The Miami Hurricanes (6-5) are looking to finish November on a high note as they are currently on a three-game losing streak. The Canes will face off against Boston College (6-5), hoping to achieve a seven-win regular season. The Boston College Eagles have over-performed this year, somehow managing to win six games and become bowl eligible. The Canes will have some questions again at the quarterback position and, as this is a road game, they should not take the Eagles for granted.
Keys To Victory:
Miami’s Achilles heel was contained last week versus Louisville. Miami only had one turnover and did not beat themselves. Tyler Van Dyke looked a bit more like his old self, especially in the first half of the game. Miami was creative in the first half, scoring at will, but then became a conservative, one-dimensional running team. That eventually led to a 38-31 loss in a game that Miami seemed to control. Against the Eagles, the Canes need to continue playing creatively throughout the entire game. Dawson and Cristobal must not go conservative and allow defenses to adjust. If Miami can stick to a game plan with diverse passing schemes, mixing in the run like we saw in the first half against UL and against Texas A&M, the Canes will win this game handily.
X-Factors:
Last week the defense had an off week. The Canes’ defense allowed 38 points as Jeff Brohm’s pace and space offense was able to score at will against Miami. The Canes are not facing anything close to the caliber of offense that we saw last week with Louisville, but for Miami to win, the Canes’ defense needs to play better. I think Guidry will have that side of the ball ready to go and the Canes, who have been excellent throughout the year defensively, will once again play up to the high-level standards that Canes fans have come to expect.
Keep An Eye On:
The Eagles’ offense runs through their quarterback Thomas Castellanos. Castellanos, not a great passer, has had only 14 touchdowns with 11 interceptions this season and a 55.7% completion percentage against conference opponents. What makes him dangerous is that he is a very dangerous dual-threat quarterback. This year, Castellanos has 827 yards on the ground with 10 touchdowns for a 4.7 yards per carry average. Miami has historically struggled with dual-threat quarterbacks, and Castellanos should be the center of attention for the Canes as he is the poster boy quarterback that will have a four-touchdown game against your defense if taken for granted. At wide receiver, the Canes need to keep an eye on Lewis Bond who has had a solid season for the Eagles. Bond has 42 receptions for 565 yards and six touchdowns this year. Miami needs to consider starting Damari Brown opposite Bond, as Brown has proven to be a star in the making for Miami, and seems to be getting better every game.
Defensively, the Eagles’ linebacker Vinny De Palma is a player to watch out for. De Palma has 83 total tackles this year, leading the Eagles and is one of the primary playmakers for the Eagles on defense. On the back end, John Pupel is also a tackling menace with 73 tackles on the year. Expect Pupel and De Palma to play close to the line of scrimmage as they try to stop the run, especially if Miami decides to play conservatively. The Canes also need to be aware of Elijah Jones at all times. Jones leads the team with five interceptions and nine pass deflections and also has a forced fumble on the year.
Prediction:
Miami is a more talented team than Boston College. They need to play focused and not take this team for granted or play uninspired football. There are some question marks about Miami’s QB position and as of now, we are not too sure how much TVD plans to play, and if Jacurri Brown will come in and get some snaps or possibly even start. Whatever happens at the QB position should not have a major effect in this game as Miami has NFL players on all three levels of defense, at running back and wide receiver as well. If Miami plays a clean and focused game, they will beat Boston College and have the opportunity to finish off a rocky year with an eight-win season by winning their bowl game.
Miami – 31
Boston College – 21
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