#117 R.P.I. Virginia Tech vs. #141 R.P.I. Miami:

Today’s word of the day is… Big Blow.

From: Key Largo (film):

(A 1948 American film noir crime drama)

noun(s).

1. Lauren Bacall’s description or ask of the local Indigenous (Floridian-Indian) Population prior to the arrival of the major storm later in the flick.
2. One of these two teams comes 4 o’clock one way or the other.
3. As someone’s gotta win, right?
   

Miami Head Coach: Mario Manuel Cristobal:  age=52, (2-3 @Miami and 64–63 overall); has a rep’ for oLine, Te’s, and ELITE **** and **** recruiting.
$8,ooo,ooo.oo

Cristobal previously was the head football coach at Florida International University (FIU) from 2oo7 to 2o12 and for the University of Oregon from 2o17 to 2o21. He was an all-conference offensive tackle on the Miami Hurricanes football team that won national championships in 1989 and 1991.

Baller Cristobal played high school football at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami.

He played collegiate football for the Miami Hurricanes football team at the University of Miami, where he was a four-year letterman between 1988 and 1992. Cristobal played under Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson.[1] During his four seasons, the Hurricanes won two national championships (1989 and 1991). In 1992, Cristobal earned First-Team All-Big East Conference as an offensive tackle. Professional Cristobal signed a free-agent contract with the Denver Broncos in 1994 as an undrafted free agent. He played for the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe in 1995 and 1996 before retiring to pursue a coaching career.

Student Cristobal graduated from the University of Miami in 1993 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Miami School of Business and later earned a master’s degree there in 2oo1. Advanced degree props! After his football playing career ended, Cristobal went through a two-year application process to become a U.S. Secret Service agent and was offered a job in 1998. Then a first-year graduate assistant at the University of Miami, Cristobal had even said his goodbyes to fellow Hurricanes players before changing his mind the next morning and deciding to stick with coaching… WoW.

After being an Ass.Coach (Te’s) at Rutgers and back at Miami, On December 19, 2006, Cristobal was named the second head coach in FIU’s history. He also was the first Cuban-American head coach in Division I-A. In three years, he built a pretty puny Florida International University into a winner, including a shocking bowl win in 2o1o. Cristobal carries a reputation of being an excellent recruiter; he wears a customary shirt and tie along with dress pants for each and every game to honor his idol, Joe Paterno. He was also named the fittest coach currently in the FBS according to an ESPN blog.

Cristobal is known as an elite recruiter. During his 4 seasons at Alabama, the Crimson Tide finished with the top-ranked recruiting class each year. Cristobal was a key part of the Tide’s recruiting dominance as the primary recruiter for multiple 5* recruits and future first-round NFL draft picks. In 2o15 Cristobal was named the top recruiter in the nation by 247Sports, ESPN, Rivals, and Scout. SNAP! As a double-Duck, Cristobal signed the 8th, 12th and 6th ranked recruiting classes, which included the #1 overall recruit and future #5 overall draft pick Kayvon Thibodeaux. Geeez…

At P.A.C.-1o Oregon… Cristobal went 35–13 (.729) and then went .667 in the post-season. 3 Conference Championship blings and coaching and recruiting and fitness awards later and he is a very intriguing Miami Hurricane hire. Eye mean… what mo’ do you want(s)?

Cristobal and his wife, Jessica, were married in June 2006 and have two sons,
Mario Mateo and Rocco. Kaylee Cristobal is his niece.

2021 record: 7 up 5 down and 5-3 in the A.c.c.

Miami Defense: (starters back=8)

• 59th in Total D.
• 24th vs. the run!
• 1o5th vs. the throw!
• 116th in Passing Efficiency D!!
• 22nd in Zone D.
• 8 in 1o in dLine Havoc. Da U returns four starters upfront— albeit, someone else’s (very plural) starters up front. In… defensive tackles Akeem Mesidor (West Virginia) and Jacob Lichtenstein (U.S.C.), and continues with ends Mitchell Agude (U.C.L.A.; whispers say this is the closest one to a bell-cow Talent-wise: 4.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss over the last two years), and Antonio Moultrie (U.A.B.). As their four ’21 starters are ’22, gonzo. Do you Dt and De, A, B, see what Eye mean? Miami can still get into your backfield, per Dt1 sophomore Leonard Taylor (legit ***** or 5-star VHT recruit), who led the team with 9.5 tackles for loss (TFL) from his Dt1 spot is back and if he can take the next step this dLine should step things ’22 up at least a decent bit. And, this is the deepest front-4 we will prolly ’22 see. Miami swaps 7-guys in-out and that is nearly a full 2-deep which is hard to modern-era do. As 8 different down-linemen have tallied at least part of a ’22 sack. You will also see a lot of 2-point-stancing in obvious passing downs here. Regulation-sized guys and all four 1’s are sophomoric! Ask 2o24 where they are by then… as they should only get better and better in between.

