GAME 6 PREVIEW: Cal poses challenges for Miami Hurricanes, and we’re not just talking about the 3,000 miles of travel
CaneSport is taking a deeper dive inside Miami’s games this season, and today we have your breakdown of Game 6 at Cal:
MIAMI AT CAL, SAT., OCT. 5, BERKELEY, CALIF., TIME TBA
GAME PREVIEWS: FLORIDA … FLORIDA A&M … BALL STATE … USF … VIRGINIA TECH
OVERVIEW
Miami will have an extra day of rest heading into this 3,000-mile trek across the country to face new ACC member Cal … while the Golden Bears will have the benefit of an entire bye week to rest up for the game coming off their own tough matchup at Florida State. Cal finished last season with a 6-7 record, but don’t let that fool you – this is a team with some firepower on both sides of the ball, and there were a couple of losses last year that could have gone either way in the face of a very difficult schedule (lost 14-10 to Auburn and 50-49 to USC). As an aside, Miami QB Cam Ward faced Cal last year when he was playing for Washington State – he threw for 354 yards with three TDs and an INT, adding a rushing touchdown as well in his team’s 42-39 loss. Cal hasn’t enjoyed a 10-win season since 2006 and has endured four straight losing records. The team also hasn’t had a winning conference record for 14 straight years, so maybe starting over in a new conference will do the program some good. Overall talent-wise Miami certainly has an advantage, but there are some areas where Cal could cause some issues. We break them down below.
THE PERSONNEL
Cal’s offense averaged 30.2 points per game last season, ranking No. 47 in the nation, and while that may not seem great it was the most the team’s averaged dating back to 2016. The Golden Bears also gets back QB Fernando Mendoza, and he had some bright moments playing eight games last year regardless of his 10 INTs (threw 14 TDs with 190 passing yards per game, adding two rushing scores). North Texas transfer Chandler Rogers could also factor in depending how Mendoza looks this fall. He threw for 29 TDs and five INTs with 3,382 yards last year. Top target Jeremiah Hunter (731 yards) is gone to Washington, but speedster Trond Grizzell (590 yards, 5 TDs) returns, and the team hopes Notre Dame transfer Tobias Merriweather (284 yards) and Utah arrival Mikey Matthews (261 yards) can be playmakers. The guy who opponents really need to focus on stopping will be RB Jaydn Ott, who ran for 1,315 yards and 12 TDs, adding two more receiving scores. He’s a do it all feature back who at 6-0 and 210 pounds has the strength and elusiveness to cause problems for any defense. Miami also will need to keep track of TE Jack Endries, who had 407 yards and two TDs. The OL has back three starters, and last year the team allowed 23 sacks.
On the other side of the ball Cal wound up tying for the national lead in takeaways with 28, but the team was 102nd in total defense so there were a lot of struggles here. It doesn’t help that top tackler Kaleb Elarms-Orr transferred to TCU (he had 92 tackles and an interception). A solid spot here is linebacker. David Reese is a former Florida Gator who had 8 TFL and 6.5 sacks last year, and fellow LB Xavier Carlton can also make plays and had 4.5 sacks. Then there’s Cade Uluave, who totaled 66 tackles with 2.5 sacks and two INTs. So that spot is solid. But up front there wasn’t a lot of production last season, and no returning DL had more than two sacks. The DB room has talent behind CBs Nohl Williams (2 INTs) and Lu-Magio Hearns (2 INTs) plus the addition of Idaho transfer Marcus Harris (first team All-Big Sky pick last year with 51 tackles, 5.5 for losses and three picks). And nickel/safety Craig Woodson had 81 tackles and an interception last year. But the DBs struggled in general, ranking 128th in pass yards allowed and giving up 30 passing TDs.
QUESTION MARK AREAS MIAMI CAN EXPLOIT
Cal was decent but not outstanding in most areas last year, ranking No. 61 in total offense, No. 45 in rush offense, No. 71 in pass offense, No. 102 in total defense, 35th in rush defense and 128th in pass yards allowed. It is likely going to be more of the same in 2024 with a team that’s okay, but not great. So for Miami it’s just going to be about consistency. Because the Canes are better than Cal on both sides of the ball and have to out-physical the Golden Bears up front on the OL and DL in this game on the road. While Cal has some talent at QB and RB on offense and at LB on defense, it has an OL that allowed 78 tackles for loss and a DL that can be taken advantage of.
GAME DIFFICULTY RATING FOR MIAMI
Cal is not on the same tier as an FSU, Louisville, Florida or Virginia Tech, but perhaps won’t be too far behind if things click for the program. There is talent on offense with a young QB who can make strides in year 2 and an already established top RB. On defense if the line can get some pressure then the linebackers and talent in the secondary can show out. We see this as Miami’s fifth most difficult game on the schedule. Our game difficulty rating, with 10 representing Miami’s most difficult game vs. FSU and 1 the easiest vs. FAMU, would be a 6.5.
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