2016 College Football Sports Betting Preview: Miami Hurricanes

by: @dickiesalvo - posted on: 03-Aug-2016

The current ACC landscape is in many ways dominated by the likes of Florida St. and Clemson. These programs have managed to acquire elite quarterbacks while also arming themselves with loaded defenses under energetic and inspiring young head coaches and the results have been impressive. As for the Miami Hurricanes, they are just 8-8 in conference play the last two years and, when going up against one of those aforementioned, new-age powers in Clemson last year, got beat so badly that is cost former HC Al Golden his job.

The Hurricanes have undoubtedly fallen off the pedestal they once inhabited for what seemed like decades but hope is not totally lost. New coach Mark Richt comes in to take over and while the roster he inherits undoubtedly has weaknesses, Richt can point to QB to make up for some of that at least. Brad Kaaya returns for his junior year and he is clearly considered a high end NFL prospect with an awful lot to prove. So long as he stays healthy, this Hurricanes team could evolve into something of a problem in 2016.

Surrounding Kaaya will be another eight returning starters from an offense which impressed for the most part in 2015. Rashawn Scott and Herb Waters move on but Stacey Coley is a guy looking to gather some NFL attention in 2016 and junior Braxton Berrios stands a good chance to be that speed target capable of commanding attention in the slot. They also bring back the following top four pass catchers from 2015 as well as their top three RB's.

The big key, however, is the status of this offensive line. They only lose one starter from 2015 and according to most pundits this should be the best from line in the conference behind FSU and Clemson. K.C. McDermott has battled injuries through his first two season in Coral Gables but the 6'7, 300 pound monster is in the mix at LG and most who are connected to the program believe that a vastly improved rushing attack will not only aide Kaaya but also allow Richt to hide his defense from time to time.

Speaking of that defense, six starters return but the number might be more or less irrelevant given how bad this group looked at times. Hopes are a little bit higher this season mostly thanks to what they possess up front along that front line defensively. Chad Thomas is a junior looking to break out in 2016 and tackles Gerald Willis and Anthony Moten should help in that regard. Doubling the aforementioned Thomas becomes more difficult with fellow junior Al-Quadin Muhammad in the mix opposite him as well. Muhammad was suspended for the entirety of 2014 but came back to have a productive 2015 and will look to improve upon that 54 tackle campaign (good for fourth on the club).

The linebacker and secondary play simply must improve, however and the concerns still linger in those areas. Raphael Kirby is gone but he sustained a season ending injury midway through last season and so they are somewhat used to him being out of the fold. Tyriq McCord is another big loss but this club has two very athletic prospects at the LB spots in Trent Harris and Shaq Quarterman. The latter is an early enrollee who is likely to start as a freshman and while he lacks experience at this level, Richt is on record as calling him a "blessing," in one interview this offseason. His early arrival along with that of Zach McCloud and Michael Pinckney are big pick-ups for Richt and they should help to slowly alter the culture associated with this defense.

Artie Burns and Deon Bush were big losses for the secondary and Tracy Howard is yet another guy whose absence will be felt as all three men are currently in NFL camps. Sheldrick Redwine has good size at 6'1, 195 pounds and he played extensively as a freshman last year. He is likely to lead a mostly unproven group of corners but Richt seems to like his athleticism there. The most intriguing position battle could be at SS, however, where Jamal Carter and Adrian Colbert are likely to go head to head. There is a feeling amongst south Florida beat reporters that Colbert could likely get moved to CB and that would seem to make sense. In any event, this group lacks depth but if they can remain relatively healthy they should avoid a major drop-off compared to 2015.

The opening portion of this schedule is quite manageable and while they have to play FSU at home and Notre Dame on the road, they avoid Clemson. Road games against the likes of VT, UVA and NCST should be somewhat manageable. This group has a strong special teams unit (which essentially earned them a "win" at Duke LY), and their other strengths should really help them in the ACC. The coaching and QB experience cannot be underrated and this club has a lot more experience in total as compared to 2015 (moving from #100 to #24 this season according to Phil Steele).

More so than anything else, I can't understate the importance of Richt coming in. Golden did what he could but he was never really an elite coach. Richt never got over the hump in the SEC even when he had good chances before the rise of the Alabama empire. Still, his experience coaching and recruiting in those regions is monumental and this program is definitely on the uptick once more. The roster has to prove itself in certain places but having a guy like Kaaya is big. Also, watch out for sophomore TE David Njoku. The Cedar Grove, NJ native was pursued by the likes of Urban Meyer and others before deciding to head down to the Sunshine State and that is definitely to the benefit of Richt, Kaaya and this team. The offense is very complete and if they can evolve into a more balanced unit while keeping their sensational signal caller healthy, ten wins and a spot in the ACC title game are quite doable.