• 4.5 of 1o in Linebacking Havoc. UCLA’s Caleb Johnson will likely be the team’s leading tackler from his Meg linebacker spot. As Johnson is one of those rarely gifted red-dog (first done by Red Ettinger a linebacker for the University of Kansas, sometime between 1948–195o) or kinfey good pass-rushing MLb1’s. Wanda and Sara linebacking (weak and strong in Tom Landry Ny.Giant parlance) are mo’ Lavern-n-Shirley at the moment. Leading tackler Corey Flagg is back after making 6o stops, and second-leading tackler Wynmon Steed returns, too. However, those two will have to fight for space in a suddenly crowded linebacking corps. That is at least as deep as it is good; if that makes any sense. Tho’ this figures to be hard to separate beyond a breakout or two at OLb on either side of: Caleb. Flagg is prolly your rally-around guy here. Everyone else is foible-prone or worse. Lb’s are normalized on size.

• 2.75 outta 1o in Secondary Havoc. West Virginia’s Daryl Porter will all but have a corner job locked down on the other side of Tyrique Stevenson; (dinged, Coach God Bless). So, the edges could end the year being edgy enuff, granted. (Potential) thumper and downright towering: 6′5″, 224-lb. super-sophomore James Williams (history of dings & dents though) has the upside to be a terror at safety for what is growing into a relatively deep position. There are whispers he will hybrid load up at a Rover or Bandit or quasi OLb spot. D U is not hurting here as 1’s or as depth go alike. Solid hind-4 that could morph/work its way into being a credible ’23 strength before the same is all said-n-done. As not less than 4 (previous) starting Cb1’s all returned. And Stevenson is about as lockdown Cb1 as it gets— when he and his committee of one decide to be. S1, Kamren Kinchens has a nose for the ball. Tho’ this is the antithesis of the dLine, as Miami is (now) very thin in the hind-4 here. Tho’ they are also very big here, really height or tall secondary with good frames/right mass to boot.
• D overall: In their season finale, the Hurricanes started two freshman safeties, a freshman cornerback, a freshman linebacker, and a redshirt freshman defensive tackle. Inexperience ’21 hurt them quite a bit, though it should now ’22 experience-curve straighten out at least a bit for it. (Film-study): …tacking is not their thang. Like, really need fundamental work here. Nor is defending much of anything downfield. Although, they are pretty dang right along the LOS (line-of-scrimmage). This is code for… can you protect for at least “2-Mississippi” in order to work a more northward or vertical look? As there are just all sorta rotational, releasing, and vacating (zone) errors downfield here. Very outta sync upon breaking tape is this Miami defensive backfield.
  Miami will use some base Cover-2 (halves) standard looks, or some pressing on edge with a deep Centerfielder batting clean-up behind it all. They also have a medium-man look and this in theory covers all three layers of defending intensity. Tho’ Eye literally watched da U’s D not know who had the ball on play-fakes vs. U.n.c. This is a lotta thing(s) folks, and yet coaching the verb not being among ’em. Very confusing secondary, nearly Jr.High looking at times; so I stopped watching. As I literally saw ‘cane defenders turn their back to the dang ‘ball; and literally have no idea where they were. Like a Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice head-spinning defense of Michael Keaton fame. Finally, this is a quick front-7, that is their one saving grace.

