In a battle of two teams that prefer to run the football, Coach Bronco Mendenhall and the Virginia Cavaliers (+6) are set to play host to their conference foe No. 16 Miami (FL) Hurricanes (-6) at David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium. The game starts at 7:00 p.m. ET and fans can watch the action on ESPN2.
Miami (FL) Hurricanes at Virginia Cavaliers Betting Preview
In this Saturday Atlantic Coast matchup, Miami (FL) is tabbed as the favorite and is currently giving up 6 points. The Hurricanes are also receiving -240 moneyline odds while the Cavaliers are +190. If one squad finds paydirt early on, it’ll likely produce a worthy in-game betting opportunity.
The line originally opened at 7 but the general public’s been hammering the Wahoos.
The Hurricanes are 3-3 against the spread (ATS) and have gained 1.4 units so far in 2018. The team’s posted an Over-Under record of 5-1. The Cavaliers have gained 1.0 unit this season. The team is 4-1 ATS and has an even O/U record of 2-2.
The Hurricanes have gone 5-1 straight up (SU), including 2-0 SU against ACC opponents. The Cavaliers are 3-2 SU overall and 1-1 SU in conference play.
The Hurricanes hope to keep it going after a 28-27 victory over Florida State last week. N’Kosi Perry completed only 13-of-32 passes for 204 yards and four touchdowns. Travis Homer (70 yards on 21 rush attempts) and the signal-caller Perry (-3 yards on 10 carries) led the ground attack. Jeff Thomas (three receptions, 76 yards, one TD) and Lawrence Cager (three catches, 33 yards, two TDs) shared the receiving duties in the win.
A couple of weeks ago, North Carolina State knocked off this Virginia crew by a score of 35-21. The Wahoos defense allowed the Wolfpack to kill the clock by running for 176 yards on 39 rush attempts, along with one rushing TD. Ricky Person had a solid showing, recording 108 rushing yards on 14 attempts for North Carolina State. For Virginia, Bryce Perkins completed 20-of-35 passes for 258 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Perkins (24 yards on 14 rush attempts) and Jordan Ellis (30 yards on 13 carries, one TD) handled the running game while Olamide Zaccheaus (nine receptions, 109 yards, two TDs) and Hasise Dubois (six catches, 67 yards) led all Virginia pass-catchers in the loss.
Miami (FL) has run the ball on 61.0 percent of its offensive plays this year, including 64.5 percent across possessions in conference play. Virginia has an overall rush percentage of 56.7 percent, and has kept it on the ground 52.7 percent of the time when playing ACC opponents. The Hurricanes have rushed for 195 yards per game (including 166 per game against Atlantic Coast opponents) and have 14 scores on the ground this year. The Wahoos are totaling 192 rushing yards per game (149 in conference) and have nine total rush TDs.
The Hurricanes offensive scheme has logged 215 yards per game in the air overall (165 per game against conference opposition) and has 16 passing TDs so far. The Wahoos have put up 226 pass yards per contest (227.5 against ACC foes) and have 11 total pass scores.
On the defensive side of the ball, Miami (FL) should have the upper hand in both facets. The team has allowed 100 rush yards and 137 pass yards per game. The Virginia defense has given up 198.4 yards per game to opposing passers and 126.2 yards per game on the ground. The Hurricanes are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 2.72 to opponents, while the Wahoos have allowed a 5.62 ANY/A.
Offensively, Perry is up to 521 passing yards on the year. He’s connected on 39-of-71 attempts with 10 passing scores and only two interceptions. Perry has a 7.30 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 6.73 over the last two games.
The Hurricanes will probably try to control the clock by pounding the defense with their running backs. Travis Homer (346 rush yards, one rush TD) and DeeJay Dallas (255 rush yards, one rush TD) have brought significant production to the offensive game scripts for Miami (FL).
Bryce Perkins has completed 70-of-113 passes for 928 yards, nine TDs and three INTs for Virginia. His ANY/A stands at 7.37 for the season and 5.67 over his past two outings.
The Wahoos also like to rely on their backfield. Bryce Perkins (zero receiving yards) has stepped up lately, but Olamide Zaccheaus (22 rush yards, 472 receiving yards, six receiving TDs) and Jordan Ellis (410 rush yards, six rush TDs) have seen a lot of touches lately.
When these two schools faced one another a year ago, Miami (FL) got the victory over Virginia, 44-28.
RELATED: Week 7 College Football Betting Odds and Predictions
Betting Pick: Miami (FL) Hurricanes at Virginia Cavaliers
SU Winner – Miami (FL), ATS Winner – Miami (FL)
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Notes
Team Betting Notes
Miami (FL) was favored by 15 points in its previous game and the Over/Under was set at 48.5. The over cashed and Miami (FL) failed to cover in the 28-27 win over Florida State.
Miami (FL) has averaged 4.48837209302326 yards per carry across its past three games and 4.1 over its last two.
Virginia has averaged 4.7 yards per carry over its last three outings and 4.4 over its past two.
Both teams have lost four fumbles this season.
Over its last three contests, Miami (FL) is 1-2 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
Virginia was favored by 7 points in its previous outing and the Over/Under going into it was 53. The over cashed and Virginia failed to cover in the team’s 35-21 defeat to North Carolina State.
Over its last three games, Virginia is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
The Hurricanes offense has produced six pass plays of 40+ yards, while the Cavaliers have accounted for three such plays.
The Miami (FL) defense has allowed two pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Virginia has given up one such play.
The Miami (FL) offense has created nine rushing plays of 20+ yards, while Virginia has created 10 such runs.
The Hurricanes defense has allowed seven rushing plays of 20+ yards, while the Cavaliers have given up five such runs.
The Miami (FL) defense has more than twice as many sacks as Virginia this year (20 versus nine).
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