Miami Hurricanes Football: 11 Reasons the Hurricanes Will Beat Ohio State
The Miami Hurricanes will seek revenge on September 17th against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes are 3-1 against the Hurricanes all time, including a 36-24 win last year in Ohio.
This year has already been an interesting offseason for the Buckeyes as Terrelle Pryor has decided to forgo his senior year and go into the NFL supplemental draft and Jim Tressel resigning due to various scandals he took part of over the last few years.
Miami also has questions especially at quarterback, but I believe the Hurricanes will beat the Buckeyes, 31-17.
Here are my 11 reasons why the Hurricanes win.
Revenge Is on Their Mind
1 of 11The Hurricanes looked to revenge the 2002 BCS Championship game last year and failed 36-24.
The Hurricanes are just 1-3 against the Buckeyes and if they want to be on that elite stage, they will finally have to get past them this year.
The Hurricanes and the Buckeyes have somewhat of a hate towards each other and with more returning starters on both sides of the ball, Miami has the advantage.
Many of this year's current Hurricanes squad remember what happened last year and in the BCS championship a few years ago and will be out for revenge.
Miami Has More to Lose
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The Miami Hurricanes have been trying to get back their swagger now for nine years now.
In order to get back to that stage they need some big wins and the game against a top 10 ranked Ohio State can do just that.
Ohio State really has nothing to lose as they are expected to have a question mark filled season with the unexpected loss of their quarterback and head coach, not to mention four other players that are suspended for the first five games.
Miami, on the other hand, has a tremendous opportunity to win the ACC.
They are loaded with talent on both sides of the ball and have a new head coach, Al Golden, who has a record of turning losers into winners.
If Miami wants to be back, this game will be one of its biggest all year.
Home Sweet Home
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Miami doesn't draw huge crowds usually, but with the attitude Al Golden and his coaching staff has done this year, I would be surprised if this game doesn't sell out.
I know what you are saying, Miami got ripped up by FSU last year in a sellout, but this isn't last year's Hurricanes.
The attitude is different, coach Golden has turned this team around in the off season and preached that he is going to make this team just like it was in the past.
The past Hurricanes had a 58 home-winning streak at one time, still an NCAA record.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No Terrelle Pryor
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Terrell Pryor was not going to be playing in this game anyway due to a five-game suspension, he later decided to forgo his senior season for the supplemental draft.
Although the Buckeyes have other great quarterbacks, they will surely miss Pryor, considering what he did to the Hurricanes last year (233 yards passing and 113 yards rushing).
Now whoever the starter will be has one real game, Akron, before he has to go down to Miami to play the Hurricanes on a national televised night game.
No Jim Tressel
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Jim Tressel has been one of the most successful coaches in the last 10 years tying or winning the Big 10 conference championship seven times.
Under his tenure he took his Buckeyes to three national championship games, winning one in 2002.
He had a record of 106 and 22 losses in his 10 years of coaching the Buckeyes.
Now they have to learn to win without him.
Assistant coach Luke Fickell will take over the reigns this year for the Buckeyes.
Note: Tressel wouldn't have been coaching anyway this year, as he was to be suspended for the first five games as well.
Dan Herron, Devier Posey Are Huge Losses for the Buckeyes
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Dan Herron and Devier Posey will be suspended for the September 17th contest against the Hurricanes, which considering what happened last year, will be detrimental to the Buckeyes.
Herron ran the ball 14 times for 66 yards and a touchdown, while catching one pass for 47 yards.
Herron ended the season as the Buckeyes leading rusher with 1,155 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Posey also dominated the game, catching four balls for 105 yards, and ended the season as the Buckeyes second leading receiver with 848 yards and seven touchdowns.
Losing both playmakers will only help Miami in their run to end the Buckeyes' winning streak against the Hurricanes.
The Buckeyes Will Not Be Able to Stop the Running Game
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Since 2005 the Buckeyes have given up the least amount of 100-yard rushers in college football.
Last year, the Hurricanes almost added another one when Damien Berry ran for 94 yards against the Buckeyes.
This year, as the Hurricanes change their offense to focus more on the running game and the Buckeyes missing several key defenders, Miami has a chance to really run over them over.
Lamar Miller only had three carries against the Buckeyes last year and I believe is a much better running back then Berry was.
In fact, Miller has been listed on several "Dark Horse Heisman Lists" so far this summer.
His exceptional speed, along with his awesome quickness, will give Miami another great rushing game against one of the best rushing defenses in the country.
Jacory Harrris/Stephen Morris Have Something to Prove
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Jacory Harris was one of the main reasons why the Hurricanes lost last year's game, as he threw four interceptions against the Buckeyes last year.
With a new coaching staff and a talented sophomore quarterback, Stephen Morris, this is the game that really will decide who becomes the starter.
You see, right now there is no starter in Coral Gables.
Both quarterbacks threw too many interceptions last year and this spring, neither improved as both threw two interceptions in the spring game.
Obviously a starter will be listed before the Hurricane's first game this year against Maryland, this game I believe will determine who can lead Miami this year.
I am almost positive we will be seeing both quarterbacks during this game, unless the starter dominates the game from the start.
Special Teams Will Dominate Again
9 of 11In last year's game against the Buckeyes, the Hurricanes special teams single-handedly kept them within striking distance.
First it was Lamar Miller as he returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter to give Miami a 7-3 lead.
Then in the second quarter, Travis Benjamin returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to three points.
This year, Benjamin will be the main returner for both kicks and punts and that spells trouble for the Buckeyes.
Benjamin, just like Devin Hester, has a unique ability with his speed, quickness and field vision that many do not have.
I expect a great game from Benjamin unless the Buckeyes refuse to punt or kick to him, in which will only help Miami with great field position.
Miami's D-Line Will Domninate the Buck's Inexperienced O-Line
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The Buckeyes have three returning offensive linemen, but one of them, Mike Adams, will be suspended for the Hurricanes game.
That leaves three fairly inexperienced offensive linemen who will have the job at stopping a very deep defensive line in Micanor Regis, Marcus Forston, Olivier Vernon and Marcus Robinson.
Forston is already listed on a few publications as a preseason All-American hopeful and a first-round draft pick on ESPN's 2012 Mock Draft.
Vernon and Robinson have been listed as preseason All-ACC hopefuls as well.
This bodes well for the Hurricanes and may prove to be the deciding factor in Miami, stopping the Buckeye offense.
Ray Ray Armstrong and Vaugh Telemaque
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With the Hurricanes returning no defensive backs from last year's teams you would think that the Buckeyes would throw the ball like crazy.
The problem is the Hurricanes have one of the best safety combo's in the country in Ray Ray Armstrong and Vaughn Telemaque.
Armstrong is being considered a first-round draft pick next year and Telemaque is becoming the defensive leader for the Hurricanes.
Both are back and hungrier then ever to bringing the Hurricanes back to their prime.
With the Buckeyes missing four starters from last year's team and another three due to suspensions, Telemaque and Armstrong will be an absolute force in stopping the Buckeyes passing attack.
Expect to see a 10-plus tackle performance from Armstrong and an interception or two from Telemaque as the Hurricanes defense smothers the inexperienced Buckeye offense.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