• ∑ (summary): returning D production=80% (22nd on D). Jahfari Harvey dLine is your conflict defender here; reasonably useful in zone blitz to boot. Kevin Steele has been the defensive coordinator for a buncha Power Five programs. The 64-year-old veteran has S.e.c., A.c.c., and Big-8 checkmarks dotting his résumé galore. So, he has experience even if his returning halt-unit does not. As graduation and the transfer portal ripped through the U’s starting defensive Top-11. Now Coach k.Steele has to reboot with new guys with at least six transfers about to play huge roles for a defense that was shockingly mediocre, couldn’t stop the pass, and desperately needs to make the Turnover Chain matter again. That is all, no biggie there, right? As Offenses failed to score just two times in the ’21 red zone. Central Connecticut State failed on its one attempt, and Duke misfired on an FGA try. Everyone else came away with points. 98%. That is how often teams scored after getting inside the 2o, compared to 83% in 2o2o and 81% in 2o19. That is not a high Q-score or dead sexxy look. It is however an inviting or giving the “milk away” look. As Miami now must mooooover over to a few denials and stop being so red-zone, pink. They have improved here, tho’ they just plum let go before you get into the red zone itself. Krazy, ain’t it?

From Chris Coleman:

“They rank No. 97 in the country in completions of 30+ yards allowed against FBS teams (9), No. 112 in completions of 40+ yards (6), and dead last (No. 130) in completions of 50+ yards allowed. They have also allowed five receptions of 60+ yards and four of 70+ yards.“

Unreal, is it not???

Defensive letter-grade:

IF/when this ’22 ‘Cane D stops canning itself downfield on blown assignments or poor Coach Euclidean geometry on stops? They have playmakers here; and they do damage to you according to the same. This D is better than most will think; less that 1 or 3 plays per game, stink. Lowest possible C+++ ‘ish, as they inflict negative things on you (and on themselves) alike.

Miami Offense: (returning starters=6)

• 22nd in Total O!
• 69th in ground O.
• 15th in aerial O!!
• 72nd in Passing Efficiency O.
• 73rd in Zone O.
• Rb1: Or maybe better stated: Co-Rb1: Jaylan Knighton. 5′10″, 190 lb., Fr2., who was a true-Fr. last year. Who was suspended (off-field) for a month earlier last year. Thus far this season, jay.K’ was Rb5 for all of America per Rivals and the 88th-ranked baller overall via ESPN.com. That counts. As does his… having ended his scholastic career as the all-time leading rusher in Broward County history with 5,15o! yards. Yup; that does not suck as they put up pinball wizard typea offensive numbers down there. Snubbing ‘bama and Klempson who were apparently pretty hot for his work here. Did catch a bit in H.S. too, and has snagged: 15 receptions for 231-yards and 18-points thus far. Now mix in the team ground-gaining alpha swagg with: 493-yard and 30-points and you have got a very alluring 2o24 multi-faceted Rb1 on your hands— if Knighton stays that long of course. Good speed here, tho’ Harris might have just a little greater speed if that helps any. Tho’ other than F.s.u., Jaylan had been on the come of late here. And he does seem to run well/hard 4Q late. Lotta depth here too, four 2o2o guys returned at ≥4.5 ypg. Rb1c: Henry Parrish, Jr., a Third-Year Sophomore home state returnee from Ole Miss. might want a word of three with all this Rb1, this. Henry nets about ~25% of his touches via the airwaves, so this is indeed a dual-threat Hb or Tb. 1oth ranked Rb in America from Rivals; that does not suck. His 4.65 forty, however, is barely okay. And this is his 3rd college in as many years as a Pitt decommit. Did tab a AAAAAAAA or octa-A FLA title bling along with nearly 2.5K rushing his senior scholastic season. So, there is that as well… and yet most peeps are waiting for this one to put it all together. He crops some fresh twist-top swagg up top (looks a little like Edgerrin James for it). And being Rivals No. 149 overall baller tends to end well as well. As does leading Miami in rushing (378-yards).

  

