Miami Hurricanes
Last year: 6-7 (4-4 ACC), lost to Louisiana Tech, 14-0, in Independence Bowl Best win: vs. Louisville, 52-27 Worst loss: vs. Georgia Tech, 28-21, in OT
Coach: Manny Diaz (second year)
Starters returning: 10 (6 offense, 3 defense, 1 specialist)
Offensive player to watch: QB D'Eriq King. The former Houston quarterback transferred to Miami in the offseason for one final collegiate year. He made the unusual decision to redshirt in 2019 after starting the first four games of the season for the Cougars and first-year coach Dana Holgersen. At the time, Houston was 1-3, and it finished 4-8. King said then he was going to come back to Houston for his final year, but then he entered the transfer portal in January. It was an odd story for sure, and it makes me question King's commitment to football in general, but he has been an explosive dual-threat player in the past, and the hype train is full-speed ahead, with analysts believing King is really going to get the Hurricanes rolling. But I also feel like the Miami hype train is out of control every preseason, so we will see. In 2018, King led the Cougars to an 8-5 record, and he completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 2,982 yards, 36 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He added 674 yards rushing and 14 scores on the ground. Last year, he completed 52.7 percent of his passes for 663 yards, six scores, and two picks. As a rusher, he accumulated 312 yards and six TDs.
Defensive player to watch: DE Quincy Roche. Also a graduate transfer, Roche was an All-American in 2019 at Temple, where he racked up 49 tackles, 19 for losses, 13 sacks, six breakups, a forced fumble, and a blocked kick.
Special teams player to watch: P Louis Hedley. Hedley is a redshirt junior, a colorful character, and a 25-year-old Aussie who averaged 43.9 yards per punt last season, putting 21 inside the 20-yard line.
Schedule: vs. UAB, at Louisville, vs. Florida State, bye, at Clemson, vs. Pittsburgh, vs. Virginia, bye, at N.C. State, at Virginia Tech, vs. Georgia Tech, at Wake Forest, vs. North Carolina.
Win-loss prediction: 5-6 or 6-5. Diaz's first year in Coral Gables was decidedly up and down. The Hurricanes were ranked just outside the top 25 in the preseason AP poll and held their own in an ugly 24-20 "Week 0" loss to No. 8 Florida in Orlando. They fell behind Virginia Tech 28-0 before storming all the way back to tie it, only to ultimately fall 42-35. Miami got the Wahoos at the down point of their season and were able to take that victory, 17-9. The 'Canes couldn't sustain the momentum, though, falling in OT to Georgia Tech the next week, one of just two Yellow Jackets wins in the conference. The best stretch of Miami's season followed, with victories over Florida State and eight-win squads Pitt and Louisville. And then the Hurricanes finished up with an equally perplexing final stretch that saw them lose to crosstown foe and six-win Florida International 30-24, five-win Duke 27-17, and the 10-win Bulldogs 14-0. In the bowl game, the offense mustered just 227 yards. So color me skeptical that this is the year Miami figures it out again. Even in their 10-victory resurgence of 2017, the 'Canes lost their final three games, all by double digits. Including that late-season 2017 slide, the program is 13-16 in its past 29 contests.
Dan Enos was fired as offensive coordinator after just one season, and Diaz brought in spread offense mind Rhett Lashlee, a student of Auburn coach Gus Malzahn. Lashlee left Auburn after 2016 after Malzahn took back control of the offense. Lashlee spent a season at Connecticut before guiding SMU's offense the past two seasons. King is an excellent athlete and a pretty good passer, but he's kind of small at 5-foot-11, 202 pounds. Miami does have a solid RB in junior Cam'Ron Harris, who compiled 576 yards (5.1 ypc) and five scores as a complement to DeeJay Dallas a season ago, and a star TE in junior Brevin Jordan, who finished with 35 receptions for 495 yards and a pair of scores. Miami's starting OL returns, but that group gave up 51 sacks in 2019, worst among all Power Five teams.
Defensively, Miami was set to return DE Gregory Rosseau and his 15.5 sacks (second nationally to Ohio State's Chase Young), but he decided to opt out, making the transfer of Roche all the more valuable. The Hurricanes lost their starting linebackers from 2019, but do get back senior LB Zach McCloud, a three-year starter who played in just four games last season so that he could redshirt. They also have a couple of good returners in the secondary in junior CB DJ Ivey (three INTs) and junior safety Gurvan Hall Jr. (66 tackles, 3.5 for losses, two sacks, one INT, three breakups). The number of returning starters for the unit -- three -- is a little bit misleading with Roche coming aboard, UCLA DL transfer Jaelan Phillips becoming eligible, the return of McCloud, and former USC transfer safety Bubba Bolden back healthy after just one start a year ago. Defense wasn't the main issue for Miami in 2019 anyway, as it finished 13th in the country in total defense and gave up just 20 points per game. For Miami, it is all about improving on offense, but I think the schedule is fairly tough, and I'm just not sold on the U right now as a big-time team.
Bonus prediction for UAB game Thursday (8 p.m., ACCN): I'll pick Miami to win, but being favored by 14.5 points over the Blazers, who have averaged 9.3 victories the past three seasons since restarting their program, seems like too much. Hurricanes win, 31-21.
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