Miami Football: News, Notes and Analysis Heading into the Ohio State Game

The Miami Hurricanes meet the Ohio State Buckeyes for the second time in two years. Last year's contest was won by the Buckeyes, 36-24 in Ohio.

Both teams came into the season with high hopes, but both may be in serious trouble with all the allegations that they are facing.

Either way, there is still a game to be played on Saturday in Miami.

The Hurricanes lost their opening game on September 3rd to Maryland, while the Buckeyes are 2-0 after beating Akron and Toledo.

As of Sunday Night, Miami and Ohio State Have Suspended Players

The reason for the title is because with the allegations against Ohio State, no one knows when Jordan Hall, Travis Howard and Corey Brown will be back.

Last Tuesday, head coach Luke Fickel stated those players would play against Toledo, but the NCAA ruled them ineligible as the above mentioned players took $200 from a charity event earlier in the year.

The Hurricanes, on the other hand, will be without Ray Ray Armstrong, Dyron Dye and Olivier Vernon due to NCAA infractions.

Aldarious Johnson is also suspended but not for the same reasons.  He was suspended indefinitely by head coach Al Golden before the season.

The Hurricanes were without a total of nine players in their first game against Maryland.

Welcome Back Jacory Harris

Stephen Morris was named the starting quarterback against Maryland two weeks ago, but it was only because of the one-game suspension of Jacory Harris.

Going into that game, Al Golden stated that Morris had earned the starting nod over Harris, regardless of Harris' suspension. But a day after the game, Harris was immediately named the starter.

According to Golden, Harris actually won the starting quarterback position from Morris a week before the season opener.

With the suspension lifted, Harris is back in the starting role but will need a much better performance than last year's four-interception game against the Buckeyes.

Sean Spence, Adewale Ojomo and Marcus Forston Are Back

The Hurricanes' defense allowed 500 yards of total offense against the Terrapins last Monday in a 24-32 loss.

Miami played as many as five true freshman on defense as they were without five starting players.

They still will be without starters Ray Ray Armstrong and Olivier Vernon.

What they do get back is their best defensive player in Sean Spence.  Spence led the Hurricanes in tackles for loss and was second on the team with 111 tackles last year.

Marcus Forston, a possible NFL first-round draft pick, will also be back to get some much needed pressure on the Buckeye quarterbacks.

Lastly, Adewale Ojomo will be back at his starting defensive end position.

Offensive Line Needs to Improve

The best position on the field for the Hurricanes was supposed to be the offensive linemen, or so everyone thought.

The first game against the Terps, they looked average at best. Granted, Lamar Miller ran for 119 yards and a touchdown, but they were supposed to be better than that.

The line was not able to provide that many holes for Miller and Mike James against a questionable Maryland defensive front line.

Not only that, but they committed multiple penalties all night long.

If Miami is unable to correct these mistakes on the line, Ohio State will make them pay.

Penalties Need to Get Corrected

When new head coach Al Golden came to Miami earlier this year, he stated that one of his main focuses was to clean up the penalties.

Apparently, he forgot to tell his team this as Miami committed 10 penalties in the opener against Maryland.

The Hurricanes were fourth in the country last year in committing penalties with 8.2 per game.

Many of the penalties were drive killers as they created long third downs.

Allen Hurns and Tommy Streeter Need to Continue to Make Plays

With Travis Benjamin and Aldarious Johnson out in the Maryland game, I truly did not know who was going to step up at the wide receiver position.

It was answered quickly as Allen Hurns made some nice grabs and ended the game with four catches for 69 yards.

Tommy Streeter finally showed up as well, catching four passes for 55 yards.

Hurns and Streeter will need to continue to improve as Johnson will be out again for the Buckeye game.

Special Teams Have Chance for a Big Game

Travis Benjamin returned a punt for a touchdown, and Lamar Miller returned a kick for a touchdown last year when the Hurricanes and Buckeyes met.

Through two games this year, the Buckeyes seem to still be struggling on the return game.

Benjamin missed the first game due to a suspension but will be back as the starting punt returner against the Buckeyes.

Miller is also listed as the kick returner, and Miami is hoping for deja vu in the the special teams department.