A look at the first two 2023 opponents: Can Miami exceed expectations?

According to College Football News, Miami (FL) ranks 33rd out of the now 133 schools in FBS college football.

Miami’s first two opponents of the season – Miami (OH) ranks 100th and Texas A&M ranks 17th. The following three games on Miami’s schedule should be wins as they face FCS Bethune-Cookman at home, travel to Philadelphia to take on Temple (ranked 110th), and return home for an ACC clash with Georgia Tech (ranked 73rd).

Gambling sportsbooks have already set the lines for the first two matchups for the Miami Hurricanes. The University of Miami is predicted to beat Miami University by 17 points on opening night and lose by about a touchdown to the Aggies in game two.

Miami only won two games against the spread last season – against Bethune covering 49 points in a 70-13 win and beating the Yellow Jackets 35-14 on the road as two-point underdogs.

Generally, point spreads provide an assumption of what will happen on the field based on talent and previous results. As previously mentioned, Miami has often fallen short of pregame/preseason expectations. In 2021, Miami started the season losing its first three contests against the spread but ended the season at .500 against the number. In the 2020 season, Miami slightly exceeded expectations and finished 6-5 against the spread and in 2021 went 6-7 against the line.

If Miami can exceed expectations in its first two contests, it will be telling as to how the rest of the season will play out.

Miami (Ohio) hovered around .500 all throughout the 2022 season. Brett Gabbert was regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the MAC going into 2022. The brother of NFL quarterback Blaine Gabbert made the all-conference third team in 2021 after throwing for 2,648 yards, 26 touchdowns, and six interceptions.

Gabbert started just four games in 2022 and missed the rest of the season due to a non-throwing shoulder injury. Aveon Smith did fill in nicely for Miami last season. The 6-1, 215-pound redshirt sophomore was the first player in RedHawks history to lead the team in passing (1,299 yards) and rushing (553 yards) in the same season while throwing for 11 touchdowns and five picks and running for six touchdowns.

Miami has had difficulty stopping running quarterbacks, so it will be interesting to see if they can improve in this area out of the gate.

The key for the Hurricanes in this game will be providing pressure on whichever quarterback wins the job and running the football with consistency.

Miami (OH), which allowed the third-most sacks (38) and totaled the fourth-fewest rushing yards (140.1 per game) in the MAC last season, lost a few key offensive linemen like Rusty Feth, a center who made the all-conference second team last year.

The Redhawks do return 12 of their top 15 tacklers from a year ago. This is a unit that led the MAC in scoring defense (22.6 points per game allowed) and was third in total defense (373.1 yards per game allowed). The RedHawks also picked up Jeremiah Caldwell, a defensive lineman from Louisville, and Jackson Kuwatch, a linebacker from Ohio State, in the transfer portal.

This an opportunity for new offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson to show that Miami can put points up on the board with an experienced defense. Anything less than a two-touchdown victory will feel like a loss.

Texas A&M was very similar to Miami last season putting together a 5-7 season and missing a bowl game. Head Coach Jimbo Fisher is officially on the hot seat this season and brought in Bobby Petrino as his offensive coordinator. Petrino most recently acted as the Missouri State head coach.

D.J. Durkin remains as the defensive coordinator despite A&M finishing 100th in total defense last year.

Texas A&M will move forward with Conner Weigman at quarterback for the start of 2023. The former four-star now enters his sophomore season after making a brief appearance in 2022.

He completed 73 of 132 passes (55.3%) for 896 yards (6.8 yards per attempt), eight touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Weigman also ran 27 times for 97 yards (3.6 yards per carry).

The team also retains Max Johnson as the presumed backup. The one-time LSU starter completed 43 of 71 passes last year for 517 yards (7.3 yards per attempt), three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He also ran 29 times for 61 yards. In 2021 Johnson completed 60.3% of his 373 passes for 2,815 yards, 27 touchdowns, and six interceptions.

The offensive line loses just one starter in Matthew Wykoff.

Last season, Miami held A&M relatively in check in College Station despite the Aggies having 2023 NFL Draftee Devon Achane at running back. Unfortunately, Miami could not get into the end zone and would lose 17-9.

On defense, the Aggies had the 122nd-ranked run defense, 83rd-ranked pass rush, and 46th-ranked pass coverage last season.

Miami native and former five-star Shemar Stewart and Fadil Diggs will provide pressure on the edges after 416 and 382 snaps in 2022. Stewart chose A&M over Miami in a recruiting battle that came down to the very end.

At linebacker, Chris Russell and Edgerrin Cooper both return over 600 snaps. In the secondary A&M brings in North Carolina transfer Tony Grimes. Grimes played 697 snaps with UNC last year and provides a solid blend of production and experience.

Safeties Demani Richardson and Jardin Gilbert both played over 700 snaps last year and starting corner Tyreek Chappell also returns after 695 snaps last year.

The Hurricanes will need to be creative and efficient to execute on offense in this rematch if they want to come out with a victory this time. The Miami offense was able to move the ball in last year’s matchup but mistakes in execution had the Hurricanes settling for field goals. That has to change for Miami to win the game outright.

Lines provided by Odds Shark