Miami Hurricanes 2023 season preview: Game 8 Virginia
Following a difficult two-game run against North Carolina and Clemson, the Miami Hurricanes will host the Virginia Cavaliers at Hard Rock Stadium on Oct. 28, in the midst of a difficult five-game stretch towards the tail end of their 2023 campaign.
Over their last 10 meetings, the Hurricanes have come out on top in seven of the 10 matchups, with the most recent being a 14-12 overtime victory on the road last season against a Virginia squad that finished with a 3-7 record in 2022.
Following the departure of former starting quarterback Brennan Armstrong (2,210 passing yards, 371 rush yards, 13 total TDs), who transferred to NC State this offseason, UVA will look a bit different on the offensive side of the ball with Monmouth transfer Tony Muskett (1,997 yards and 17 TDs) and sophomore Jay Woolfolk battling it out for the starting job, which at the moment looks to be Muskett’s to lose.
Along with Armstrong, UVA also dealt with the departures of the top WRs Dontayvion Wicks (430 yards, 2 TDs), Keytaeon Thompson (579 yards), and Billy Kemp, who transferred to Nebraska.
After averaging 17 points per game (125th in the nation), Virginia returns just three starters from last year, which may be a good thing for the team after their struggles on that side of the ball. With somewhat of a fresh start and a handful of new faces, it will be intriguing to see if the Cavaliers can turn things around under offensive coordinator Des Kitchings.
While the offense struggled mightily last season, that wasn’t the case for the Cavaliers’ defense, which returns eight starters from 2022. After allowing 24.0 points per game, which ranked inside the top 50 nationwide, Virginia’s defense will be led by the likes of DL Chico Bennett (34 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 7 sacks), Aaron Faumui (39 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 4 sacks) and Jonas Sanker (63 tackles, INT).
Although the Cavaliers do return the bulk of their defense, they did take a blow after losing All-ACC cornerback Fentrell Cypress to Florida State, All-ACC linebacker Nick Jackson (team-high 104 tackles, 5 sacks) to Missouri, as well as defensive back Anthony Johnson, who graduated and was undrafted.
With this game wedged between probably Miami’s four hardest matchups of the season, the Hurricanes can’t afford to dismiss a rebuilding Virginia team that gave them a run for their money on the road last season. If Miami plays to their best ability, they should be able to handle this game fairly comfortably moving into their matchup with North Carolina State.
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