Miami Football: Offense must show up against Toledo
Miami Football heads into Week 3 with a matchup against the Toledo Rockets. Can the Hurricanes avoid the upset against a very capable MAC opponent?
Miami Football had a stunning loss to the LSU Tigers in Week 1 and has since become a forgotten team in the national college football landscape. They were able to bounce back last week and trounced Savannah State 77-0, and head into this non-conference game against Toledo with their offense humming.
Toledo had their first game of the season last Week against VMI, and won with a resounding 66-3 victory. Their passing game looked very good and could be one of the key factors in the Rockets pulling off the upset.
How will their defense do against Malik Rosier? Rosier hasn’t been spectacular but is still a very capable quarterback and could turn in a fine performance. Can the Rockets slow down the talented depth Miami has at the running back position? These are some of the questions that will need to be answered as we head into this Week 3 matchup.
Take a look at the viewing information you will need for Miami vs Toledo this weekend.
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Date: September 15th
Time: 12:00 PM ET
Location: Toledo, OH
Venue: Glass Bowl Stadium
TV: ESPN 2
Live Stream: WatchESPN | FUBO TV
Keys to Victory
Malik Rosier cannot turn the ball over. If he starts to get risky and takes shots down the field it could lead to turnovers by the Rockets. On the season he has completed less than 50% of his passes and will need to rebound in a serious way.
If he gets off to a poor start Coach Richt may have to rely on his running backs. Travis Homer is the workhorse at running back. He ran the ball 13 times for 70 yards in the win over Savannah State but isn’t the only capable runner for the Hurricanes.
Lorenzo Lingard put on a great show for the Hurricane fans in attendance and the freshman should do more of the same in this game. Mitch Guadagni started the season off very good for the Rockets, going 11 for 16 and throwing three touchdown passes in his first career start.
The level of defensive talent gets kicked up a couple of notches but if he can get time in the pocket he should be able to find holes in the Miami secondary he can exploit.
Betting Odds
Courtesy of Oddshark
Point Spread: Miami -10.5
Over/Under: 57.5
Prediction
Miami has a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball, but so does Toledo. For years the Rockets have had one of the most potent offensive attacks in the MAC conference, and they should continue their hot start against the Hurricanes.
Miami will jump out to an early two-touchdown lead in the second quarter, but look for the Rockets to storm back and tie it at halftime.
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Guadagni will start the third quarter off with another touchdown pass, but Miami’s talented offense will start to make plays running the football Homer will get the ball six to eight times in the fourth quarter, and Miami will get two late scores to pull away for a closer than expected road win.
Prediction: Miami wins 31-21