2011 Miami Football Predictions
Written by Steve Janus
The Miami Hurricanes were one of the more talented teams in the ACC in 2010, but failed to live up to expectations. While they finished with the second best record in the ACC Coastal Division at 5-3, they were just 7-5 overall in the regular season. They went on to play Notre Dame in the Sun Bowl, but fell 33-17 to the Fighting Irish. Head coach Randy Shannon was fired before the bowl game, which probably had a lot to do with the team’s poor performance. Miami has replaced Shannon with Al Golden, who really did a great job turning the Temple program around. Golden takes over a team that still has a ton of talent from last year with 14 starters back, but will be implementing new systems on both sides of the ball.
Here is a look at who the Hurricanes are expected to send to the field in 2011, plus my prediction on where they will finish they year in the ACC.
Offense:
The Hurricanes return senior starting quarterback Jacory Harris, and the hope is that Harris can return to his sophomore form after a disappointing junior season. After completing nearly 60% of his passes for 3,352 yards with 24 touchdowns to just 17 interceptions in 2009, Harris completed just 55% of his passes for 1,793 yards with just 14 touchdowns to 15 interceptions in 2010. Harris was pulled in the bowl game after throwing three interceptions in his first seven passes, but there really isn’t a better option for Miami heading into this season.
Miami loses 2010 leading rusher Damien Berry (899 yards, 5 touchdowns) along with Graig Cooper (165 yards, 1 touchdown), but are very excited about what they have in sophomore Lamar Miller, who was second on the team with 646 yards and had a team best 6 touchdowns. While Miller figures to get the bulk of the carries, they also like what they have in sophomore Storm Johnson and junior Mike James.
The Hurricanes also lose their best wide receiver from 2010 in Leonard Hankerson, who easily led the team with 72 catches for 1,156 yards and 13 touchdowns. Hankerson’s production is going to be hard to replace, but they do have three experienced senior wide outs expected to start this season. The best of the group is Travis Benjamin, who was second on the team with 43 catches for 743 yards and three touchdowns.
Even though the Hurricanes lose starting left tackle Orlando Franklin, they should have one of the best offensive lines in the ACC with the other four starters all back. Junior right guard Brandon Washington and sophomore right tackle Seantrel Henderson will give the Hurricanes a powerful punch on the right side. Redshirt freshman Malcolm Bunche appears to have won the starting left tackle spot in spring practice, and it will be important that he holds his own for this unit to dominate up front.
Defense:
Miami also figures to have one of the top defensive fronts in the country. They do lose defensive end Allen Bailey, who led the team with seven sacks last season, but the other three starters are all back. Junior defensive tackle Marcus Forston is one of the premier defensive linemen in the ACC, and should really be a force inside this year. With the loss of Baily, Miami will rely heavily on junior Oliver Vernon to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Vernon finished right behind Bailey with six sacks. Senior Marcus Regis is back at defensive tackle, while fellow senior Marcus Robinson is expected to take over at the open end spot.
While the Hurricanes return two starters at linebacker, they will have to replace 2010 leading tackler Colin McCarthy, who was a beast at middle linebacker. Senior Sean Spence was second on the team in tackles with 111 last year and led the team with 14.5 tackles for loss. Spence figures to be one of the top linebackers in the conference in 2011. Senior Jordan Futch is the leading candidate to take over and play in the middle between Spence and senior Ramon Buchanan.
The Hurricanes will miss not having Brandon Harris at corner. They also lose corners Ryan Hill and DeMarcus Van Dyke. Senior JoJo Nicolas and junior Brandon McGee are expected to open the year as the starting duo on the outside, and must play well for the secondary to match their numbers from last year (151 ypg). While they will likely be down a notch at corner, they should have one of the best safety combos in the country with junior strong safety Ray-Ray Armstrong and junior free safety Vaughn Telemaque. Armstrong and Telemaque combined for six interceptions and were No. 3 and No. 4 in tackles.
ACC Prediction: 2nd ACC Coastal – While I think the Hurricanes are talented enough to win the ACC, they have an absolutely brutal conference schedule. They have to go on the road to face Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Florida State, and Maryland, arguably their four toughest games. Even if they go 2-2 in those games, it likely won’t be enough to catch the Hokies in the Coastal Division.
More Resources:
- Bettors World has the Hurricanes winning eight games this season.
Got something to say?
- Buy Jack's Picks
- Sports Picks
- Free Football Picks
- Football Betting
- Football Betting Forum
- Article Archives
- College Football Picks
- NFL Picks
- NBA Picks
- NCAA Basketball Picks
- Baseball Picks
- NHL Picks
- College Bowl Picks
- Super Bowl Picks
- College Football Lines
- NFL Spreads
- NBA Spreads
- NCAA Basketball Lines
- Baseball Lines
- NHL Lines
- College Bowl Odds
- Super Bowl Odds
- Betting Trends
- Gambling
- Handicappers
- Handicapping
- Matchups
- Odds Explained
- Predictions
- Standings
- Sportsbooks
- Weekly Picks
- Heisman Odds