Miami Hurricanes 2009 Football Betting Preview

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Miami 2008 Record: (7-6, 4-4)
Miami 2008 Bowl: Emerald Bowl vs. California (L 17-24)
Miami Coach: Randy Shannon (12-13 at Miami, 12-13 overall)
Miami Offensive Coordinator: Mark Whipple
Miami Defensive Coordinator: John Lovett
Miami Returning Stats Leaders:

• Rushing: Graig Cooper, RB, 841 yards
• Passing: Jacory Harris, QB, 1,195 yards
• Receiving: Aldarius Johnson, WR, 332 yards
• Tackles: Sean Spence, LB, 65
• Sacks: Allen Bailey, DE, 5.0
• Interceptions: Brandon Harris, CB, 1; Eric Moncur, DE, 1; Sean Spence, LB, 1

Notable Miami Returning Players: WR Travis Benjamin, WR Thearon Collier, TE Dedrick Epps, OT Jason Fox, CB Chavez Grant, RB Javarris James, DT Joe Joseph, S JoJo Nicolas, DE Marcus Robinson, LB Darryl Sharpton, DE Steven Wesley

Miami Key Losses: LB Glenn Cook, DT Dwayne Hendricks, QB Robert Marve, S Anthony Reddick, OT Chris Rutledge, C Xavier Shannon

Last season was the third consecutive year in which the Hurricanes couldn’t muster a winning conference record. However, their 7-6 finish marked a two game improvement for head coach Randy Shannon in his second year and his excellent recruiting classes are beginning to bear fruit. Miami was a competitor for the division title last season but losses in their final two games knocked the Hurricanes out of the title chase. This fall there are sixteen starters back after Miami played the 2nd highest number of freshmen in the country last fall. Will last season’s baptism by fire provide the experience needed to compete for the conference title?

Things begin on offense with sophomore quarterback Jacory Harris, who was solid in throwing for 12 touchdowns against seven picks as a true freshman. Harris, who split time last fall with the since-departed Robert Marve, is an athletic quarterback who also ran for two touchdowns in 2008 and going through the offseason program and spring practice for the first time should help him immensely. Another big benefit is the return of his entire receiving corps, in which four of the top five are also sophomores who played as true freshman last season! Expect this talented group to improve by leaps and bounds along with their quarterback in their second season of college ball. The running game is a bit more veteran, led by junior Graig Cooper, who ran for 841 yards and 4 touchdowns last season while contributing 29 receptions. With an improved offensive line, his numbers should increase this fall. Speaking of the big men up front, Shannon’s first two teams started a lot of young players on the O-Line, traditionally the most difficult place for underclassmen to successfully start. This season, the Canes should start all upperclassmen and I think that Cooper will have a lot more space to run. Miami only averaged 27 points per game last fall and with nine starters back from last season, most of whom were freshmen or sophomores, I will be surprised if there isn’t strong improvement.

The defense also looks very good as seven starters return. While the Canes surprisingly fielded one of the league’s worst defenses last fall, allowing over 24 points per game, nine freshmen saw significant action in 2008! The Canes were especially hurt on the ground last year, allowing over 150 rush yards per contest, but they should be much better this season. Sophomore linemen Marcus Robinson and Marcus Forston were both Freshmen All-Americans and combined for 60 tackles and 7 sacks last fall! That’s awesome production from true freshmen and both should be much better this season. Factor in junior tackle Allen Bailey’s 5 sacks and a plethora of super-talented young players with a year’s experience and I expect Miami’s line to be downright nasty this year. The linebackers look great as well, led by sophomore Sean Spence, whose 82 tackles, 2 sacks and an interception were enough to garner him ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Playing behind an improved line will only help this talented group’s production and they should be among the best in the conference. Miami built its reputation by producing endless lines of talented defensive backs but this year’s crop looks to be a year away from re-establishing the ‘swagger’ of their forbearers. Sophomore cornerback Brandon Harris looks to be a future superstar but he is the only returning defensive back who had an interception in 2008! While there is definitely a ton of talent on hand, the young players in the secondary (outside of Harris) don’t have very much experience and they’ll be counted on early to withstand the country’s toughest opening stretch. While this should be one of the league’s better secondaries by the end of the year, there will be some growing pains early. Despite my worries about the pass defense, Miami’s front seven should be downright vicious this year and the Hurricanes will be much improved on defense. This is one of the conference’s toughest units.

