On Labor Day night, the University of Miami will renew its storied rivalry with the Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee. I previewed this game earlier in the summer and in that I predicted Miami would win 26-23. I still believe that, but there's a number of things Miami needs to do in order to prove my prediction that they'll win right. Here are the 5 biggest keys for the Hurricanes at Florida State:
1) The coaching staff should feed Javarris James the football. Graig Cooper is a very nice back that has home-run ability and has the ability to effectively catch the football out of the backfield. With that said, Javarris James has been underutilized (a lot of which was due to injury) over the past two seasons and it's finally time for him to reclaim his spot as UM's top back. He gives Miami an between-the-tackles presence that they somewhat lack with Cooper. Additionally, James seems to be more effective with more carries to a greater extent than most backs. Cooper has seemed to have gotten the greater share of the workload when both have been healthy, but James' inside running has a chance to be more effective against FSU than does Cooper's between-the-tackles runs.
2) Miami must take advantage of the height advantage of Aldarius Johnson and LaRon Byrd. It's arguable who is the better quarterback between Robert Marve and Jacory Harris, but one thing that isn't debatable likely is who throws the better touch pass. Clearly, that's Harris. Some of Harris' best throws come on fades, fade stops, and jump balls. With the height advantage that Johnson and Byrd have of several inches on the FSU cornerbacks, it is imperative that the coaching staff call plays that utilize the mismatch that Miami's 2 biggest receivers have on the outside.
3) Marcus Robinson needs to have a big game. With the injuries to Adewale Ojomo and Eric Moncur, UM appears all of a sudden to be a bit thin at defensive end. Last year, Miami's defensive line was completely outplayed and they mustered very little pass rush on Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder. That must change this year, and Robinson's the man that can lead the charge in that department. A performance similar to the one he produced in 2008 against Virginia Tech would be tremdnous, but more realistically, Robinson needs to consistently hurry and hit the quarterback throughout the game, so as to not let Ponder get comfortable as he did in last year's game against Miami.
4) The old Colin McCarthy needs to show up. One of Miami's biggest weaknesses this year was at linebacker. Too often, players were out of position, and even when they weren't, the tackling of a few of the linebackers left something to be desired. McCarthy is returning after inuries cost him most of 2008, and Miami's defense suffered for it. If he can stay healthy, he should improve the run defense greatly,. In this game, he needs to recapture his old motor and playing skills especially given that FSU's offenslve line will likely prevent UM's defensive line from dominating the game. The Seminoles ran all over Miami last year, and McCarthy's presence should help stunt that some. If it doesn't, Miami will be 0-1.
5) A resonable facsimile of Travis Benjamin from last year's UM-FSU game must come to play. Last year, Benjamin almost single-handedly brought the Hurricanes back to win against Florida State. He trailed off in the second half of the year some due to injury, but he's back healthy again. The difference his returns made on the game were enormous as his returns, and then his presence gives Miami a much better opportunity to operate in good field position. Also, he's a very dangerous slot receiver that compliments Johnson, Byrd, and others in the passing game very well. The team doesn't quite have the same spark when he's not the 100% Travis Benjamin, so it'll be important for him to stay healthy in this game and season to help out the Hurricanes offense and special teams that much more.
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