The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets fly into Hard Rock Stadium to take on the 10th-ranked Miami Hurricanes in an intriguing ACC Conference match-up this weekend. The game is slated to start on Saturday, October 14th at 3:30 p.m. EST and can be seen on ABC. Coming into this contest, the Miami Hurricanes are a -5.5 point favorite and the total now sits rests at 52.5 points. Currently, the Yellow Jackets sit at 3-1 and the Hurricanes at 4-0. Combined, the two schools have covered seven of their eight games against the spread in 2017.
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets pummeled the North Carolina Tar Heels 33-7 in their previous game. Once again, they used their profound running attack to get the job done. Now, they will take their second-ranked rushing offense (396 ypg) into Miami and try to impose their will on the road.
The Miami Hurricanes are coming off a last-second win over their hated rivals the Florida State Seminoles. The Canes threw a touchdown pass with only seconds left in the game to secure the victory. More importantly, the win ended the Seminoles six-game winning streak over Miami. There is little doubt that this will also be the Miami front seven’s most difficult encounter.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-1)
With the exception of Georgia Tech’s opening day loss to the Tennessee Volunteers, nobody else has really even challenged them. Georgia Tech is on a three-game winning streak and has manhandled their last three opponents. The Yellow Jackets are doing it in their usual fashion, by running the football down their competitor’s throats. In all three wins, Paul Johnson’s offense has scored in the 30’s and racked up almost 400 yards rushing per contest.
Junior quarterback TaQuon Marshall has done it all. As a passer, the run-first player has completed 19 passes for 333 yards with four touchdowns and zero picks. As a runner, he also has been solid. Marshall has taken the ball from under center and rushed for a team-high 523 yards on 102 carries with nine trips to pay-dirt.
Running back KirVonte Benson has also been a force out of the backfield for Georgia Tech. Coming into this conference match-up, he has carried the pigskin 84 times for 476 yards and also has four touchdowns to his credit. Combined with TaQuon Marshall, the Yellow Jackets continue to wear opposing defenses down by the fourth quarter of their games.
Really, only one wide receiver has anything to brag about in this triple-option offense. Wideout Ricky Jeune leads all the Georgia Tech pass catchers with 10 receptions for 171 yards and three trips to the promised land. Like most option teams, the Yellow Jackets rely on the play-action pass to burn defenses after their secondaries cheat toward the front.
It’s so far so good for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defense in 2017. Surprisingly, their secondary is performing just as good as their front seven. So far, the back half ranks 11th in the country allowing only 158 yards a game. The run-stop is also doing just fine. The unit has been limiting school’s running games to only 101 yards per contest (14th). Overall, they are 5th in the nation, surrendering only 260 total yards per game.
(10) Miami Hurricanes (4-0)
The Miami Hurricanes finally got that monkey off their backs when they went into Tallahassee and escaped with a last-second win. the victory propelled them to 4-0 and now they are full of confidence heading into this game against the Yellow Jackets. Unfortunately, the win took its toll because they lost their leading runner Mark Walton for the season with an ankle injury.
Quarterback Malik Rosier is really going to have to step up his game for the remainder of the season. Without Mark Walton in the backfield to relieve some pressure, teams will not be committing so many players to the box. Therefore, Rosier will have to make better reads to be able to find open receivers on the grid-iron. Before the injury to Walton, Rosier has completed 78 passes for 1,074 yards with 11 touchdowns and three picks.
Tailback Travis Homer is going to be the go-to guy for the Miami Hurricanes now that Mark Walton is out for the year. In limited action, Homer has toted the rock 25 times for 212 yards and three scores. I will admit, his 8.1 yards per rush average is pretty impressive no matter how many carries he has in 2017.
Wide receiver Braxton Berrios was a one-man show last week in the victory over Florida State. In that contest, he reeled in eight catches for 90 yards and two scores. He also helped move the chains with four of those catches keeping drives alive on third down. In this year’s campaign, Berrios has five touchdown grabs and 282 receiving yards. Teammates Christopher Herndon IV and Ahmmon Richards have also combined for 20 catches for just over 300 yards with two touchdowns.
The Miami Hurricane defense is the epitome of the term ‘bend but do not break’. The secondary is average at best, allowing 235 yards per game (85th), and the front seven isn’t far behind. The run defense for the Canes is 66th in the country, surrendering 152 yards a shot. Fortunately, they seem to tighten things up when it matters. As a whole, the unit only gives up 17 points a contest (17th).
Prediction
This game is going to be a tough one for the Hurricanes. With Mark Walton out for the season, head coach Mark Richt will need to find new ways to replace the production from the running back position. If not, there will be a lot of pressure on junior signal-caller Malik Rosier to win this game with his arm. That is certainly not what Miami had envisioned when the season started.
The Yellow Jackets are full of confidence after dispatching of their last three opponents with ease. After their opening season debacle, their defense has hunkered down and their running game has destroyed opposing defenses. Also, TaQuon Marshall has been smart with the football, not throwing one interception or fumbling the rock all season long. That recipe has worked wonders over the last three games.
Odds gurus have the Hurricanes as a -5.5 point favorite and I don’t like that figure at all. There are going to be too many unanswered questions for Miami’s offense and their defense struggles a bit against the run. That is a bad thing when this rushing attack comes into Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday. Give me Georgia Tech with the points in this game thank you.
Also, Vegas has this contest’s total at 52.5. That seems a little high to me because I expect the Miami offense to falter a bit while they are learning on the go. Furthermore, the Hurricanes defense doesn’t give up much in the red zone. Either way, I think the better play here is the spread so I’m staying off this over/under. #moneytreesgrow @EriktheHun
Trends
The Yellow Jackets are 4-0 ATS in their last four conference games.
The Yellow Jackets are 8-0 ATS in their last eight games overall.
The Under is 4-0 in the Yellow Jackets last four games overall.
The Hurricanes are 6-0 ATS in their last six conference games.
The Hurricanes are 8-1 ATS in their last nine games overall.
The Under is 4-1 in the Hurricanes last five conference games.
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