So, about that opening schedule that I just mentioned. Miami opens up the season at archrival Florida State on the Monday after Labor Day, renewing a tradition that had been on hiatus the past two seasons. After an off week, they face Georgia Tech at home, followed by a trip to Virginia Tech and then are visited by mighty Oklahoma! That means that Miami’s first four opponents are virtually assured to be ranked and they begin the season with three of the conference’s toughest teams! The Hurricanes could play great football and still start the year 1-3 or 0-4 against the toughest opening stretch that any team in America will play in 2008. Their draw from the Atlantic is also very tough, featuring trips to FSU and Wake Forest and a home date with Clemson. All three of those teams are expected to be competitors in their division. Finally, the non-conference schedule includes trips to Central Florida and South Florida on top of the visit from OU and both schools will be looking to prove that they’re among Florida’s football elite by beating the traditionally more powerful Canes. Talk about a tough schedule! Miami is definitely going to be a much better team on both sides of the football but I don’t think that they’ll be a competitor for the division title based purely on their very difficult slate, especially early in the year. While I don’ t think that ‘Da U’ is back quite yet, they could definitely win eight or nine games this season in spite of the gauntlet ahead of them and their still youthful squad should continue to get better. Watch out in 2010 because this team could be a player in the National Title chase.

Miami Big Games: Sept. 7th @ FSU, Sept. 17th @ Georgia Tech, Sept. 26th vs. Virginia Tech, Oct. 3rd vs. Oklahoma, Oct. 24th vs. Clemson, Oct. 31st @ Wake Forest, Nov. 14th @ UNC, Nov. 28th @ South Florida

Miami’s Strength:

The offense was not great last year, but the potential for this unit to explode is enormous. Quarterback Robert Marve transferred and that leaves Jacory Harris as the lone experienced signal caller. Harris was the much more efficient quarterback last year, completing 60.8 percent of his passes and throwing just seven interceptions. Seven interceptions may sound like a lot, but Marve threw 13. Harris has the potential to thrive in new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple’s pro-style offense. But Harris needs his wide receivers to be a little more consistent. Travis Benjamin, Laron Byrd, Thearon Collier and Aldarius Johnson all had their moments as freshmen, but now they have to turn into consistent sophomores. If the passing game struggles, running back Graig Cooper will be called upon to carry the offense.

Miami’s Weakness:

Like the rest of the offense, the line was pretty young last year too. The most experienced players, tackle Chris Rutledge and center Xavier Shannon, are gone and must be replaced. Finding players to fill those holes might be a problem and that could turn an intriguing offense into a disaster. The defense also returns eight starters and should be much improved. Linebacker Glenn Cook and safety Anthony Reddick were the top two tacklers last year and they are gone. There are plenty of players ready to step up, most notably linebackers Sean Spence and Darryl Sharpton. However, like the offense, the defense is a young group that simply has to be more consistent. If new defensive coordinator John Lovett can make this group grow up quickly and find a new leader or two, the Hurricanes defense will not rank 11 th in the conference in scoring defense.

Our Prediction for the 2009 Hurricanes:

In the end it will all come down to how well Harris can play under center. Miami threw a heck of a lot of interceptions last season and managed to only pick off four of their own. That has to change if the Hurricanes want to take another step towards their old ways. If the skill players on both sides of the ball can start playing like upperclassmen, this will be a dangerous team on any given day. But they can also play like underclassmen just as easily and that means they could lose some games that they should not be losing.

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