Braves Beat Marlins 29-9…

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On 9/7 and 9/8, the Marlins beat the Braves in Games 1 and 2 of their 3 game series. On 9/9, the Braves proceeded to break the NL-record for runs scored, beating the Marlins 29-9. Yes, 29-9. Pablo Lopez started for the Marlins before quickly falling apart against a strong Braves lineup. The Marlins hitting actually continued to stay relevant, putting up 9 runs, but sadly that was nowhere near close enough.

Pitching? The Marlins barely knew her last night

 

Looking at what happened last night, it is easy to get down on the Marlins pitching. Let’s remember this team has been carried by their pitching throughout the year. In reality, it is better for the pitching to allow 29-runs this game then it is for them to allow 8 over the next 4. Pablo Lopez allowed 7 earned runs, Jordan Yamamoto allowed 12 earned runs, and Alex Vesia and Josh A. Smith both allowed 4 earned to top it off. There really is no silver lining to look at revolving around last night’s pitching. As long as they can get back on track versus the Phillies, this can be considered a blip in a great season.

Hitting? The Marlins kind of know her now

 

I briefly mentioned the statistic that the Marlins longest streak of scoring 4+ runs was 3 games. They have now scored 4+ runs in 6 games. The Fish are starting to heat up, and although they aren’t “keeping up with a 29-run avalanche” hot, there is still progress to be seen. Jazz Chisholm hit his first career home run and is showing more and more promise as a future star. Lewis Brinson continues to swing the bat better, and the rest of the lineup looks the best it has all year.

What’s next? 

 

A good ole’ 7-game series between us and our division rivals? With the Marlins only sitting 3.5 GB of the Braves and 1.5 GB of the Phillies, the Fish can make a splash in the current standings with a solid series. Currently, the Marlins sit in the second Wild Card spot. Sandy Alcantara (2-1, 3.78) takes the mound in game 1 versus Jake Arrieta (3-4, 5.67 ERA) (the game is free to watch today at 6:40 pm on MLB.TV).

 

Marlins Bats Wake up in 8-0 Win

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Sixto Sanchez (2-1, 1.80) and Kyle Wright (0-4, 8.05) took the mound in the second game of a 3-game series in Atlanta between the Marlins and the Braves. The more Sixto pitches, the more comparisons he draws to “the future of Marlins’ baseball.” Tonight was no different, as the Sixto dominated in an 8-0 Marlins’ victory.

Sixto is going to be the guy

Since the tragic death of Jose Fernandez, the Marlins have struggled to find an ace with anything even close to his electrifying stuff. Now, enter Sixto Sanchez, who tops out in triple digits, works the plate well, and has a killer changeup. As the culture for Miami continues to positively change, Sixto looks to be a centerpiece in a handful of future postseason runs. Last night, Sixto went 6 innings on 3 hits and 6 strikeouts, allowing no runs. The bullpen pitched a combined 3 innings of no-run baseball in relief to seal the deal. The pitching continues to thrive, and with the bats looking better over the last few days, anything is possible for this team.

Home run barrage

Alright, “home run barrage” is probably a little exaggeratory, but for this Marlins team (or any Marlins team in recent memory), a 3 home run game is pretty out of the blue. Matt Joyce, Jorge Alfaro, and Garrett Cooper all went deep for the Fish, breaking the game open, and eventually leading the Fish to a clean win. The Marlins still sit at the bottom of the league in home runs this year, which is frightening for a playoff hopeful. As the bats continue to wake up, hopefully, the home run ball will continue to fly.

A look at the division + A look at tonight’s game

The Marlins now sit 1 GB of Philadelphia for 2nd in the division and only 2.5 GB of Atlanta. A win tonight combined with a Philadelphia loss would put the Marlins into an extremely advantageous position going into their 7-game series with the Phillies. The marlins look for the sweep on the Braves tonight, as Pablo Lopez (3-3, 3.05 ERA) takes the mound versus Tommy Milone (1-4, 5.30 ERA).

