Miami Football: Hurricanes’ 2017 season preview, predictions
By Tim Kaiser
2017 schedule
| WEEK | DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION |
| 1 | Sept. 2 | vs. Bethune-Cookman | Miami Gardens, FL |
| 2 | Sept. 9 | at Arkansas State | Jonesboro, AR |
| 3 | Sept. 16 | at Florida State | Tallahassee, FL |
| 4 | Sept. 23 | vs. Toledo | Miami Gardens, FL |
| 5 | Sept. 29 | at Duke | Durham, NC |
| 6 | BYE | ||
| 7 | Oct. 1 | vs. Georgia Tech | Miami Gardens, FL |
| 8 | Oct. 21 | vs. Syracuse | Miami Gardens, FL |
| 9 | Oct. 28 | at North Carolina | Chapel Hill, NC |
| 10 | Nov. 4 | vs. Viriginia Tech | Miami Gardens, FL |
| 11 | Nov. 11 | vs. Notre Dame | Miami Gardens, FL |
| 12 | Nov. 18 | vs. Virginia | Miami Gardens, FL |
| 13 | Nov. 24 | at Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA |
Final Thoughts
Miami was picked overwhelmingly to win the ACC Coastal by the ACC Media. The Canes received 103 first place votes to Virginia Tech’s 40. Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, and Duke all received fewer than 10 a piece. Despite that discrepancy, they received the same amount (3) as Virginia Tech to win the ACC Championship. Duke also somehow got a vote from the Coastal.
Miami seems poised to finally play in the ACC Championship game, but we have been here before. The Canes won four straight conference championships at the end of their run in the Big East. When they joined the ACC in 2004, many people assumed they would do the same. More than a decade later, their fellow Big East escapee, Virginia Tech, has four ACC titles and Miami is yet to even win the Coastal. It would be fitting if Mark Richt, a Miami alum, brought the Canes back.
The biggest concern has to be at quarterback. They have had some highly-touted, talented quarterbacks come through during this dry spell. They have the weapons, but do they have the right guy to get it into their hands?
Bovada, an online sportsbook, puts the Miami win total at nine wins. ESPN’s FPI computer model has the Canes finishing the season 9.2-3.3.
Prediction:10-2, 6-2 ACC
I think the Canes and their fans finally make the trip to Charlotte. Their schedule sets up beautifully for them. The only game that they will definitely be underdogs in is at Florida State in Week 3. That loss doesn’t really hurt them because everyone is going to be an underdog that goes into Tallahassee this year.
Next: ACC: 5 most important 2017 non-conference games
The one trouble spot is if they go on one of those slides like last year. Weeks 9-11 kind of look like last year’s rough stretch. The upside is that they get Virginia Tech and Notre Dame at home this time. Carolina might have figured out their own quarterback situation by that point. Plus, playing the Canes in Keenan Stadium on Halloween weekend will bring back memories of one of the greatest moments in Tar Heel football history.
Miami is talented enough to handle this schedule with relative ease. I wanted to pick them to go 11-1 or to run the table, but my rational side won out. The quarterback and secondary questions mean they will probably be upset at least once.