Preview: Stanford heads to Hard Rock Stadium to face No. 9 Miami
On Saturday at 4:00 PM PT/7:00 PM ET on ESPN, Stanford football will face No. 9 Miami on the road at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Stanford comes in at 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the ACC while Miami comes in at 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the ACC.
READ: Getting to know Miami: Q&A with CaneSport
ACC Availability Report: Stanford at No. 9 Miami
Last time out: On Saturday, October 18th, Stanford defeated Florida State 20-13. The game came down to the final play from the two yad line. Stanford’s defense got the stop.
RECAP: Stanford escapes with victory over Florida State
On Miami: The Hurricanes are 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the ACC. They most recently lost at home to Louisville 24-21. The week before, they defeated Florida State 28-22 on the road. Florida State was ranked No. 18 in the nation at the time. But obviously, that ranking did not hold as they were unranked before Stanford defeated them. Miami jumped out to a 28-3 lead over Florida State entering the 4th quarter. And then Florida State outscored them 19-0 in the 4th quarter. So, that game wasn’t really as close as the final score indicated. They were in control the whole way.
That said, the fact that they let up at the end indicates that Stanford should keep fighting even if they get down big. But of course, you have to hope to not get down big in the first place. Louisville wasn’t a terrible loss as they are currently ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll. That said, gotta win at home if you are Miami. They were ranked No. 2 entering that game.
Miami’s quarterback Carson Beck has gone 127-174 (73.0%) for 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has also thrown for 1484 yards in six games played. Beck is a grad transfer from Georgia. He’s had a good season overall, but against Louisville he had a terrible game, getting picked off four times without throwing a touchdown pass. So he’s capable of having an off night.
Their top running back is junior Mark Fletcher Jr. He has rushed for 446 yards and six touchdowns on 86 attempts. Sophomore CharMar Brown is the number two running back on the team with 234 yards and four touchdowns on 60 attempts. So they have a nice one-two punch there. Freshman wide receiver Malachi Toney has the most receptions on the team with 38 receptions for 510 yards and three touchdowns. The number two receiver is sixth-year receiver CJ Daniels who has 30 receptions for 343 yards and five touchdowns. They don’t seem to rely on their tight ends much in the receiving game as their top tight end sophomore Elijah Lofton has just 12 receptions for 104 yards and zero touchdowns. So that’s two receptions per game for an average of 8.7 yards per reception. So I find that to be interesting.
The Hurricanes rank 45th in the nation with 32.7 points per game, so they got a solid offense. Their defense though is what’s elite as they rank 13th in the nation allowing just 15.3 points per game. Sixth year defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor has 28 combined tackles (15 solo) for 5.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, so he’s a beast. And then junior defensive lineman Rueben Baine Jr. is one of the top defensive linemen in the nation with 27 total tackles (13 solo), 3.5 tackles for loss, and 2.0 sacks. They also have a really good ball hawk in freshman defensive back Bryce Fitzgerald, who has three interceptions for 43 total yards. Fitzgerald doesn’t even start, coming in for certain packages. That makes his three interceptions all the more impressive.
To touch quickly on their kicker, senior Carter Davis is 19-19 on extra points and 6-6 on his field goals, so he’s been money all season long. He drained a 47-yard field goal to win their opener against Notre Dame 27-24. So, Stanford can’t bank on him opening any doors for him. He’s one of their top players.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is avoid penalties. If they want any chance of making this game interesting, they’re gonna have to play as clean of a game as possible. They cannot expect to win this game if they don’t play a clean game.
Secondly, Stanford has to give quarterback Ben Gulbranson the time he needs to make the throws. All signs point to Gulbranson starting based on all the intel I’ve received. He is capable of making winning throws if given the time, but if he’s under duress, the offense starts to stall. Stanford’s offensive line is going to have a real challenge against Miami’s defensive line.
Third, Stanford needs to be effective in the red zone. Stanford’s red zone defense has been strong this season, doing a great job of not allowing touchdowns. And then offense needs to make the most of opportunities they have in the red zone as well. Red zone success is going to be critical.
Finally, Stanford needs to bring their own pass rush. If guys like Teva Tafiti, Ernest Cooper IV, Clay Patterson, and others are able to bring pressure, that would really help Stanford win this game. Especially after the way Beck got picked off four times last week.
Prediction: Miami is the easy pick here. Stanford is 3-0 at home, but 0-4 on the road. It would beyond shocking if Stanford won this game. Miami 31 Stanford 14 is how I see this one going.
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