Miami vs. Nebraska. Just hearing that phrase makes the hair rise up on any college football fan’s neck. Some remember all the epic encounters, like Miami’s stunning 31-30 victory in the 1984 Orange Bowl that established them as national powerhouses for an infamous 10 year run. Others may remember the 1995 Orange Bowl, when the Cornhuskers and Tom Osborne vanquished their national title demons by ending Miami’s 58-game home win streak with a come from behind 24-17 victory. This is one of the most unique rivalries in all of college sports because, in almost half of their encounters, a national title is literally on the line, making it arguably the most high profile rivalry in the game. This Saturday’s game wont be hyped in the same way as their previous encounters were. For the first time since 1962, neither Miami or Nebraska will be ranked heading into this game. Despite the lack of national attention this game still means a great deal for both teams, but for very different reasons.
Nebraska vs. Miami Preview
Miami (2-0) is, in essence, playing for their coach’s job. Al Golden has failed to find consistent success with the Hurricanes, posting a record of 30-22 over four seasons. His team appeared to be on its way to greatness in 2013, but an injury to star tailback Duke Johnson sent their season into a tailspin that concluded in an embarrassing 36-9 defeat at the hands of Louisville. Last season Miami was picked by many to win the ACC Coastal division but stumbled to a 6-7 season, their first losing season since 2007 under Randy Shannon. In his defense Golden had to deal with numerous sanctions from the NCAA in the Nevin Shapiro scandal; and that severely hurt his ability to recruit against the other Florida schools. One gets the feeling that if the Hurricanes don’t improve significantly in 2015 Golden will be looking for work at someplace other than Coral Gables.
Nebraska (1-1) has no coaching controversy. Coach Mike Riley is the man in Lincoln and he appears to be a perfect fit thus far into his coaching tenure. Nebraska fans view this game as important because of a notable lack of rivalries for the Huskers since leaving the Big 12. Nebraska fans are some of the classiest and most polite fans on the planet, but even the nicest fans have their dark sides and like to let them out. The problem is that Nebraska no longer has Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, or Colorado to unleash their pent up anger on. Instead they have Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and Northwestern; and that just doesn’t get Husker fans riled up as much. That’s where Miami comes in. Nebraska fans have no problem with hating the Hurricanes, which was evidenced in Nebraska’s 41-31 victory over Miami in Memorial Stadium last season. The game was physical. Trash talk spewed out of both teams mouths constantly, and for the first time in a long time, the Memorial Stadium crowd was loud and angry like in the old days. Fans love a chance to truly despise the team lining up across from them, which is why this game means so much to Nebraska natives. An with no future games against Miami scheduled, they better enjoy the sensation while it lasts.
Quarterback
This may be one of the most underrated quarterback duels of the season, as Miami’s Brad Kaaya and Nebraska’s Tommy Armstrong have gotten off to tremendous starts to their 2015 campaigns. Kaaya has continued to build off an impressive freshman season, completing 62.7% of his passes for 460 yards and 3 touchdowns while throwing no interceptions. Armstrong meanwhile, has shown poise and confidence in Danny Langsdorf’s new offense, completing 63.4% of his passes for 589 yards and 5 touchdowns while throwing just 1 interception. This matchup ultimately comes down to the players’ ability to scramble and run when pass plays break down. Armstrong has shown that he can do that, while Kaaya has not; so a slight edge goes to Nebraska.
Edge: Nebraska
Running Back
Both Miami and Nebraska were tasked with replacing fantastic running backs this offseason, as Nebraska lost Ameer Abdullah and the Hurricanes lost Duke Johnson to the NFL. Miami has replaced Johnson with junior Joseph Yearby and highly touted true freshman Mark Walton. Yearby has accumulated an impressive 291 all purpose yards this season, while Walton leads the Hurricanes with 4 rushing touchdowns so far this season. Nebraska attempted to replace Abdullah with a running back by committee approach in the season opener against BYU, but scrapped those plans after an unimpressive rushing performance. Junior Terrel Newby took the feature back role against South Alabama, rushing for 198 yards and accounting for 3 touchdowns. Nebraska appears to have found a solid back in Newby, but Miami appears to have two solid backs to go to, so they get the edge here.