5 Takeaways from Heat’s Series Ending Game 5 Win

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The Miami Heat faced off against the Giannis-less Milwaukee Bucks in game 5, and came away with the win 103-94. This was behind the outstanding play of Tyler Herro and Kelly Olynyk, surprisingly on both sides of the ball. Here are my five takeaways…

#1: Turnovers early became problematic for Heat’s starting lineup.

Miami’s starting lineup had issues to start the game, since their offense was very choppy. This led to six turnovers to start the game, and three of them coming from Jimmy Butler. Miami has continued to pride themselves in their efficient and smooth ball-movement and passing throughout the season. But this was not the case for Jimmy Butler and company in the first quarter. Luckily, Miami’s second unit stepped up to bring Miami all the way back, which will be discussed further down the line. The Heat will need to take care of these turnover issues, since if you do that against a team like the Boston Celtics, they will indeed make you pay. But ultimately, this is the reason Miami plays their veteran guys so much in these situations, since they can settle Miami down.

#2: Jimmy Butler uncomfortable early, Andre Iguodala steps up as on court leader.

As talked about previously, Jimmy Butler was very careless with the ball in his hands early, which gave him three turnovers out the gate. But, veteran Andre Iguodala came in and took control of Miami’s offense. He’s continually been a guy that has made a major impact on the defensive side of the ball when he enters, but he was clearly more of a floor general tonight. His ability to slow the game down against a Milwaukee team that wants to run the break was fully on display. Another thing that stood out was that he’s able to slow the offense down, with rookie’s Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn on the floor, which is not easy to do.

#3: Miami’s second unit brings the intensity that they needed.

When discussing Miami’s issues to start the game, I mentioned that the second unit stepped up majorly on offense. Well, that’s exactly what happened. For starters, Kendrick Nunn appeared to be in mid-season form with the ball in his hands, attacking the rim with fire in his eyes. Kelly Olynyk played a great game shooting the ball from deep, but actually stood out with his defensive disruption in the paint. Tyler Herro was scoring the ball at will, and displayed more of that outstanding play-making abilities throughout, especially on the break. This is something Duncan Robinson mentioned yesterday, when he said that his passing stands out more than his scoring. And of course, Andre Iguodala. As I described before, Andre’s ability to provide veteran on-court leadership is a major attribute for this team right now. And his ability to disrupt Khris Middleton proved to be important as well. If Miami gets this bench unit every game, they’ll be a tough team to compete with.

#4: Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo seemed scared to score the ball.

It clearly wasn’t the same Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo that we’ve seen throughout this series. And it’s not that they were off, it’s that they aren’t searching to score the ball. Neither player prioritizes their scoring abilities, but when things are getting rough on offense, they need to step up. Jimmy has the ability every play to attack the basket and get a foul or a bucket. Bam, on the other hand, has been given the open mid-range that he’s taken advantage of in prior games. These two guys will need to be more assertive in the next series with the ball in their hands, especially in games that guys like Duncan Robinson are blanketed.

#5: As Miami heads to the Eastern Conference Finals, they need to put these past two games behind them.

The Miami Heat clearly haven’t played to the best of their abilities in the past two games. But although that is true, they must put these two games behind them to be totally focused for Boston or Toronto. I don’t have much doubt that this team of mentally tough players will be totally locked in, but they must press a total reset. For one, their offense should be able to go back to normal, using the roaming Duncan Robinson as they did all season. And obviously Miami’s defensive scheme will change, since both Boston and Toronto spread the floor tremendously. But now, it’s time for Miami to both physically and mentally reset, to get back to their early series play.

Five takeaways from Marlins’ 5-4 win over Atlanta

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The Miami Marlins continue to see-saw from below .500 back to .500 after defeating the National League East leading Atlanta Braves 5-4 in extra innings on Labor Day Monday in Atlanta.