• Qb1: Tyler Van Dyke, is a 6′4″, 229 lb. well-built Pivot from: Glastonbury, Ct., and is putting in pretty solid work. I mean to be working So.FLA collegiate green card at least one season premature. As he was merely: a consensus four-star prospect by ESPN, Rivals, and 247 Composite. He was only ranked No. 1o5 nationally (overall) in the ESPN300. And he was just rated the No. 2 pro-style quarterback nationally and the top player in Connecticut by ESPN. That is all, he sucks; cut him now! While tallying: 4,600 passing yards and 39 passing touchdowns over his only two varsity seasons; which only won him one A bling ring. And that is the only caveat I could find, he came up scholastically in a single-A small-state environment that may have un-wooed a few teams away. As T.V.D. had good regional and a few national offers, just not the super whooper ones to show for it. As his 5.o forty time paired with his very kinetic 4.4 flat 20-shuttle time just does not make any twitchy sense? The vertical jump (28″) is a one-hand dunk, not two. So, he’s quick/darty tho’ not a Gentrification or case-Qb taking it to the house on a long field. Tho’ Van Dyke is a Pro’ or pocket-Qb1 via trade. What you’d cocksure and willing to force fits early on in a career expect. So, the –7-rushing yards is not a super shocker. What is a bit shocking is his inconsistency. 50% passing, 51% passing, and then all the way up to 81% passing. As T.V.D. is all over the place in-year so far. Van Dyke is a better home-field chucker by a whopping +16%! So, a Hawk or Animal road-warrior this kid is not yet. He is a ∼70% hurler for the 2Q and 3Q. And yet is only ∼58% on the bookends or in 1Q and 4Q. Go fig’ on that? Very strange guy to study as a much-vaunted Qb1 goes. I’d wager the Miami Staff feels the same way too. Finally, I went back and looked it up, similar to the stinker game probability Eye ran on our very own g.Wells (his now being p=.37 or 37% odds)— T.V.D. is a bit bad game prone. p=.4 exactly or a 40% shot that he pitches a poor game on Saturday over in the New River Valley. As he has hit on 51% of his passes or less in 6 games in his 15-game career. That Qb1 version of T.V.D. we might could sneak… (pardon the mixing of sporting metaphor).
• (UPDATE: And Qb1 T.V.D. is coming in sizzling hawt-hawt-hawt… as Tyler Van Dyke, just passed for 496 yards and three big TDs. This is at a school with a long list of quality Pivots. Whereby Van Dyke’s passing yardage was the second most in program history! Dang…)
• …and don’t forget the Netflix Valdosta, Ga. football factory kid whose parents literally split up to keep him transferring/eligible from Cali’ is now your Qb2 here (Marital Patron Saints bless Mr. and Mrs. Garcia) Helluva a price to pay to play… and their son has a history of ankle rolls to boot (St.Philip bless).
• Wr’s/Te1: Stud-Slotman: Mike Harley is gone (C’town Brownie). Star-Outside-Wr: Charleston Rambo is gone (Charlotte Panther). Charleston Rambo set single-season records for catches and receiving yards in his lone season at Miami, and Mike Harley finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in receptions. That’s… all. In lieu of dem… back-ups: Key’Shawn Smith, Xavier Restrepo (foot dent, (OUT 5-6 weeks) St.Sebastian bless), and Te1: Will Mallory must now step it up. Miami is nothing if not catch-corps Te(s) deep. Several fringe Pro prospects live here. 4th-year Jr., Frank Ladson Jr., from Clemson -if good-to-go- is a tempting Portal pick-up. Tho’… the hip injury and then a noticeable and Y-chromosome dreaded groin surgery (St.Elmo bless) is a concern here. The fact that Franky was a consensus Top-5o recruit who topped out at 23rd in the Nation per USAToday is not (a concern). There is talent here… as his deep-threat Sunshine State H.S. digits attest. Te1 Will Mallory is solid, nearly very at times; he is not an easy Slot match-up for us either. Rb’s will catch throw-fit looks too.

• oLine: Enter Mario Cristobal, an O-line coach by nature who brought in a few nice parts from the transfer portal –G1’s Jonathan Denis and Logan Sagapolu from Oregon– to go along with some already strong options. 60% of the ’21 1’s or starters return. Like… Ot1: Zion Nelson, who has N.f.l. upside at blindside Tackle, Jakai Clark is a solid veteran C1, and D.J. Scaife can work at either guard or tackle. The starting five will be as strong as it has been in a while, and the pass protection is about to be a whole lot better. It is the run shapes that must truly shape up or Hurricane ship out (3.7 yards per carrying in ’21 says so). Depth does not say as much, and experience is shallow off the bench as well. As TFL (tackles for a loss) or negative stops allowed have been a real live bugbear in the ‘Canes ointment of late. And pass-protect has not been much better than that. As the buzzwords are: ‘consistency’ (or ’21 lack thereof) and ‘nasty’ (or, the ’22 need for the same). Time=tell here… although I would have to suspect they do improve, as that’s about the only way for them to block group goes. Though they really do some run-shapes nasty upfront.
  UPDATE: Left o-Tackle Zion Nelson (knee, St.Culbreth bless). has missed time due to injury and has struggled when he is on the field. That is obviously hurting the Miami offensive line and putting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke under pressure. Oluwaseun (right-G1) and Clark (C1) are also not less than dinged-up; Coach God bless. Finally, this is a heterogeneous line upon breaking tape—a couple of nimble guys, a couple of physical guys, and a ‘tweener. 2-pairs not 5-of-a-kind.

