games against 2020 opponents would be affected. If nothing changes Miami would host UVA and Georgia Tech three straight seasons.

The other games on the schedule do not change much. Miami was already scheduled to host Florida State, North Carolina and Pittsburgh and travel to Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. Virginia Tech star CB Caleb Farley announced he will sit out the 2020 season “due to uncertain health conditions.”

Clemson will obviously be the biggest challenge. The Tigers have won five straight ACC titles, appeared in the last five College Football Playoffs, four National championships games and won two titles in that span.

Louisville showed a lot of progress in the Cardinals’ first season under Scott Satterfield despite Miami’s convincing victory. The Cardinals finished 8-5 in 2019 after a 2-10 record in the final seasons of the second stint of Bobby Petrino.

Wake Forest is also coming off of an 8-5 season and has one of the most dynamic offenses in the country. North Carolina State was an ACC worst 1-7 in 2019 and had the second-worst overall ACC record at 4-8.

The new schedule for Miami is more challenging than the old schedule was. Clemson and Louisville will be more challenging than Duke. Playing North Carolina State will be a tougher game than at least Wagner or UAB and on the road arguably as difficult as Michigan State or Temple would have been.

Manny Diaz and his staff have a challenging season ahead of them. The changes Miami made in the offseason should lead to an entertaining season in which every game will be critical. Ten of the 11 games Miami plays in 2020 will count towards a chance to play for a conference championship in December.