Matchup Analysis: Breaking down Miami at Florida State
Since taking over for injured starter Deondre Francois, James Blackman has shown he has plenty of potential throwing the football, but so far the results have been mixed. On the one hand, the Belle Glade (Fla.) Glades Central product had just 31 passing yards midway into the fourth quarter against Wake Forest. On the other hand, he made a couple of huge throws in the final minutes, including a 43-yard hookup to Keith Gavin on a third-and-20 play and a 40-yard touchdown strike to Auden Tate. The larger issue has been pass protection, as the rookie quarterback has been under constant pressure in his first two starts. In addition to getting better protection from the offensive line, Blackman needs more consistent play out of his wide receivers besides Tate. That means Gavin, Nyqwan Murray, George Campbell and tight end Ryan Izzo will need to become more dependable targets.
The book is still very much out on Miami's secondary. The 'Canes had to replace all four starters from last year's squad, including arguably their top defender, Corn Elder. Against a decent Duke team last week, UM held the Blue Devils to just 166 yards passing and recorded an interception. Much of Miami's success against the pass had to do with its formidable front-seven. The 'Canes' defense forced constant pressure on Duke's quarterback and finished with six sacks. But the week before, Toledo threw for 344 yards and three touchdowns.
MATCHUP: Florida State's receivers should actually match up pretty well against Miami's untested secondary. And Blackman is a good enough passer to exploit FSU's possible advantage here. The problem comes down to pass protection. The 'Noles' ability to consistently throw the football has been severely handicapped by the inability to protect the quarterback -- FSU ranks No. 127 among all FBS teams in sacks allowed -- and Miami has shown it's pretty good at getting to the quarterback. For that reason alone, UM should have a slight advantage here.
WINNER: Sight for MIAMI
So far this year, the 'Noles have relied on two tailbacks to carry the load. Junior Jacques Patrick and highly touted freshman Cam Akers have accounted for 69 of the 73 rushes by the backs. There are several other talented runners on the roster, including speedy sophomore Amir Rasul, who saw some action off the bench last week at Wake Forest. While the ground game showed some signs of life last week versus Wake Forest, the overall numbers have been pretty lackluster. Through three games, the Seminoles average 97.7 rushing yards a game and 3.1 yards per carry. The biggest reason for the disappointing numbers is all negative plays from scrimmage -- FSU is giving up 10.3 tackles for loss a game, which ranks worst in the nation.
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