ESPN CFB analyst says Hurricanes need fast start

After the ACC released the 2023 football schedule on Monday night ESPN reporters David Hale and Andrea Adelson analyzed the conference schedule. Hale picked the Miami football team as the program “Who needs a fast start.” Miami lost its last two non-conference games and first ACC game in 2022.

The 2-3 start set a poor foundation for the Miami football team during the 2022 season. Miami has a more difficult start to the 2023 season. The 2022 season began for Miami with wins over FCS Bethune-Cookman and Southern Mississippi. Miami begins the 2023 season versus Miami (Ohio) and Texas A&M.

Playing an SEC team in week two will be a difficult challenge. Miami will play Bethune-Cookman again in 2023, but not until week three. Miami has to be ready for Miami (Ohio). Middle Tennessee State torched Miami in 2023. Miami plays at Temple on September 23 in their final 2023 non-conference game.

Miami needs to treat every opponent the same in 2022. Cristobal stated during ACC Kickoff in July that he preaches to his players that “how you do anything is how you do everything.” Too many of the little things went awry in 2022. Having a mentality of paying attention to detail will help Miami early in the season. 

Hale: Miami’s first five games set up nicely. The Hurricanes get Miami (Ohio), Texas A&M and Bethune-Cookman at home, then go on the road to face Temple before an off week and a home game against Georgia Tech. Of that group, only the Redhawks made a bowl last season.

If the Hurricanes are going to blossom into a real contender under coach Mario Cristobal, they’ll need to be at least 4-1 — and their fans are probably thinking 5-0 — heading into a Week 7 trip to Chapel Hill.

But that might be easier said than done. It was just a year ago when Miami laid an egg against the inept Aggies before getting blown out at home by Middle Tennessee. The shine hasn’t worn off the Cristobal hire just yet, but after serious changes to both the staff and roster, it’s unlikely Miami fans will tolerate another bad start.

Miami will likely be favored in its first five games. Texas A&M also finished 5-7 in 2022. The Aggies open the 2023 season versus New Mexico before playing at Hard Rock Stadium. The fan base of the loser between Miami and Texas A&M will likely start panicking early in the 2023 season. A win for Miami would be a big step.

Temple was 3-9 overall in 2022, 1-7 in the American Athletic Conference. Playing on the road is not easy. Miami will be the biggest game on the 20233 Temple schedule. A week after playing Bethune-Cookman and before the bye, the Miami football team could easily have a letdown. Miami has to be ready to play Temple.