The Miami football team will make its third straight appearance on ESPN College Gameday and the ABC Primetime Game of the Week on Saturday at Clemson.
The seventh-ranked Miami football team will play their biggest game since 2017 when they travel to top-ranked Clemson on Saturday. Miami will appear on ESPN College Gameday and the ABC College Football Primetime Game of the Week for the third consecutive game. The national attention is critical for Miami.
Miami was praised the last two weeks as being for real by ABC and ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit who is impressed with the Hurricanes offense. New offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee has turned Miami into one of the most exciting and explosive offenses in college football. Miami will be challenged by an elite Clemson defense.
When Miami appeared on Gameday the last two weekends ESPN had a feature on Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King and another on the specialty duo of kicker Jose Borregales and punter Lou Hedley. Those stories getting to know the Hurricanes help sell and build the Miami football program.
Appearing on national television against one of the two predominate programs in college football is another couple of levels up for Miami. Expect another story or two to feature a Miami player or coach on Gameday Saturday. Herbstreit will likely continue to discuss the difference in the new era of Miami football on offense.
A clash in Clemson‼️
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 4, 2020
We're headed to see @CanesFootball take on @ClemsonFB 🏈 pic.twitter.com/OXPvEkEr3W
Miami is averaging 43.3 points and 499 yards of offense per game. The Hurricanes are 11th in scoring and 14th in total offense. Miami is better equipped to play Clemson than they have been the last two times the teams met. The Tigers blew out the Hurricanes in those games including the 2017 ACC Championship game.
Miami has King at QB this season instead of Malik Rosier during the 2017 ACC Coastal Championship season. The addition of Borregales has added confidence to the Hurricanes offense over the inconsistency Miami suffered at kicker last season. Miami needs to play a competitive game against Clemson.
The U has one of the best punter/kicker combos in college football 😤@PatMcAfeeShow catches up with the duo to talk about how they've each traveled from overseas to play at Miami. pic.twitter.com/5w3li1WQMo
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 26, 2020
The 3-0 start for Miami in 2020 has brought national attention to the Hurricanes. Manny Diaz appeared on the ACC Network pre-game show The Huddle on Saturday. Diaz discussed King and the impact he has had on the Hurricanes this season, the chemistry Miami has throughout the team and Borregales and Hedley.
Diaz also spoke about the need to stay focused throughout the season and not pay attention to questions about if The U is back. Clemson is an important game that a lot of emphasis will be put on. Diaz mentioned that a big game is only big until a team plays their next big game. Getting there is the Hurricanes goal.
The uptempo, spread offense Lashlee runs will be a good match for Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables. Expect Lashlee and Venables creating gameplans to be a focus on Gameday. Miami co-defensive coordinators Blake Baker and Ephraim Banda will go up against Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott.
Appearing on Gameday and the ABC Primetime game is very good for the Miami football program. As the Hurricanes continue to develop during the Diaz era and the offense evolves with Lashlee, regular appearances on national TV and a return to the elite of college football could be coming for Miami.