UM vs. VT: Matchups to Watch
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – All eyes will be on Hard Rock Stadium Saturday night.
The No. 9/6 Miami Hurricanes (7-0, 5-0 ACC) and No. 13 Virginia Tech Hokies (7-1,3-1 ACC) will meet in a primetime matchup that could decide the ACC’s Coastal Division. The Canes will be wearing their black “Miami Nights” uniforms for a game that is scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m. on ABC.
The Hurricanes appeared in the first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings, coming in at No. 10 in a list that was released on Tuesday. Miami is one of only five remaining unbeaten teams in FBS and has the longest active winning streak at the FBS level at 12 games dating back to October 2016. During their winning streak, the Canes have scored 30+ points in nine of their games. Miami has also held opponents to 21 points or fewer in nine of their 12 wins, with no opponent scoring more than 30 points against the Hurricanes.
The Hokies come to Miami on a three-game winning streak and have consistently been one of the top teams in the ACC since joining the conference in 2004. Virginia Tech’s 78 wins, four ACC championships and six division titles all rank first among conference members since 2004. The Hokies are 39-3 on the road when holding opponents to 21 points or fewer and have won 16 straight games when limiting opponents to 21 points.
The winner of Saturday’s matchup between Miami and Virginia Tech will have the fast track to the Coastal Division title and a spot in the 2017 ACC Championship Game in Charlotte, N.C.
Here are three matchups to watch in Saturday’s game.
Miami’s Secondary vs. Virginia Tech QB Josh Jackson
The Canes lead the ACC and are third nationally in passing efficiency defense (97.90). Miami’s secondary features three of the top corners in the ACC in Michael Jackson, Malek Young and Trajan Bandy and all three players are among the top eight in the ACC in lowest passer rating when targeted. Jackson leads the ACC (32.6), while Bandy is fourth (42.4) and Young ranks eighth (48.6). Jackson leads Miami with four interceptions, helping the Hurricanes rank atop the ACC and sixth nationally with an average turnover margin of +1.43 (+10 for the season).
Josh Jackson has been one of the top quarterbacks in the ACC. The redshirt freshman is averaging 254.0 passing yards per game and ranks second in the ACC with a 153.9 passer rating. Jackson has set Virginia Tech freshman records, throwing for over 2,000 yards and 17 touchdowns over eight games this season. Jackson has also protected the football, throwing just four interceptions over 239 pass attempts.
“The quarterback is a different guy, but we have a lot of respect for the quarterback,” Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “You can tell he is very heady, well-trained, a coach’s son and you can see all of those things on film.”
Miami’s Offensive Line vs. Virginia Tech’s Defensive Line
The Hurricanes’ offensive line will face a tough test this weekend, as Virginia Tech’s defensive line will look to disrupt Miami’s quarterback Malik Rosier and stymie the Canes’ running game. Miami’s offensive line was one of the 22 named to the Joe Moore Award Honor Roll, honoring the men up front who display qualities of the best offensive lines in the country. Four of Miami’s starting offensive linemen have started all seven games this season, including senior Kc McDermott who has made 28 consecutive starts. The Canes also expect standout freshman Navaughn Donaldson back in the starting lineup, which would reunite the starting five for the first time since the Florida State game.
Virginia Tech’s defensive line is a talented and deep group, led by veterans Vinny Mihota and Trevon Hill at end and Ricky Walker and Tim Settle at tackle. The Hokies have a history of success getting to opposing quarterbacks, as they lead FBS with 800.0 sacks since 1996. Virginia Tech will look to get after Rosier, as they are 5-0 under head coach Justin Fuente when registering 4.0 or more sacks.
“They’re so aggressive,” Diaz said of Virginia Tech’s defense. “They’re going to put a bunch of people right by the line of scrimmage and make it very hard for you to run the football just by the sheer volume of numbers of humans that they’ve devoted to stop it. At the same time, they’re going to deny everything in the throwing game. Like any defense would want to do, what’s easy to do they do a good job of taking away and they force you to try to beat them in low percentage-type plays. They’ve been doing it a long time and recruiting to that system for a long time. Bud Foster is obviously as good as they come as defensive coordinators.”
Miami RB Travis Homer vs. Virginia Tech LBs Andrew Motuakapuaka, Tremaine Edmunds, and Mook Reynolds.
Travis Homer has impressed since taking over as Miami’s top running back for an injured Mark Walton. The sophomore has two games with over 90 yards rushing, including a 170-yard performance against Georgia Tech. Homer has scored three touchdowns (two rushing and one receiving) since moving into the feature back role and will need to be an effective runner for Miami on Saturday. Homer is seventh in the ACC, averaging 73.1 yards per game, but he is averaging 102 rushing yards per game when he receives at least 10 carries. Homer’s play, especially on early downs, will be important to the Canes’ success on Saturday.
“Winning on first and second down is a big step,” Miami offensive coordinator Thomas Brown said. “If you get into a third and long against anybody, you can play against the worst third-down defense in the country, if you get to third and twelve it’s going to be tough. We obviously have to do a good job on first and second down when it comes to our calls and execution is the biggest thing because again North Carolina came out with a lot of fight, they’re a 1-7 football team we didn’t expect them to play that way, everybody else did that was kind of watching like they’re 1-7 what’s the problem? But they get coached too, they have pride and they played their butts off. But we just didn’t do a good job on first and second down of executing our calls, in the run game or pass game. You get in third and long, that makes it difficult to convert.”
The Hokies have a trio of outstanding linebackers who will look to stop Homer on Saturday. Junior Tremaine Edwards leads the Hokies with 68 tackles (30 solo) and has made 6.5 tackles for loss this season. Redshirt senior Andrew Motuakapuaka ranks second with 59 tackles (26 solo, 7.0 TFLs), while junior Mook Reynolds is third with 56 tackles (team-high 32 solo) and has 8.0 tackles for loss.
Kickoff against the Hokies is set for 8 p.m. from Hard Rock Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ABC. Click here for ticket information.