• ∑ (summary): returning O production=63% (71st on O). In theory, this is supposed to be a: “tough” and an “innovative” offense; as it pretty much was out in P.A.C.-10 Oregon Trail terms.
  Yes, they are on the midway side of the Learning and Experience Curves in Offensive terms alike. Yes, their above metrics are inflated by the damage they did to poot Bethune-Cookman in the one-hole to open a 70-point beatdown effort. Still yet, the rush game has averaged only 4.o yards per carrying, and the offense as a whole has just 2o plays that have gone for 2o+ yards (tied for 1o8th in the country). New car scent gone gesundheit notwithstanding, they should be better than this, as they are more individually talented than this. Again, ‘individually’. This new scheme has also asked Van Dyke to do more classic pocket play, which is hard to be good at with a bad offensive line. Simply put, Miami has a talent problem up front. Cristobal cut his teeth as an offensive line coach, and yet he has gummy bears trying to keep T.V.D. upright. As in… Van Dyke was even benched in Week 5 against Middle Tennessee after throwing two interceptions. That is in-flux or fluxed up; take thy, pick.
  (Flm-study): 10 times ‘cane Wr’s have carried the mail so far. And 12 times they have dropped throws right in their lap(s). Or lapse as concentration goes. Miami works a lot of the mid-range and shorter field. They are not as Michael Irving long-gone downfield as they used to be. Miami courts a base ‘gun look with a Halfback offset and 3-wide; sometimes with a H-back/Te in a Wing look. Miami does employ a very elastic O. They stretch you E-W and N-S alike out to 20 to 25-yards beyond the line of scrimmage. They will work shot Left-Coast quickie type thingys. They even conduct negative patterns or guys running back toward the Qb to create a behind-the-line-of-scrimmage elasticity. This is a creative O, and you need to stay ‘home’ for it until the ball is committed downfield. Hero ball here will only create vacancies for their underneath guys to backside find and fill. Very interesting throw-fits to be sure; fun to study even. Rushing wise the Canes are inconsistent— though their H-back/Te1 crossbuck reminded me of Pitt’s a bit. They did not fold very well to the 2nd-layer however (i.e.., not picking up linebackers). Not as much downhill gap-over angular push either. Lotta turn-n-shield type of looks, and this will dislodge Cane oLinemen backward at times. And not particularly super-physical by-the-bye. Seem to like old-school off-T plays; kinda stretchy or slower developing patience oriented too.
• O overall: 48% run:pass 52% mix. (A rare pass 1st tilt here). Wr4, Xavier Restrepo is your secret sauce offender here. Inconsistent guy who can hit long when he does make contact with the pitch. The Miami offense has the parts, and it has the offensive coordinator. Josh Gattis is coming in from Michigan and he is a legit Red Dawn or “Wolverine” as coaching the verb goes. Though the coaching whispers rumor that this O will only go as far as it seriously needs to improve Oline goes. Van Dyke finished the ’21 season with six straight games of at least 316 passing yards and three passing touchdowns, highlighted by a 426-yard performance as he outdueled Heisman Trophy finalist Kenny Pickett to upset the then-No. 17 Pitt Panthers. The catch-44 here is… Cristobal has at least a little bit of a micromanager rep’ for how he handles O’s. Kinda red-state, kinda close to the vest; or at least a bit risk-averse.
  UPDATE: This (Coach God Bless) is a dinged, dented, or just plum OUT (4 kids) ‘cane O right now. In particular along the front line, at Rb and at Wideout alike. A cruel mistress this terminal contact sport.

Offensive letter-grade:

Well, T.V.D. is the straw that stirs the drink here. He gets going and it opens everything else up. That version is the highest possible B+++ hard to key hard to cover offensive set. The other flatter or less sprite version is a C- or so. Which version shows up nobody knows?

