Miami Hurricanes College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Miami Hurricanes Biggest Key: Offense
Pass protection. To be fair to the offensive front, D’Eriq King tried to make things happen with his mobility and took his share of sacks, and it wasn’t the line’s fault he got hurt. However, Miami’s line allowed 30 sacks and 87 tackles for loss.
Also to be fair, it was a big improvement.
As mediocre as the line was in 2020, it was far, far better than the 2019 version. Now the O gets several parts back who missed time last year to create one of the deeper and more talented lines the program has had for a while. There are too many positives to come up with another disappointing year.
Miami Hurricanes Biggest Key: Defense
Stop allowing so many first downs. The pass rush was a killer and – strangely enough – the D wasn’t that bad on third downs. However, there were way too many first downs allowed.
The Canes allowed 219 first downs in 2019 in 13 games. They gave up 258 last season in 11 games. There were way too many penalties from the defensive side against Clemson, there were too many problems against run against North Carolina, and there too many lost opportunities against Oklahoma State.
The 2015 Canes allowed 30 first downs to North Carolina in a loss. They hadn’t given up more than 28 until last year and they did it four times, and three of them were in the three losses.
Miami Hurricanes Key Player To A Successful Season
DE Deandre Johnson, Sr.
Is he the Next Man Up?
Pass rush hasn’t been an issue over the last few years for Miami, but that’s because the shelves kept getting stocked with new star talent.
The hope is for Johnson – a transfer from Tennessee – to be a solid replacement for Jaelan Phillips and Quincy Roche, or at least become a huge part of the rotation. The 6-3, 260-pound Miami native made ten career sacks for the Vols, but the line will get a big boost if he can just push for five.
Miami Hurricanes Key Game To The 2021 Season
at North Carolina, Oct. 16
Are the Tar Heels really the stars of the Coastal? If Miami wants the division, it probably has to win in Chapel Hill along the way.
UNC ran wild in a 62-26 win last year after winning the year before. Miami rolled 47-10 in 2018, but the Tar Heels have won four of the last five. The rest of the ACC schedule isn’t all that bad if the Canes can pull this off.
2020 Miami Hurricanes Fun Stats
– Average Yards Per Play: Miami 8 – Opponents 5.6
– Field Goals: Miami 20-of-22 – Opponents 13-of-20
– Time of Possession: Opponents 32:18 – Miami 27:42