Edge: Miami
Receivers/Tight Ends
Once again Miami and Nebraska were tasked with replacing fantastic wide receivers this offseason, as Nebraska’s Kenny Bell and Miami’s Phillip Dorsett are now playing on Sundays. Miami’s Rashawn Scott and Herb Waters, both seniors, have stepped up in Dorsett’s absence, as both have tallied 100 yard receiving games two games into the season. Nebraska meanwhile, suffered a tough loss in fall camp, as star slot receiver Demornay Pierson-El broke a bone in his foot and will be out until the Wisconsin game. Luckily for the Huskers, several players have stepped up in his absence and excelled. Brandon Reilly, Jordan Westerkamp, Alonzo Moore, Lane Hovey, and Stanley Morgan have all had impressive starts to their season. At tight end Miami is replacing 3rd round pick Clive Walford with Standish Dobard, who has 2 catches for 20 yards and a touchdown so far this season. Nebraska returns arguably their most athletic offensive player, as Cethan Carter is now eligible after serving a two game suspension. This one is close, but Nebraska’s impressive depth at the receiver position gives them a slight edge over the Hurricanes.
Edge: Nebraska
Offensive Line
The parallels between Miami and Nebraska continue on the offensive line, as both lines were basically starting over with just one returning starter on the offensive line. Miami doesn’t appear to have missed a beat. They are paving the way for rushing attack that has averaged 6 yards a carry through two games while allowing quarterback Brad Kaaya to be sacked just twice thus far. Nebraska’s offensive line has had a more difficult beginning to the season, as they were only able to average 3.4 yards per rush against the BYU Cougars while allowing Tommy Armstrong to be sacked 3 times. They bounced back against an over-matched South Alabama defensive line, but one has to wonder how they will do against more talented defenders.
Edge: Miami
Defensive Line
Here is the first position group where one team appears to have a clear advantage. Nebraska returned 3 starters from a pretty good defensive line in 2014, as Maliek Collins, Vincent Valentine, and Greg McMullen have excelled at stopping the run early this season. Precocious freshman Freedom Akinmoladun looks like a future star at defensive end. Miami, meanwhile, is replacing their entire starting front four, and the results have been mixed so far. The defensive line looked great in a shutout of Bethune-Cookman in the season opener, but was gashed for 228 yards by an FAU team playing most of the game without its star quarterback Jacquez Johnson.
Edge: Nebraska
Linebackers
This one pretty much comes down to health. While losing Darrion Owens hurts, Miami has a solid 3-man group at linebacker, as Raphael Kirby, Jermaine Grace, and Tyriq McCord have all had solid starts to their 2015 seasons. Nebraska, meanwhile, is just trying to get all their linebackers on the field at the same time. Josh Banderas enters his third season as Nebraska’s MIKE linebacker, but he missed last week’s game with a groin injury and has yet to practice. Dedrick Young looked like a future star against BYU, but the true freshman also missed the South Alabama game with a toe infection. Michael Rose-Ivey made a triumphant return from a torn ACL and one game suspension to lead the team with 10 tackles against the Jaguars. All three Husker linebackers are expected to be on the field against the Hurricanes, but Miami’s linebackers are healthier and have had more time on the field together to build up chemistry.
Edge: Miami
Secondary
Both of these units were expected to be strengths for their teams this season, but only one has lived up to the hype so far. Miami has allowed only 96 passing yards per game so far this season while also intercepting 4 passes. Rashawn Jenkins leads the way with 2 thus far. Nebraska, meanwhile, has allowed 346 passing yards per game as their cornerbacks – especially senior Daniel Davie – have struggled in one-on-one situations against receivers. Until Nebraska can shore up their defense against the deep ball Miami gets the edge.
Edge: Miami
Special Teams
Nebraska’s Drew Brown missed two crucial field goals against the BYU Cougars, misses that eventually came back to haunt the Husker. Punter Sam Foltz left the BYU game with an ankle injury. Brown ironed out his kicking issues against South Alabama, and Foltz is expected to be back for the Miami game. For Miami, Michael Badgley has had a solid start to his sophomore season after an up and down freshman year. Justin Vogel has continued to be a solid, if unspectacular punter. The real difference is the return game, as Miami has a certified weapon returning punts in Corn Elder, while Nebraska’s punt return dynamo Demornay Pierson-El is still sidelined with injury.
Edge: Miami
Conclusion
This has all the makings of a wild shootout at Sun Life Stadium. Both teams feature high powered offenses that are going up against talented but flawed defenses. I expect Tommy Armstrong to have a big day passing and running the ball as Coach Langsdorf branches out his play calling to include more quarterback runs. Unfortunately, I don’t see how Nebraska can slow down Miami’s dynamic downfield passing attack. Nebraska showed a serious weakness against the deep ball against the South Alabama Jaguars, and Miami is a much faster team. I think Nebraska will keep things close throughout, but Brad Kaaya will carry the Hurricanes to a 3-0 start against Nebraska.
Miami: 45
Nebraska: 35
Main Photo