Hurricane Special Teams: (both return)

Miami is a stellar 2nd best in Net Punting and so is 6th-year, r-Sr. season Lou Hedley (dinged: ‘leg strain’, St.Nikon help). As there is experience, there is very experienced and then there is… Lou.  If this Lou shows up on your front porch to court your inexperienced prize daughter? Deadbolt the door. Load the shotgun— as this is about as nutty looking of a JuCo transfer and converted Aussie Rules semi-pro inked-up tat’ guy as there is. Seriously. This guy has more neck-ink than Queequeg did and a biker-gang apprentice in training this one must be. Even JAX of SOA agrees. Lou is 26 years young, and he got his come-ups during his eight years as a scaffolder in the middle of the Australian desert! Does the ink act as S.P.F.-55? 6′5″, 228 lbs. of raw imported Aussie lumber. Finally, this is the one P nobody wants to fight. And oh yes, he averages 25 ypc on fake punts! Lou has a good -if not a great-leg- career-long of 6o with very good hangtime. He was the #1 ranked P according to 247sports and he suffers no career blocks. And yah; Eye do not wanna Rough this Punter, either. All-America recognition back in 2o2o might just be a Sunday tix hint to boot. This kid is your midway Ray Guy favorite to be sure. He is helped bull-market his Sunday stock this season.

• 72nd in Punt Returns | and a gold medal winning 1st best in KO returns. wowow!!! Key’Shawn Smith could very well be 1st-string All-A.c.c. here, already!
• 12th best in punt coverage | tho’ 97th and in suicide-squad.
• has blocked 1 kick and allowed 1 kick to be blocked.
• has blocked 0 punts and allowed 0 punts to be blocked.

If the ‘throat-slashing’ Surname is familiar, recall this is the other one… this one is: Andres Borregales 5′11″, 175 lb. rookie or nugget or debut younger-bro’ one. LOL… as Eye barely caught this as they really do look very well alike. This one has the long-ass dangle earring look on both sides… not sure what that is 2021 urban-dictionary code for? Tho’ I do know that the kicking-D.N.A. appears to be pretty heady, here. I also know that being… rated a three-star prospect by 247Sports and Rivas. That being ranked the No. 2 kicker in the country by 247Sports and a top-300 player in Florida by 247 Composite. And that being listed as the No. 7 kicker nationally by Kohl’s Kicking… does not suck. As his 73% overall is not the worst t-Soph. year bootstrap start I have ever scouted. This one does have a very legit mid to high-50s range, so you need not short-punt here if you long-FGA prefer. He is still 5×5 or 100% at 56 of 56 P.A.T.’s with no blocks so far and no fakes either. Although it is curious that Miami has shorted his F.G.A.’s down to 48-yards max’ ever since. Though if this Borregales bro’ finds a bit more consistency, he will weaponize the leg game of Da U all by himself. The only difference I can ’22 see is that he seems a little streaky thus far this season.

Special Teams letter grade:
Less just one block allowed and one KO-return surrendered? They could be footsies good here, possibly, VERY. As Miami has improved in everyone is special these days terms. And punting itself makes them the highest possible B+++, which would be an easy flat A, less two-shimmy kinda plays.

READER’s note: …this is a very explosive team; all over. IF/when they keep their basics, fundamentals, and unity-driven powder, dry.

Unit Rankings:

1. Miami O/Miami D (tied).
2. VT D.
3. VT O.

X-factor(s):

• motive: Eye just do not know. Each team post-season needs a get-to-even (MiaFla) or near-even (VeeTee) win here. Tho’ which 1st-year big-whistle can blow his team up with a restoring and revitalizing pre-game speech? EDGE=???
• weather: could be a stunning mid-Fall New River Valley October day; not what you want as the lesser Talented team who needs to muddy the game up, however, EDGE=da U.
• health/off-field: VeeTee’s health is about average more/less, maybe a C— if you are strict. Miami’s however is less no matter how strict you grade it. First EDGE=VT all year too.
• penalties: Da U does not score well here historically. And yet they are close to 90-spots mo’ disciplined than the Hokies this season. EDGE=da U.
• intangibles: And they score even worse on T.O.P. (time of possession) of late. Again, until this year, as this year they are up over 40-spots in T.O.P. and in all-important Turnover Margin compared to the home team. EDGE=da U.
• fatigue: VeeTee is starting to wear down here… seven-straight-work-weeks is wearying just like dat. Miami is up +7 (on a BYE before U.n.c.) on R&R here. EDGE=da U. (Via a pretty decent amount too).

…inpowerHERment 1o1.
According to the new-age Blue Chip Index… Miami courts 511% more blue-chippers than V.Tech.