1: Miguel Rojas heroics

Shortstop Miguel Rojas hit the go-ahead run in the top of the tenth on a fly ball to deep right centerfield to score Monte Harrison. He had a four-hit perforce to increase his batting average to .375 on the season.

“Miggy has been like this the last couple of years, just growing and growing,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.

2: Extra-inning madness

For the Marlins, this is the second straight game ending in extra innings. On Sunday, the Marlins stuck first in the top half of the 10th inning but blew the lead in the bottom half against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Brandon Kintzler was the losing pitcher in that game and he blew his second consecutive save after giving up the game-tying home run to Braves pinch-hitter Adam Duvall.

It could’ve been worse. After Atlanta loaded the bases on a double by Dansby Swanson and a pair of intentional walks, Kintzler avoid disaster by getting Travis d’Arnaud to ground straight into second base for an inning-ending double play.

After the Marlins retook the lead, Nick Vincent came into the game and earned the save with three quick outs.

3: Urena vs. Acuna

Marlins starting pitcher Jose Urena and Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuna have always had must-see TV matchups. That’s because it seems like every time, they face off, Urena ends up hitting Acuna.

After Acuna was beaned, warnings were issued by the umpire. Mattingly said those warnings were based off their history. Acuna stole second base but was shortly picked off.

After the game, Urena, who finished his first outing of the season with three earned runs in five innings, explained that in order to get Acuna out, he must attack the inside part of the strike zone.

“For me, that is a weak spot for him and a stronger spot for me,” Urena said. “I can’t give him the inside plate. I have to challenge him.”

4: Marte’s impact on the Marlins

Starling Marte was considered by both local and national media to not only be the best hitter acquired in this year’s trade deadline but the best mid-season acquisition in Marlins history.

His first game ended with him hitting the go-ahead home run. These past two games have shown his added impact on the team. He followed his home run on Sunday with an RBI rouble on Monday. He has a .300 batting average and a .815 OPS this season.

“He solidifies centerfield,” Mattingly said. “He’s gotten big hits for us. The hit today with two outs was huge. He’s been great for us and he’s solidified that one spot for us which allowed me to now do a lot of different things in the corners and knowing that spot in the order is kind of set.”

“Starling’s been huge for us because he brings that energy,” Rojas said. “He’s such a dynamic player that can do a lot of things in the baseball field. I’m really excited about him and hopefully we can have him here for a very long time.”

5: Playoff picture

With the win, the Marlins are 3 1/2 games behind the Braves for first place and and 1 1/2 back of the second-place Phillies in the NL East. This year, the top two teams of each division, followed by two wildcard teams, make the postseason.

The Marlins have been hovering around .500 all year. Miami is 18-18 but 16-9 on the road. After the series in Atlanta, the Marlins return to Miami, where they have not been nearly as successful, and go through the gauntlet of 15 games in 10 days against Philadelphia, Washington and Boston. 

“I feel like there’s a streak in there somewhere for us,” Mattingly said. “I feel like we could get hot and win six of eight.”

5 Comments from Media Session with Spoelstra, Robinson, Budenholzer

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Erik Spoelstra and Duncan Robinson talked with media today, following an overtime loss in game 4 against the Giannis-less Milwaukee Bucks. All of the players shared a mutual theme post-game, which was the Bucks deserved to win. Here’s what was said today…

Post-Practice Comment #1:

Erik Spoelstra talked a little about yesterday’s game, but mentions that now it’s time to focus on the next game. He says, “It’s about getting to our game more consistently.” Some of that had to do with their stagnant offense yesterday, which many players noted post-game. Another reason for that was the fact that Jimmy Butler waited a little too long to get in a rhythm with the ball in his hands, which then it was too late. Spo also mentioned that they are now preparing for the Bucks with and without Giannis. This was a big reason Miami struggled on defense. Miami had to adjust mid-game from a Giannis centric defense scheme to a Khris Middleton and perimeter stopping defense. Now that Miami has time to prepare, they should be in much better shape either way.

