We have some late night ACC action on Saturday night, as Miami travels out west to face Cal for the first time as a member of the ACC. Nothing screams conference matchup like a 3,000 mile road trip to play at 10:30pm ET. While we still try to adjust to the new landscape of college football, let’s breakdown why this should be a good spot for Golden Bears to challenge the Hurricanes.
Miami Hurricanes at Cal Golden Bears
CAL +10.5 (-110) 1-unit
Saturday (10:30pm ET)
Miami is a perfect 5-0 to start the season, and while the scores are mostly one-sided, the Hurricanes have shown some flaws. In a game in Tampa, USF played Miami tough for a half, before the ‘Canes broke it open in the second half. Miami will run up the score if it can, but we saw it struggle last Friday night in a wild game against Virginia Tech.
The Hokies had every opportunity to win that game, but Miami was able to get just enough to comeback and hang on — the game ended on the final play with Virginia Tech throwing a Hail Mary that was initially ruled a game winning touchdown before getting overturned. The Hokies were able to force Cam Ward into some turnovers, and also had success running the ball and making big plays against the Hurricanes defense.
Miami has played all five of its games in the state of Florida, but now takes a long road trip out west to play a late night game. Cal is off to a 3-1 start, coming off a road loss to Florida State. FSU barely clawed that one out, as Cal was probably the right side in the game. The Golden Bears got a bye last week, so they’ve had plenty of time to prep for Miami. The tape from the 38-34 victory for the ‘Canes last Friday night should be valuable to Cal it terms of identifying some weaknesses.
The Hurricanes lead the nation in passing yards per game, but again, this will be the toughest test yet. Cal ranks 23rd in the country in passing yards allowed, and Miami will have to deal with a tough road atmosphere at a kickoff time it is not accustomed to. Look for the Golden Bears to use a balanced attack on offense, and have a strong enough defense to limit Cam Ward and company.
Cal’s Head Coach, Justin Wilcox, also had some success against Mario Cristobal during his time in the PAC-12 at Oregon. In their last three matchups, Cal lost low scoring games in Eugene by 10 and seven points, and pulled the home upset the last time they met at Berkeley. So while it might be a small edge, Wilcox does know how to play Cristobal well prior to his arrival in Miami.
I think Miami likely pulls out the win ultimately, but it isn’t going to be easy. Double digits is too much here for the home dog, and the building should be hyped up to have College Game Day in town.
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