🔷🔷🔷🔷 or 🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷 ballers!

wowow!

…chippy or not, you do the maths.

 

Illation, conclusion(s) and OPT digits:

Number of Hurricanes who could Cat’ V  @Tech=16

the takeaway:

The Takeaway is …it is pretty tough to not be taken with Miami’s future tense here.

He was born there, he played there, he was a key assistant coach there, and he even got his first head coaching gig there –even if it was a few miles to the left from Coral Gables at FIU.

The U may or may not (yet) be back…

…though this hiring seems like a strong fit— if not a strong start. Cue: Coach Cris’.

---

As this coaching get is a bit get for the Hurricanes. A 10-8 round in their favor be yeh friend or foe. The on-field staff he has put together is loaded with former head coaches like Charlie Strong, and the off-field staff includes Pro Football Hall of Famers Jason Taylor and Ed Reed.

Well, unless he goes… Fe, Fi, Fo… Fu’?

As “yes” it is too premature to be sure… granted. Though this is a hellUva a hire on paper; if games were only fought and won, there…

As last year these Hurricanes charted narrow and painful L’s to North Carolina, virginia, and Florida State by a grand total of eight points  –there were some crazy negative finishes– and yet now there’s stability, experience, and leadership at the top. Not to mention expectations…

…did I mention the return to Great Expectations, yet?

As So.Beach is one Dickens of a place to… Coach.

***

xxx‘s & ooo‘s:
Hard to say… neither Staff super fits what they inherited and are systemic Work(s) In Process in accounting terms.

formulae here favors:
The team with the better/quicker start. As you must wonder just how shop-worn each set of beards could be at this stAGE of the year-to-date.

Ray Stevens: “They call him the streak!”
Virginia Tech is trying to avoid what would be its third four-game L streak in the last five seasons. The Hurricanes have not dropped four in a row since 2o18. This is only the second time a Hokies-Hurricanes game will happen with both teams entering on a winless streak of at least three games. Something gotta give, right?

WWI: “The Great War”…

Trench Warfare favors… the greater Stuff and Power rates of da U.
As this is not what you Whiskey a Go Go want.

permutations:

1. Δ1=33%, Miami wins via some or no credit of their own.
2. Δ2=33%, V.Tech wins via some or no credit of their own.
3. Δ3=34%, nobody wins— at least not in regulation and this one heads to nobody wants to really win here extra innings. Maybe?

#ChallangeA.c.c.epted… there are 1,440 minutes in a day and we need all sixty full-time to win here.

the skinny…

Lo.FM (Long-field Management©)

• Miami is a rather reasonable 35th best in 1st-down O inflicted | whereas VeeTee is a now centrist 67th best in 1st-down D allowed.
• VeeTee is a pretty lowly 91st best in 1st-down O inflicted | whereas Miami is a downright salty 8th best in 1st-down D allowed!!
• Miami is a useful looking 32nd best in 3rd-down O converts inflicted | whereas VeeTee is a downright thrifty looking 9th best in 3rd-down converts allowed.
• VeeTee is an impoverished looking 1o3rd best in 3rd-down O converts inflicted | whereas Miami is a middle of the isle 6oth best in 3rd-down D converts allowed.
• Lo.FM Analysis:
  Well, Miami won close to everything here. In particular, if their D whoops our O in the opening ‘hike’ of a given series of downs. That would make fo’ one tough row to, hoe. EDGE=da U, (a solid advantage too).

the optics…

TTT (Time To Throw©)

• The Canes are a serviceable 52nd best in TFL (tackles for a loss) allowed O | whilst the Hokies are a northward bound 17th best in TFL inflicted D!
• The Hokies are an appropriate looking 48th in TFL-allowed O | whilst the Canes are a penetrating 22nd best in TFL-inflicted D.
• The Canes are a dullard looking 69th best in sacks allowed O | whilst the Hokies are a slipping 81st best in sacks inflicted D.
• The Hokies are a modest 53rd-best in sacks allowed O | whilst the Canes are a swarming 18th-best in sacks inflicted D.
• TTT Analysis:
  Well, the TFL part canceled itself out. Qb Sacks however does favor MiaFla. As this too could cost us some measure of field position vs. the chain gang itself. EDGE=da U, (decently).

3-game splits…
In their last three contests, the F’n Gobblers are down in a whopping –54o total yardage hole! With the Canes actually up double-nickels (+55) aggregate yards over the same timeframe.