Post-Practice Comment #2:

Tyler Herro did a bunch of Tyler Herro things late in yesterday’s game, hitting big shot after big shot. Erik Spoelstra discussed Tyler for a little bit, saying “His game continues to grow, and we’re going to ask more of him as the series goes on.” It truly is amazing that they are putting so much trust in a 20 year old rookie in the playoffs, but Tyler truly is built for this. One of his main attributes with his scoring that puts him over the top is his high level confidence. He wasn’t having the best game early, but still had the mental toughness to shoot those shots in stride in overtime. This is why Tyler Herro plays so many fourth quarter minutes. The coaches believe in him. His teammates believe in him. And most importantly he believes in himself.

Post-Practice Comment #3:

Milwaukee Bucks head coach, Mike Budenholzer, talked about the current status of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s injury. He said that he’s “getting treatment around the clock.” It was also reported that Giannis was seen at practice today with a boot on, and was walking with a hint of a limp, which is much expected. Budenholzer also mentioned that Giannis is doing “everything he can to make himself available.” Andre Iguodala mentioned today that Miami expects Giannis to play. Either way, Miami is now prepared for the Bucks with or without Giannis as Spo mentioned earlier, but this status will be something to keep an eye on over the next 24 hours.

Post-Practice Comment #4:

After Coach Erik Spoelstra touched on Tyler Herro’s play, Duncan expanded on it a little more. He said, “His confidence is special for sure, but the are he’s grown a lot is his feel.” He mentioned that the game is beginning to slow down a lot for him, and his decision making continues to stand out. He says that although he’s made a bunch of big shots throughout this series, some of his passes he’s made have been much more impressive. He finishes the conversation with “The best is yet to come with him.” And that’s indeed the truth. This team knows the upside that he has, which is why they trust him with the ball in his hands at the end of games.

Post-Practice Comment #5:

Duncan Robinson talked about the aggression he must bring on the offensive side of the ball every game. He said, “They’ve made adjustments to take away certain things that I like to do, but you must make adjustments to the adjustments.” He follows that saying that the most important thing for him is to continue to search for open shots. He also credited Milwaukee’s defense on him, but he knows he is still able to do what he has done all season. He finishes saying that he’s been very focused on trying to improve in that area, which is why he won’t get away from it. Duncan hit six threes in yesterday’s game against Milwaukee, which means he will be watched closely yet again in game five tomorrow.

Tough Loss for the Marlins

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Yesterday, the Marlins played the Rays in their series finale. Trevor Rogers took the hill for the Marlins against Tyler Glasnow of the Rays. After a series of missed opportunities for the Marlins, the Rays ended up walking it off with a 5-4 win in the 10th. The Marlins competed but lacked the extra fire to steal a win when they could have. 

What more can the pitching do?

 

Trevor Rogers is a 22-year-old kid who pitched 6 innings of 3 run baseball against arguably the best team in the American League. Brad Boxberger and Yimi Garcia combined for 3 scoreless innings. Allowing 3 runs over 9 innings shouldn’t be a guaranteed loss for any team, but for this Marlins squad every night it looks more and more like it’s the case. The pitching shows up and puts the Marlins in a position where they can win, but the hitting falls short. 

What is going on with the hitting?

 

Starling Marte hit a 2-run bomb in the first, but past that, the bats were quiet. The dichotomy between this team earlier in this season and now is evident. Lately, the Marlins have struggled to play small ball, resulting in lost opportunities and lost games. Before the 10th inning last night, the Marlins had a runner on 2nd base with nobody out in the 8th and 9th innings. In both cases, the Marlins failed to even move the runner over to third. I’m guessing Don Mattingly will not be happy with that sequence of events. 

