The No. 16 Miami (FL) Hurricanes (-6) are flying north to face their ACC rival Virginia Cavaliers at David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium. The game is scheduled to get going at 7:00 p.m. ET and ESPN2 will broadcast the action.
Betting Preview: Miami (FL) Hurricanes vs. Virginia Cavaliers
In this Saturday Atlantic Coast matchup, Miami (FL) is projected as the favorite and is currently giving up 6 points. The Hurricanes are also receiving -240 moneyline odds while the Cavaliers are +190. If one program can get out in front in the early stages, it will likely result in a worthy live betting opportunity.
The game’s line opened at 7, but early action has slanted in favor of the Wahoos.
The Hurricanes have gained 1.4 units this season and are 3-3 against the spread (ATS). The team’s posted an O/U record of 5-1.
The Cavaliers are up 1.0 unit this year. The team is 4-1 ATS and has an even O/U record of 2-2.
The Hurricanes are 5-1 straight up (SU), including 2-0 SU against ACC opponents. The Cavaliers are 3-2 SU overall and 1-1 SU in conference play.
The Hurricanes just notched a 28-27 win over Florida State last week. N’Kosi Perry completed only 13-of-32 passes for 204 yards and four touchdowns. Travis Homer (70 rushing yards on 21 attempts) and the signal-caller Perry (-3 yards on 10 carries) led the ground attack in the win. Jeff Thomas (three receptions, 76 yards, one TD) and Lawrence Cager (three catches, 33 yards, two TDs) shared the receiving duties.
Virginia just fell 35-21 to North Carolina State. The defense allowed the Wolfpack to kill the clock by running for 176 yards on 39 rush attempts, along with one rushing TD. Ricky Person put up a productive outing for North Carolina State, recording 108 rushing yards on 14 attempts. For Virginia, Bryce Perkins completed 20-of-35 passes for 258 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Perkins (24 rushing yards on 14 attempts) and Jordan Ellis (30 yards on 13 carries, one TD) handled the ground game in the defeat as Olamide Zaccheaus (nine receptions, 109 yards, two TDs) and Hasise Dubois (six catches, 67 yards) led the pass-catching attack.
Miami (FL) has run the ball on 61.0 percent of its offensive plays this year, including 64.5 percent across possessions in conference play. Virginia has a rush percentage of 56.7 percent, and has kept it on the ground 52.7 percent of the time against ACC opponents. The Hurricanes have rushed for 194.8 yards per game (including 165.5 per game versus Atlantic Coast opponents) and have 14 scores via handoffs this year. The Wahoos are putting up 191.8 rushing yards per game (148.5 in conference) and have nine total rush TDs.
The Hurricanes offense has averaged 214.7 yards in the air overall (164.5 per game against conference opposition) and has 16 passing TDs so far. The Wahoos have produced 226.2 pass yards per outing (228 against ACC competition) and have 11 total pass scores.
Defensively, Miami (FL) should have the upper hand in both facets. The team has let opponents run for an average of 100.0 yards and throw for 137.3 yards per game. The Virginia defense has allowed 198.4 yards per game to opposing passers and 126.2 yards per game on the ground. The Hurricanes are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 2.72 to opponents, while the Wahoos have given up a 5.62 ANY/A.
Offensively, Perry has put up 521 passing yards this year. The signal-caller has connected on 55 percent of his 71 attempts with 10 passing scores and only two interceptions. Perry has a 7.30 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 6.73 over the last two games.
The Hurricanes will likely try to control tempo by pounding the defense with their running backs. Travis Homer (346 rush yards, one rush TD) and DeeJay Dallas (255 rush yards, one rush TD) have really been focal points in the offensive gameplans for Miami (FL).
For the home team, Bryce Perkins has completed 70-of-113 passes for 928 yards, nine TDs and three INTs. Perkins’ ANY/A stands at 7.37 for the year and 5.67 over his past two games.
The Wahoos also prefer to keep their running backs involved. Bryce Perkins (zero receiving yards) has gotten involved lately, but Olamide Zaccheaus (22 rush yards, 472 receiving yards, six receiving TDs) and Jordan Ellis (410 rush yards, six rush TDs) have seen a lot of looks lately.
When these two squads met a year ago, Miami (FL) got the victory over Virginia, 44-28.
Miami (FL) Hurricanes vs. Virginia Cavaliers Betting Pick
SU Winner: Miami (FL), ATS Winner: Miami (FL)
Team Betting Trends
- The Hurricanes offense has registered six pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Cavaliers have accounted for three such plays.
- The Miami (FL) defense has allowed two pass plays of 40 yards or more, while Virginia has given up one such play.
- The Miami (FL) offense has created nine rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while Virginia has created 10 such runs.
- The Hurricanes defense has allowed seven rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Cavaliers have given up five such runs.
- The Miami (FL) D has more than twice as many sacks as Virginia this year (20 versus nine).
- Miami (FL), as a team, has averaged 4.48837209302326 yards per carry across its last three games and 4.1 over its last two.
- Virginia has averaged 4.7 yards per carry over its last three contests and 4.4 over its last two.
- Over its last three games, Virginia is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
- Miami (FL) was favored by 15 points in its last game and the O/U going into it was 48.5. The over cashed and Miami (FL) failed to cover in the 28-27 win over Florida State.
- In its last three matchups, Miami (FL) is 1-2 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
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