Miami football 2020 schedule game-by-game preview

Pittsburgh October 17

Pittsburgh travels to Hard Rock Stadium in a matchup of two of the best defenses in the ACC. Miami was second in total defense in the ACC in 2019 and Pittsburgh was third.

Both teams are rebuilding somewhat on defense. Pittsburgh lost star defensive tackle Jaylan Twyman and Miami lost defensive end, Greg Rousseau.

Both potential first-round draft picks chose to opt-out of the 2020 season. Even without Twyman, Pittsburgh had defensive end Patrick Jones II and safety Paris Ford named preseason All-ACC.

Quarterback Kenny Pickett returns for his senior season. After engineering an upset over Miami as a freshman in 2017, Pickett has lost to Miami the last two seasons. Miami defeated Pickett and the Panthers in 2018 when they won the ACC Coastal Divison and in 2019 at Heinz Field in the final minute.

Virginia October 24

Miami hosts the last two ACC Coastal Division Champions back to back in key games in October. The Hurricanes defeated Virginia in a tight 17-9 victory over the Cavaliers at Hard Rock Stadium in 2019. A quirk in the remade 2020 Miami football schedule has UVA traveling to Miami for the second season in a row.

A late N’Kosi Perry touchdown extended the Miami lead and led to victory. Like Pittsburgh, Virginia presents an always tough defense under head coach Bronco Mendenhall. The Cavaliers were fifth in the ACC in 2019 allowing 371.9 yards per game. Virginia returns eight starters and 12 of their top 14 tacklers from 2019.