Miami vs. USF prediction: Hurricanes put an end to Bulls' hot streak

After back-to-back victories against top 25 opponents, USF will look to make it three in a row when it takes on No. 5 Miami on Saturday. The Bulls took out Florida on the road last week after beating Boise State in Week 1 and now have the Hurricanes on their radar.

Before last week, there might have been a chance of Miami overlooking USF. However, college football analyst Josh Pate knows that won’t be happening now.

“Miami knows that they’ve got Florida coming up,” Pate said on Josh Pate’s College Football Show. “They’ve got some tough games. They go to Florida State in a few weeks. The way this game did profile at the beginning of the year is, Alex Golesh could sneak in there if Miami’s not careful.’ Well, just erase all that. Everybody’s attention is on this game.”

The Bulls have certainly earned their respect at this point, but do they have what it takes to pull off another upset? They enter the contest as 17.5-point underdogs according to BetMGM.

Byrum Brown gives USF a dynmaic dual-threat playmaker at quarterback. But in order for the Bulls to find magic again, Pate believes the red zone will play a big factor on both offense and defense.

“I think USF would have to tilt the red zone heavily in their favor,” he said. “Any time they got down there, it needs to be seven. And if Miami gets down there, which they’re going to, threes at most. Somehow, someway, Todd Orlando, his guys gotta come through in the red zone. The second thing is, that Miami secondary has looked good, but it hasn’t been tested nine times yet. So maybe there’s a leak or two that can be found in that Miami secondary. Maybe it’s not quite the impenatrable unit that they want it to be at this point in the season. Maybe you find a staff mismatch. Maybe you force them into some uncomfortable positions.

“Here’s why this is really tough. You’ve got everyone’s attention. The good news is you won last week. The bad news is you won last week. This is the best team you’ve played so far by my estimation. …Teams rarely play up three weeks in a row. USF beat Boise convincingly in Week 1. They go into The Swamp and win last week. That’s maybe one of the biggest wins in the history of that program. Now you’re gonna go play Miami and you’ve gotta be up a third straight week. Normally, it doesn’t happen. Even for the great programs.”

In the end, Pate believes a more experienced quarterback in Carson Beck compared to what USF faced last week in DJ Lagway could be the difference leading to a Miami win. He picked the Hurricanes to win handily and put an end to the Bulls’ run.

“Carson Beck knows how to take what you give him,” Pate said. “DJ Lagway last week, it felt like Florida kept trying to hit home runs all night when all they needed was singles. Carson Beck will single you to death. …Now, he can pop it over the top if you give it to him, but they don’t care. They’ll go on 13-play drives all night and be fine with it. Miami’s got takeover potential on both sides of the line of scrimmage in this game.”

“…I don’t think this is a good spot at all for USF. I fully credit them for making this game matter to the degree it does. I’m gonna take Miami to win and cover. I think it’s like a 20-point win. By the way, if USF loses this game and anyone in their right mind looks and says, ‘See, told you they shouldn’t have been ranked that high last week,’ you are muted — maybe even blocked — from the channel.”