Breaking Down the Canes' 2021 Schedule

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – After a season unlike any other, the Hurricanes are looking forward.

New players have arrived on campus, ready to begin their Miami careers. New coaches have joined the staff, intent on helping the Hurricanes improve on an eight-win season that had them finish the year ranked among the nation’s top 25 teams.

And while it remains to be seen how the season – and the world – could be impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Hurricanes now know how to navigate playing in a new reality.

They also now know what their schedule will look like.

The Hurricanes will open the year on the road against the defending national champion. They’ll travel to face a Coastal Division foe that played in last year’s Orange Bowl, returns an All-ACC quarterback and could very well likely be the preseason favorite to win the division. And they’ll have an early-season four-game homestand that could set the tone for the entire year.

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Here, a look at the matchups on Miami’s 2021 schedule:

Sept. 4, vs. Alabama

 Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta

Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz has, in years past, pointed out that in college football, there are no preseason warm-up games to give players and coaches an idea of what their teams will look like once they take the field. But one thing is clear – this year, the Hurricanes will learn about themselves quickly when they face one of the nation’s elite powerhouse programs.

The defending national champion Crimson Tide are coming off a dominant 13-0 season in which they averaged 48.5 points and 541.6 yards per game, while allowing opponents an average of just 19.4 points per game.

Alabama, which has missed the College Football Playoff just once since its inception in 2015, holds a 14-3 edge in the all-time series against Miami. And although the two teams haven’t seen each other since their fateful championship meeting in the 1993 Sugar Bowl, odds are, the Hurricanes know they will face a tough test right out of the gate.

Sept. 11, vs. Appalachian State

 Hard Rock Stadium

Five years after traveling to Boone, North Carolina to face Appalachian State in what was billed as the biggest home game in Mountaineers’ history, the Hurricanes welcome Appalachian State to Hard Rock Stadium.

Miami’s home opener will feature a matchup against a Mountaineers team that posted a 9-3 record in 2020 and finished the season with a 56-28 win over North Texas in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. And while veteran quarterback Zac Thomas has moved on, the Mountaineers have added a graduate transfer quarterback to their roster who Miami has faced before: former Duke (and Clemson) signal caller Chase Brice. He will be surrounded by plenty of veterans, with Appalachian State expecting to return 13 seniors from last year’s team.

That 2016 matchup against the Mountaineers – who burst onto the national stage with their historic 2007 upset of Michigan in Ann Arbor – is the only game in the series history. Miami left Boone that day with a 45-10 win.

Sept. 18, vs. Michigan State

 Hard Rock Stadium

The Hurricanes and Spartans were set to face each other last fall, but their first meeting in three decades was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This September, though, Miami welcomes Michigan State to South Florida for the first time since 1982.

The Spartans struggled through a shortened season in 2020, posting a 2-5 mark. Both of their wins, though, came against ranked opponents: a 27-24 victory over rival Michigan, who was ranked 13^th at the time and a 29-20 win over then eighth-ranked Northwestern.

That said, the Michigan State roster is expected to look plenty different than it did last year with 34 new scholarship players reportedly expected in East Lansing, while at least 15 players have entered the transfer portal. Among them was quarterback Rocky Lombardi, who started six games for the Spartans last season.

The Hurricanes and Spartans have met just four times in program history, with Miami winning all four matchups by an average of just seven points.

 Sept. 25, vs. Central Connecticut State

 Hard Rock Stadium

The third game of Miami’s four-game homestand will feature an opponent the Hurricanes have never faced before: the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut State University, an FCS program hailing from New Britain, Connecticut.

The Blue Devils, who posted an 11-2 record and won the Northeast Conference title in 2019, announced this week that while they plan to hold spring workouts, they will not participate in the Northeast Conference football season which is scheduled to be played this spring.

The Blue Devils, who advanced to the FCS playoffs for the second time in school history in 2019, have a 17-2 record in conference play during their last three seasons. They were 25-11 overall during that time.

Sept. 30, Virginia

 Hard Rock Stadium

After four straight non-conference games to open the season, the Hurricanes will shift their focus to conference play and they’ll open their ACC slate against a familiar Coastal Division foe: Virginia.

Because of last season’s adjusted schedule, the Cavaliers traveled to Hard Rock Stadium for a second straight year and now, they’ll be back again in 2021. The Hurricanes hold a 7-2 mark against Virginia in games played in South Florida, though the last two wins have been by a combined 13 points.

Mike Harley, who is returning for another season, put together one of the best performances by a Hurricanes receiver in recent memory during last year’s 19-14 win. The senior had a career-high 10 catches for 170 yards, the most totaled by any Hurricanes receiver since Phillip Dorsett had 201 yards against Arkansas State in 2014. It was also the most against an ACC opponent since Allen Hurns had 173 yards against Pittsburgh in 2013.

After that game, Virginia went on to win four of their next five, finishing the year 5-5. The Cavaliers have since added a pair of graduate transfers to their roster: former Louisville defensive back Anthony Johnson, a South Florida native, and former Oklahoma State tight end Jelani Woods.

Oct. 16, at North Carolina

 Kenan Memorial Stadium, Chapel Hill

If there’s one game the Hurricanes will be looking for redemption in this season, it’s this one. Last December, the Tar Heels – who ended the season representing the ACC in the Orange Bowl – handed Miami one of its most disappointing losses in recent years.

North Carolina’s offense scored 62 points, totaled 750 total yards and 544 rushing yards in a dominant performance that left Miami’s defense – and Diaz – looking for answers postgame.

