Game Time: Saturday, Sept 1st, 3:30 PM EST
TV: ABC, ESPN 2
Betting Line: MIA -2
Total: 44
Betting Odds from Bookmaker
Miami
Stephen Morris won the QB job after suffering a scare when he had to undergo back surgery and miss spring practice. He spent the last two years as mostly a backup, but won the starting job and is ready to do big things.
“If we’re going slow in a practice…he’ll change the whole practice vibe,” OL Shane McDermott said. “He’s a very vocal leader..taking this team in the right direction.”
That direction will be first tested Saturday against a tough Boston College team, that is a slight underdog to the vaunted Hurricanes program. College football oddsmakers have set the line only 2 points in the Hurricanes’ favor.
Mike James is the primary ball carrier for the ‘Canes and while he won’t exactly fill Lamar Miller’s shoes, he should come pretty close. Also, Randy “Duke” Johnson was one of the major recruits of the 2012 class, so the future is bright at RB.
At WR, the Hurricanes return only 55 percent of their yardage from last year, a team which ranked 8th in the ACC in passing yardage with 232.1 per game. Rashawn Scott and Allen Hurns will do the bulk of the receiving, though Miami’s strength should be on the ground. Offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch said he will rely more on his TEs for some catches, because last year the position accounted for only 29 receptions and 270 yards.
Only two return from the OL: Brandon Linder and Jon Feliciano.
The roster is young and the Hurricanes are rebuilding right now. They have good talent, though, with a top-10 recruiting class. The distractions of NCAA sanctions impending may be a bit of the problem for the team emotionally, and last year’s 6-6 record looks to be about par for the course this year, too.
Boston College
Doug Martin is the fourth offensive coordinator at BC in the last three seasons. He’s a specialist at developing QBs so it’s going to be worth keeping an eye on how he develops Chase Rettig. Rettig is one of the better in the ACC and he has a high football IQ. He just needs to work on developing more consistency and stronger fundamentals. If he can, the sky is the limit for Rettig.
TB Montell Harris was dismissed in the spring, so that will hurt. He was the all time leading rusher for the Eagles with 3,735 yards in his career. The dismissal was simply filed as “a repeated violation of team rules.” “Deuce” Finch becomes the featured RB now and he had 705 yards on 157 carries in 11 games last year, and received the majority of the carries while Harris was out with an injury. Finch will have to work on fumbling less, as his two fumbles against FSU cost BC the game. The OL is strong as always for the Eagles.
BC’s 4-8 record last year may have been bad, but Athlon magazine predicts an even worse year with a 3-8 prediction, and a 1-7 ACC record forecasted. They had 12 straight bowl appearances prior to last year, and this year may mark the second in a row that they don’t make it.
Miami Betting Trends:
The Hurricanes are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 road games and 6-2 ATS in their last 8 overall. They are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 conference games and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games on turf. The Under is 4-1 in their last 5 on turf.
Boston College Betting Trends:
The Eagles are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 conference games. They are 3-11 ATS in their last 14 home games and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games in September.
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