Is the U… back?
Miami made one of the loudest statements with its play in the opening week of college football. The Hurricanes traveled down to the Swamp in Gainesville to face the Florida Gators.
Entering as the 19th-ranked team in the country in the preseason, Miami entered this matchup as two-point favorites on the spread at -112 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. Florida was a +114 underdog on the moneyline with the game total sitting at 54.5 in the matchup.
Miami got the scoring started early and did not let off the gas from there. It kicked things off with a nine-yard passing touchdown from Cam Ward to ninth-year TE Cam McCormick. The Hurricanes built the lead to 24-10 at halftime before blowing the game open in the second half.
Cam Ward continued to showcase his skills in leading Miami, who outscored Florida 17-0 in the third quarter. Ultimately, the Hurricanes cruised to a 41-17 victory, with the game feeling even more lopsided than the scoreboard would indicate.
Cam Ward stole the show and launched his Heisman campaign in the victory. The Washington State transfer completed 26 of his 35 passes for 385 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. He also added 33 yards on the ground. Xavier Restrepo led the team in receiving with 112 yards and a touchdown on the day.
As a team, Miami produced 529 total yards of offense. In contrast, Florida was held to just 261 total yards of offense and turned the ball over twice. The Gators went just 1-9 on third downs in the matchup and never were able to fully get things going.
Miami entered this matchup with a season-long over under of nine games. The Canes are considered a threat to qualify for the first 12-team expanded playoff format, holding +180 odds to qualify before Week 1. Quarterback Cam Ward is also a name to watch in the Heisman race as he climbed to +1200 odds to win the award on DraftKings SportsBook following the Week 1 performance. He trails only Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel (+600) and Georgia’s Carson Beck (+900) in this category and is tied with Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava (+1200) with plenty of football left to play.
Florida did not have as lofty of expectations with its season-long over/under sitting at 4.5, with the over favored at -155 odds. The Gators will look to bounce back next week against Samford University.
If there is one positive to take away from the game from a Florida perspective, it was a first look at freshman quarterback DJ Lagway. The highly-touted recruit stepped in late in the fourth quarter completing three of his six passes for 31 yards and adding 20 yards on the ground. Lagway is viewed as the quarterback of the future for Florida. Unfortunately, this does not help in the short term as head coach Billy Napier’s seat continues to feel hotter and hotter.
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