There’s no need for Miami to prove its miracle run to the College Football national championship was legitimate.
The No. 7 Hurricanes set out with expectations to make the tournament again despite the previous three runners-up failing to do so.
They made their statement as the 10-seed despite not even playing in the ACC Championship game, which was won by Duke’s Darian Mensah, who now arrives at The U adding plenty of offensive freedom.
Mensah broke out to the tune of 3,973 passing yards with a touchdown to interception ratio of 34:6.
His Hurricanes debut against Stanford in Week 1 will showcase the luxury of Mark Fletcher and CharMar Brown out of the backfield.
The pair combined for more than 1,500 scrimmage yards and 19 total touchdowns last season.
Miami enters as 24.5-point favorites over the Cardinal, who coughed up a 27-0 lead against Hawaii last week.
They may have won that game 37-27, but three touchdowns and a field goal begins to feel even more safe after we watched Micah Alejado complete 60 percent of his passes for 269 yards.
Miami averaged 33:43 in time of possession last year, which was nearly eight minutes more than its opponents, so this backfield tandem alone brings enough firepower to put Stanford behind schedule.
The Stanford secondary will have to deal with Malachi Toney, who posted 1,211 yards and 10 touchdowns as a freshman.
Mensah and Toney will spend no time getting acquainted against a pass defense that gave away 288 yards per game — the second-most in FBS.
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On defense, the Hurricanes look to build on 34 sacks for 268 yards last season, while Stanford produced a pathetic 2.6 yards per carry last season, ranking 133rd of 136 FBS teams.
Stanford is in rebuilding territory as six wins would be an achievement.
If Miami can stay disciplined with penalties, this game will define the contrast between the upper and lower tiers of the ACC.
THE PLAY: Miami -24.5 (-105, Fanatics)
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Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.