In the last three games… the Miami O has shed about 60-yards per contest; nearly all of it is on the ground. Whereas the V.Tech D has declined even further. With a brutal 140 extra yards, surrendered and a centennial or 1oo of dat is down in the dirt. W0W.

In the last three games… the Hokies O has softened by nearly –30 yards per game not gained; most of it down on the ground. Whereas the Cane D has softened even mo’, or by right at 60 further yards per game allowed; pretty close to equally run vis-á-vis pass worsening split.

H/A splits…

Out on the road and oddly enuff, although the Miami O coastally erodes by a hurtful near 80-yards per game not gained as the visitor, they do run better in your house by +25-yards per game. As their passing fancy really falls off a cliff when traveling! The V.Tech D rallies to the ball a bit mo’ @home. What with –80 fewer yards allowed/game. Close to an even split, although a little mo’ combative on the ground if you need to know.

Sleeping @home in their own beds and the Hokies O only moves by a whopping 18′ per game or a nominal exchange itself. The Canes D however (somehow) stiffens by a handsome –100 yards less per game allowed as road warriors. Nearly all the betterment is via an improved visiting throw defense.

Our handy dandy friend, the so-called: Forum Guide of Graham Houston fame is merely a four score, that’s (28-point) VomiT in this one here. As both teams got beaten by U.n.c., and only one team got truly, launched by the same.

Miami Projected S&P+: 2oth.
Miami Projected S&P wins: 9.o W’s.

the call…

…always tough to know which Miami set of Hurricane chasers the given Coral Gables big-whistle will whistle 900 miles to sojourn between up?

The superior version is prolly an out-Talent us Bridge Too (’22) Far.

The not sure when the game actually tips-off version would not technically be beyond our depth running @home in Lane. However, we do have a thinner margin of error (i.e., not as many playmakers) in play nevertheless.

This is most suggestive in a game of two squadrons seemingly set on not landing their
A-game punch(es) this campaign.

–oOo–

The rather interesting if not inviting part would be… what if VT just decided to culturally out-hit Miami?
Miami seems available to this upon breaking tape to me and it would be an epic sign of a locker room just beginning to awaken and figure itself…. out.

That is how Eye’d play it, rough, rougher, roughest.
Chin-check Miami, and test their whiskers.

See if they are chinny or not?

🥊—->🧔

the sportlight...

Here in the sportlight… the spotlight itself has been a bit cracked of late for these two former Big East stalwarts.

Da U limps in and VeeTee gimps in at a…

...collective 65-days combined since either team won anything in 2o22 terms.

And that’s not good gents.

Although Miami seems the closer club what with being mired in a –24-point divot against the even deeper depth of V.Tech being marooned in a –7o-point hole for each squad’s 65-days worth of troubles.

♥  ♣  ♦ ∪

Meaning… you could wonder out loud if both of these teams have now figured out how to do just enough to get beat. And you could further wonder out loud if either team knows how to do enuff to, win.

(Meaning^2… maybe one of these two will give this one away?)

Then, Eye found this little nugget… unlike the Hokies who have actually led a bit during their three-game skid; in contrast, the Hurricanes have not held a lead while going o-3. That is the longest single-season stretch without a lead by Miami since it went 180 minutes without a lead to close the 2oo7 season. If Miami does not hold a lead Saturday, it’ll be the longest such drought for the Hurricanes since 197o!

The Gobblers lead once vs. w.V.u., once vs. U.n.c., and actually twice vs. Pitt. Could this hint that Vah.Tech is (actually) clinically better off or closer to breaking threw or
through of these downtrodden, two?

🤔🏈🤔

This all conspires to connote, posit and aver an ugly scrum to me.
A race to 20-odd-points. First team there? Wins.

the closer…

…in all candor?

One of these two campaigns is prolly about one banana peel or two removed from being closed for 2o23 repairs. As both teams lack traction and both teams seem ‘bear’ Grylls “slippy” indeed.

Neither team blows you away.
Either team could stand some off-season blowing up.

Or a game of: To Have and Have Not if you will …and yet someone has to win, right?

Whereby… “You just put your lips together and… blow.”
—Coach L.Bacall

🙏>>>🏈

upset Index=38%

#wimps!

Virginia Tech=17, Miami=23

“LETS GO!“

Please support the VT F.C.A.!

“HOKIES!“

bourbonstreet**