Miami at Virginia Week 11 College Football Expert Predictions
Posted by Eric Williams on Tuesday,July 26, 2016 8:38, EDT in
With the Virginia Cavaliers and Miami Hurricanes both be heading in a new direction in 2016 under their respective new head coaches, a college football predictions on their Week 11 ACC clash is just what you need. Since haste makes waste, let’s get started.
Here’s a Closer Look At The Miami Hurricanes at Virginia Cavaliers Week 11 College Football Expert Predictions
When: Saturday, November 12
Where: Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, VA
NCAAF Odds: N/A
Bet The Virginia Cavaliers Because…
Because they have the ‘better’ head coach, revenge on their minds and are playing at home. Virginia Cavaliers (4-8 SU, 8-4 ATS) will have a new head coach in former Boise State leader Bronco Mendenhall and that’s a good thing seeing as how the Cavaliers were a complete and utter mess under former head coach Mike London last season.
Still, Mendenhall has his work cut out in rebuilding Virginia, starting at quarterback where Matt Johns stated all 12 games last season but often looked lost and confused while throwing 20 TD passes and 17 interceptions.
The good news is that the Cavs have a really good dual-threat running back in Taquan Mizzell that led the team in catches (75) last season. Better yet, Virginia has a whopping nine offensive linemen that have starting experience. Unfortunately, Mendenhall will have his hands full in trying to improve a defense that finished 96th nationally in points allowed (32.1 ppg) and needs a pair of new starting cornerbacks.
Bet The Miami Hurricanes Because…
Because they have the best quarterback in this conference clash. Miami (8-5 SU, 7-6 ATS) will also have a new head coach in former Georgia leader Mark Richt, but I’m not so sure that’s a good thing seeing as how Georgia perennially underachieved despite having as much talent as almost any team in the country.
The good news is that Richt is inheriting a blossoming star in junior signal-caller Brad Kaaya and has a stable of gifted running backs, starting with 1,000 yard rusher Joe Yearby. Miami also has a future NFL performer in wide receiver Stacy Coley, though there are questions along the offensive line.
Defensively, Miami returns a modest six starters but has a pair of junior defensive ends in Chad Thomas and Al-Quadin Muhammad that both look like they’ll be playing in the NF in the near future. The bad news is that Miami must rebuild its linebacker and secondary after losing six players from the two units with stating experience.
Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction
While there is no point spread for this Week 11 pairing right now, I expect Miami to be favored by approximately three points despite being on the road. Having said that, let me also say that I like Miami to win and cover the college football betting line because of Brad Kaaya and the fact that they’re playing against a Virginia team that will likely be average at best defensively in 2016.
The Hurricanes handled the Cavaliers 27-21 as a 6.5-point home favorite a year ago and have won two of the last three meetings overall despite going 0-3 ATS over the span. While I’m not real fond of Mark Richt, right now, Miami looks like the better team on both sides of the ball.
My Pick: Miami 28 Virginia 24