Tar Heels quarterback Sam Howell, who threw for 223 yards in the win, is already generating preseason All-American buzz and although running backs Michael Carter and Javonte Williams are headed to the NFL, North Carolina has added graduate transfer Ty Chandler to the roster. Chandler was a two-year starter at Tennessee and is expected provide an instant boost at a position of sudden need for the Tar Heels.

The Hurricanes will head into the matchup looking to snap a two-game losing streak to North Carolina, but they will have to overcome some traditional struggles in Chapel Hill. Miami is 3-6 there over the course of the series history.

Oct. 23, North Carolina State

 Hard Rock Stadium

The Hurricanes and Wolfpack aren’t regular ACC opponents, but because of last year’s readjusted schedule, they’ll face off in back-to-back years and this will mark NC State’s first visit to South Florida since 2012.

Last year’s matchup in Raleigh proved to be one of the more memorable games of the season for Miami, with the Hurricanes rallying from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to earn a 44-41 win.

Quarterback D’Eriq King was a force, completing 31 of 41 passes for 430 yards and five touchdowns, including a 54-yarder to Harley with 2:43 left that proved the eventual game-winning score. King also rushed for a game-high 105 yards and Harley finished with eight catches for 153 yards.

Miami heads into the game looking to improve on a 10-5-1 mark in the all-time series and will be playing for its fourth straight win over NC State.

Oct. 30, at Pittsburgh

 Heinz Field, Pittsburgh

Miami will close out the month of October on the road, traveling to face Pittsburgh, another Coastal Division foe. There, the Hurricanes will be looking for their fourth straight win against the Panthers.

They can also expect to see another familiar face in the Steel City, with senior quarterback Kenny Pickett announcing recently he was bypassing the NFL Draft to return to Pittsburgh for another season. Pickett enters the year having appeared in 39 games for the Panthers, with 36 starts. He’s thrown for 8,552 yards during his career, a number that ranks third in program history.

The Panthers finished the 2020 season with a 6-5 record, with one of those losses coming at Hard Rock Stadium. King threw for four touchdown passes in Miami’s 31-19 win and the victory marked the third straight game in which Miami’s defense held Pittsburgh under 20 points.

Nov. 6, Georgia Tech

 Hard Rock Stadium

 The Yellow Jackets were one of the Coastal Division teams Miami didn’t see during its readjusted 2020 schedule and the two schools’ last meeting in 2019 is one the Hurricanes were undoubtedly hoping to avenge last fall.

In 2019, Georgia Tech escaped with a 28-21 overtime win in a sometimes-sloppy game during which neither team scored in the second half. The Yellow Jackets finished last season with a 3-7 record and closed the year out with back-to-back losses against NC State and Pittsburgh. They are expected to return eight offensive starters.

The Hurricanes, meanwhile, will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak against the Yellow Jackets and will look to even the all-time series, which Georgia Tech currently leads 13-12. Home-field advantage could be in play though, with the Hurricanes owning a 6-3 all-time mark against Georgia Tech when games are played in South Florida.

Nov. 13, at Florida State

 Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee

The Hurricanes will close out the 2021 regular season playing two of their last three on the road. One of those games will come at a place where Miami has traditionally played well: Florida State.

The Hurricanes have won four straight over the rival Seminoles, with two of those games coming in Tallahassee. Overall, Miami has a 16-10 mark on Florida State’s home field.

Last year’s matchup proved to be a historic night for Miami, which dominated in its 52-10 win. Those 52 points where the most ever scored by either team in the series’ 65 games and Miami’s 38 first-half points were the most scored by either team in a half during the course of the rivalry.

But, like most programs across college football, the Seminoles have gotten an offseason addition who could have an impact next season. High-profile quarterback McKenzie Milton, who starred at UCF before suffering a gruesome injury, transferred to Florida State and has reportedly been cleared to return to football activities. He is expected to compete with Jordan Travis for the starting job and could give the Seminoles an experienced signal caller under center.

Nov. 20, Virginia Tech

 Hard Rock Stadium

After their annual rivalry game against the Seminoles, the Hurricanes will return to Hard Rock Stadium to close out their home slate with a key Coastal Division matchup against Virginia Tech.

The Hurricanes and Hokies played a thriller during the 2020 season, with Miami again showing its mettle, rallying after trailing by 11 in the second half to escape Blacksburg with a 25-24 win.

Miami was without 13 players in the game and more than a few Hurricanes at several positions played significant snaps to help secure the win. King helped lift Miami to the win with his 36-yard touchdown pass to Mark Pope putting the Hurricanes ahead with 5:59 left.

Miami’s defense, meanwhile, kept the Hokies out of the end zone during each of their last five possessions to help the offense rally. With the win, Miami improved its record in the all-time series to 23-15.

Nov. 27, at Duke

Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, N.C.

Another product of Miami’s 2020 Covid-adjusted schedule? Two trips to Duke in back-to-back years.

The Hurricanes didn’t expect to see the Blue Devils last fall once the ACC announced the revamped schedules for all teams last August, but late-season adjustments sent Miami to Durham last month and the Hurricanes romped.

After a three-week season pause, Miami put together a dominant 48-0 win over Duke on the Blue Devils’ home field, with the Hurricanes’ defense recording its first road shutout since 2000 and its first ACC shutout since joining the conference in 2004.

The Hurricanes held the Blue Devils to just 56 rushing yards, forced five turnovers and totaled 13 tackles for loss that night, while Miami posted more than 500 yards of offense.

This time around, the matchup against Duke will mark the regular-season finale and depending on what’s happened around the ACC to this point, could help determine the Coastal Division winner. Time will tell.