No. 13 Miami has become among the most high-profile success stories early in the college football season, starting the 2020 ACC campaign by lighting up the scoreboard in prime-time wins versus Louisville and Florida State. The enjoyment around DEriq King and Year 2 of the Manny Diaz age reached a fever pitch heading into last weeks top-10 showdown with No. 1 Clemson, alas, Miami fell 42-17 to the Tigers and showed to still be in the second tier of the sport.
Not all is lost for a program that wishes to refocus its efforts on completing in the top 2 spots of the ACC standings and getting another chance at Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, however the margin for mistake has minimized with one conference loss simply 3 games into a 10-game conference schedule. Pitt is also handling some moving expectations after a second-straight one-point loss in ACC play.
One week after quiting a last-minute goal to NC State in a 30-29 home loss, the Panthers lost on a missed extra point in overtime at Boston College. All of a sudden, the buzz from a 3-0 start with wins against Syracuse and Louisville has leveled off a bit, but there are a pair of opportunities to change that with 2 ranked opponents showing up next on the schedule: at Miami this week and in your home versus Notre Dame on Oct. 24..
Storylines.
Miami: Clemson had the ability to hold Miamis offense in check in a method that no other opponent has actually been able to in 2020 as the Hurricanes totaled just 210 backyards of offense, with 56 of those yards came on one DEriq King run. Take that a person explosive play out of the mix, and Miami averaged less than 3 lawns per play on the remainder of the video games snaps. Was it that Miamis offense had actually pumped up numbers from its very first three video games or did Clemsons defense turn in a championship-level performance. The only real test of that will be how Miami responds offensively, and while Pitts defense does not carry the talent or reputation of the Tigers, there are future pros (security Paris Ford, for one) and a profile that ranks in the leading 5 nationally (with Clemson) in yards per play allowed. One concern in specific that stood out was Miamis pass receivers having a hard time to get separation versus Clemson protective backs, so keep an eye on that fight as an area where the matchup hinges..
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Take that one explosive play out of the mix, and Miami balanced less than 3 lawns per play on the rest of the video games snaps. Was it that Miamis offense had actually pumped up numbers from its very first 3 video games or did Clemsons defense turn in a championship-level efficiency. The only true test of that will be how Miami reacts offensively, and while Pitts defense does not carry the talent or reputation of the Tigers, there are future pros (safety Paris Ford, for one) and a profile that ranks in the top five nationally (with Clemson) in backyards per play permitted. They rank No. 1 in the ACC and No. 4 nationally in sacks per game (5.0) as well as No. 1 in the ACC and No. 2 nationally in hurrying defense. The Panthers can strike some huge plays with Kenny Pickett and the passing game, however it does not have the volatility to hang in a shootout with Miami.
Pitt: When two points are the only thing separating you from a 5-0 start, theres two ways to cut it: either the group is much better than its record or there are problems preventing it from satisfying its potential. Now for Pitt, the response is practically definitely the latter, and the frustrating part is the situational nature of those problems. The Panthers have one of the very best down-to-down defenses in the nation, ranking No. 1 in the ACC and No. 4 in the nation in backyards per play allowed. They rank No. 1 in the ACC and No. 4 nationally in sacks per game (5.0) along with No. 1 in the ACC and No. 2 nationally in rushing defense. So how does that team end up allowing approximately 30.5 points in its two current losses? The answer is not the offense as an entire, however specifically how the offense has had a hard time on 3rd downs. Versus FBS competition (four ACC games), Pitt has actually converted simply 25 of its 68 third-down attempts. That 36.8% rate ranks No. 55 nationally among 76 FBS groups that have actually played up until now in 2020. The Panthers have more third-down attempts than any other group with four FBS games under its belt thanks to a defense that continues to get stops, however they are converting them at a rate that constantly hands the ball right back to the challenger. If you wish to recognize one area where Pitts offense can begin to carry more of the teams weight in these ACC video games, third downs has to be where the conversation starts..
Viewing details.
Date: Saturday, Oct. 17|Time: Noon ETLocation: Hard Rock Stadium– Miami Gardens, FloridaTV: ACC Network|Live stream: fuboTV (Try for totally free).
Video game prediction, picks.
More than anything, I like the under in this game, thinking that an early kickoff in Hard Rock Stadium sets up for the type of rock fight that Pitt desires in order to have a shot to win. The Panthers can strike some big have fun with Kenny Pickett and the passing game, but it lacks the volatility to await a shootout with Miami. So if Im believing its lower-scoring and we have a double-digit spread, Im on the underdog as a concept play. Choose: Pitt (+10.5 ).
