2008 Miami Hurricanes College Football Predictions
2008 Miami Hurricanes College Football Predictions Courtesy of Alex Smart, A Professional Sports Handicapper featured on Touthouse.com. If you are betting college football this season be sure to purchase Alex’s college football picks and guarantee a winning season.
Miami Hurricanes (5-7, 2-6 in 2007, 5th place in ACC Coastal)
What a disaster 2007 was for the once proud Miami Hurricanes! For a conference that “The U” and Florida State were supposed to dominate when the ACC expanded to twelve teams, only the Seminoles have won a league title, and neither has won a BCS game. HC Randy Shannon has his work cut out for him to improve on an embarrassing 5-7 squad, or he’ll be out the door very quickly in Coral Gables.
2007 Highlight: The traditional rivalry between FSU and UM has always had its twists and turns, but the 2007 edition was about as strange as it gets. Miami trailed the entire second half until they scored two touchdowns in 11 seconds late in the 4th quarter to give the Canes a 37-29 victory in Doak Campbell Stadium against their in-state rivals.
2007 Lowlight: In the illustrious history of Miami football, never before had the team faced such a demoralizing defeat as it did at the hands of the Virginia Cavaliers in the final home game ever played at the Orange Bowl. Kyle Wright threw three interceptions, and the offense only mustered nine first downs the entire game. Meanwhile, the defense was torched for 418 yards and had no answer for either the rushing or passing game of the Cavs. The doors of the Orange Bowl closed forever after the 44-0 defeat.
Offensive Outlook: Fortunately, the ghosts of Kyle Wright and Kirby Freeman left with the Orange Bowl for Miami. Neither quarterback ever panned out, and the coaching staff will now turn their attention to redshirt freshman Robert Marve to take over the offense; He’ll be supported by five returning starters. Both RB’s Javarris James and Graig Cooper could have massive seasons running behind a young, but highly touted offensive line. Sam Shields is the only returning wide receiver of note, and he’ll quickly become a favorite target of Marve.
Defensive Outlook: “The U” has always produced some of the fastest and most talented defensive players in the country, and 2008 should be no exception. Once again, the Canes are young on the defensive side of the ball, only returning six starters from a year ago, but incoming freshman linebackers Sean Spence and Arthur Brown are considered two of the best young LB’s in the country. The secondary is senior-laden, headed up by strong safety Randy Phillips.
2008 Preview: Though no one is really expecting Miami to challenge for the ACC crown in 2008, the most important games are the ones against Florida, Florida State, and UCF. Should they lose those three games, not only will a bowl game be out of the question, but the recruiting battles they will inevitably lose in the future could spell the end of the Miami dynasty as we know it. If there’s a plus on the ACC schedule, it’s that the Canes don’t have Clemson on their slate.
2008 will be a success if… they can find a way to win two of the three games against their in-state rivals. To expect Marve to go into the Swamp and knock off the mighty Gators is a bit far-fetched, but home games against FSU and up and coming UCF are absolute musts if Shannon expects to be around in 2009.
Unless these young players step up and return to Miami tradition, Shannon will be in his last year as the head coach at “The U.”
Prediction: 6-6, 3rd place in ACC Coastal
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