Miami, FL
Picking the winner in Miami vs. USF
After back-to-back victories against top 25 opponents, USF will look to make it three in a row when it takes on No. 5 Miami on Saturday. The Bulls took out Florida on the road last week after beating Boise State in Week 1 and now have the Hurricanes on their radar.
Before last week, there might have been a chance of Miami overlooking USF. However, college football analyst Josh Pate knows that won’t be happening now.
“Miami knows that they’ve got Florida coming up,” Pate said on Josh Pate’s College Football Show. “They’ve got some tough games. They go to Florida State in a few weeks. The way this game did profile at the beginning of the year is, Alex Golesh could sneak in there if Miami’s not careful.’ Well, just erase all that. Everybody’s attention is on this game.”
The Bulls have certainly earned their respect at this point, but do they have what it takes to pull off another upset? They enter the contest as 17.5-point underdogs according to BetMGM.
Byrum Brown gives USF a dynmaic dual-threat playmaker at quarterback. But in order for the Bulls to find magic again, Pate believes the red zone will play a big factor on both offense and defense.
“I think USF would have to tilt the red zone heavily in their favor,” he said. “Any time they got down there, it needs to be seven. And if Miami gets down there, which they’re going to, threes at most. Somehow, someway, Todd Orlando, his guys gotta come through in the red zone. The second thing is, that Miami secondary has looked good, but it hasn’t been tested nine times yet. So maybe there’s a leak or two that can be found in that Miami secondary. Maybe it’s not quite the impenatrable unit that they want it to be at this point in the season. Maybe you find a staff mismatch. Maybe you force them into some uncomfortable positions.
“Here’s why this is really tough. You’ve got everyone’s attention. The good news is you won last week. The bad news is you won last week. This is the best team you’ve played so far by my estimation. …Teams rarely play up three weeks in a row. USF beat Boise convincingly in Week 1. They go into The Swamp and win last week. That’s maybe one of the biggest wins in the history of that program. Now you’re gonna go play Miami and you’ve gotta be up a third straight week. Normally, it doesn’t happen. Even for the great programs.”
In the end, Pate believes a more experienced quarterback in Carson Beck compared to what USF faced last week in DJ Lagway could be the difference leading to a Miami win. He picked the Hurricanes to win handily and put an end to the Bulls’ run.
“Carson Beck knows how to take what you give him,” Pate said. “DJ Lagway last week, it felt like Florida kept trying to hit home runs all night when all they needed was singles. Carson Beck will single you to death. …Now, he can pop it over the top if you give it to him, but they don’t care. They’ll go on 13-play drives all night and be fine with it. Miami’s got takeover potential on both sides of the line of scrimmage in this game.”
“…I don’t think this is a good spot at all for USF. I fully credit them for making this game matter to the degree it does. I’m gonna take Miami to win and cover. I think it’s like a 20-point win. By the way, if USF loses this game and anyone in their right mind looks and says, ‘See, told you they shouldn’t have been ranked that high last week,’ you are muted — maybe even blocked — from the channel.”
Should the CFP committee rethink the playoff schedule format?
Extended breaks and logistical challenges have reopened questions about whether the College Football Playoff committee should adjust the playoff schedule format.
Mississippi football’s Nick Cull avoided an ejection during the College Football Playoff Fiesta Bowl semifinal on Thursday, Jan. 8.
As Malachi Toney reeled in a catch from Carson Beck at the Miami 49 in the first quarter, he was hit by Cull in a helmet-to-helmet collision. Right away, the officials flagged Cull for targeting, with both Toney and Cull staying down on the field with an injury.
After officials reviewed the play, the call on the field was overturned, as the officials determined that Cull did not launch and the collision seemed to be incidental. Replay assistant Matt Austin concurred with the call on the field.
The play had a major impact on the game as well. If the call had been upheld, Miami would have had the ball at the Ole Miss 34-yard line with a chance to expand its 3-0 lead. However, a few plays later, the Hurricanes were forced to punt from the 49-yard line.
On the first play of the second quarter, Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacey scored on a 73-yard run to give the Rebels a 7-3 lead.
Because he was not called for targeting, Cull was not ejected from the game, which means Ole Miss will have him for the remainder of the game, if he can clear the concussion protocol. He was in the tent following the play.
Cull has 15 total tackles and three pass deflections this season for the Rebels.
Meanwhile, Toney went to the medical tent briefly for the Hurricanes, but returned to the game.
A crash involving an unmarked Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office vehicle was reported in Northwest Miami-Dade on Thursday morning, and the morning commute was impacted as a result.
Few details have been released, but the crash was reported in the area of Northwest 79th street and Interstate 95.
Video from the scene showed that the vehicles had heavy damage.
The sheriff’s office said the crash also involved a civilian vehicle, and no injuries were reported.
No other information was released.
The Minnesota Timberwolves announced that guard Anthony Edwards is now available to play in Tuesday night’s game against the Miami Heat after originally being listed as questionable with right foot injury maintenance.
Here’s the rest of the injury report and game preview:
INJURY REPORT
HEAT
Tyler Herro: Available – Toe
Jaime Jaquez Jr.: Out – Ankle
Nikola Jovic: Available – Groin
Terry Rozier: Out – Not with team
TIMBERWOLVES
Anthony Edwards: Available – Foot
Terrence Shannon Jr.: Out – Foot
Joan Beringer: Out – G League
Game date, time and location: Tuesday, Jan. 6, 8:00 p.m. EST, Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV: TV: Peacock,
Radio: 104.3 FM (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), ESPN 106.3 FM, (West Palm Beach), FOX Sports Radio 105.9 FM (Ft. Myers/Naples), 1450 AM (Suart), 97.7 FM (Florida Keys), WAQI 710 AM (Spanish-language broadcast, South Florida) 100.3 FM (Minnesota)
VITALS: The Miami Heat (20-16) and Minnesota Timberwolves (23-13) meet for the second and final regular season matchup after just facing off three days ago with Minnesota recording a, 125-115, win in Miami on January 3. The teams split the series, 1-1, last season with each squad winning on the road. The Heat are 36-35 all-time versus Minnesota during the regular season,
including 19-16 in home games and 17-19 in road games.
PROJECTED STARTERS
HEAT
G Davion Mitchell
G Tyler Herro
C Bam Adebayo
F Norman Powell
F Andrew Wiggins
TIMBERWOLVES
G Donte DiVincenzo
G Anthony Edwards
C Rudy Gobert
F Jaden McDaniels
F Julius Randle
Spread: Heat +5.5 (-112), Timberwolves -5.5 (-108)
Moneyline: Heat +166, Timberwolves -198
Total points scored: 239.5 (over -106, under -114)
QUOTABLE
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra on the forced turnovers: “That is and has to be our identity. We have to play with a recklessness and activity level that exceeds our opponent, and thats not to put down our talent level or anything like that, it’s more about we look different when we’re flying around and making plays and making it tough for the opponent.”
For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.
Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket
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