Tough losses can have silver linings

 

Jazz Chisolm finally got on the board with his first MLB hit! Congratulations to him as he navigates his first few weeks in the bigs. He looks like an extremely talented young player who has fun on the field and loves what he is doing. Jazz Chisholm and Brian Anderson made two of the team’s best defensive plays back-to-back yesterday, which was good to see.

What’s next?

 

The Marlins need to pick up the pace if they are going to make a run for the playoffs. They can start doing so today against the Braves, where Jose Urena makes his season debut against the Braves’ Ian Anderson.

Five takeaways from Miami Marlins 5-4 loss to Rays

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The extra-inning rule giveth and taketh away.

Sunday’s rubber match between the Miami Marlins and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays showed both sides of the extra-inning rule in which each team begins the side with a runner at second base.

The Marlins struck first when outfielder Matt Joyce drove in Lewis Brinson with two outs with an RBI single on an 0-2 pitch. However the Rays struck back in the bottom half with an RBI double by Ji-Man Choi and a sacrifice fly by Brandon Lowe for the 5-4 walk-off victory.

Marlins closer Brandon Kintzler was dealt a bad hand going into the save situation and expressed his frustrations with the new rule in the postgame virtual media session.

“I think it’s completely stupid.” Kintzler said. “Maybe if I threw 100 and struck everybody out, I’d love it. It takes the whole pitching part out of it.”

The rule was meant to quickly resolve games that went into extra-innings. It became even more important to do so this shorten season as a way to preserve pitchers given the likelihood of numerous seven-inning doubleheaders. It has certainly become a way to reinforce home-field advantage.

“You’re definitely probably at a little disadvantage being the road team with a guy at second,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Even if you score, we see what happens today, they can still bunt. They can still have options on you.”

Here are four other takeaways from the game.

Resilient Fish

If there was a way to look at this loss as a moral victory, it would be that it was another example of the Marlins showing resiliency. Miami entered the game leading MLB with 49.7 perfect of their runs scored with two outs. Had the Rays been held in check in the bottom half, Joyce’s two-out knock would have been the go-ahead run. This is clearly a product of Miami’s heavy veteran presence.

“I think you do see a difference when you get some older veteran guys and Matt is a good example of that,” Mattingly said. “He just knows what he’s doing up there, been in a lot of situations but is not gonna panic. So those guys hang with their game plan. They don’t abort after one strike. I think part of that is a product of having older veteran guys that are still in a situation where you’re expecting production. You’re not looking at just leadership. You’re looking for production from those guys.”

Trevor Rogers shows improvement

Marlins starting pitcher Trevor Rogers had his best outing, striking out 10 batters and allowing three runs on four hits in six innings. Each start has seen him last one inning longer.

“Last two starts I kind of had a short leash, went four (innings) then went five. This game, I went a little later in the game. The breaking ball and changeup was huge. So learning just to how to pitch backwards late in the game is definitely going to play well in the future.”

Marte-bombs

Starling Marte continues to be a shrewd pickup for the Marlins. He began the game with a two-run home run off Rays starter Tyler Glasgow. Since joining the Marlins, Marte has batted .273 with two home runs and three RBIs. The Marlins gave up three pitchers to acquire him from the Arizona Diamondbacks including Caleb Smith and Humberto Mejia. President of Baseball Operations Michael Hill made it known that the team intends to pick up Marte’s 2021 option.

Jazz Hands … and Glove

Speaking of trades with the Diamondbacks, rookie shortstop Jazz Chisholm knocked in a single at the top of the seventh for his first hit as a big leaguer. He flashed the glove in the eighth inning by running down a fly ball in shallow centerfield to make an over-the-shoulder running catch. Chisholm was acquired by the Marlins in a trade with Arizona last season for starting pitcher Zac Gallen, who has 1.80 ERA in eight starts this season with 54 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched.

5 Takeaways from Heat’s Late Loss to Milwaukee in Game Four

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The Miami Heat came up short against the Milwaukee Bucks in overtime, with a score of 118-115. After Giannis Antetokounmpo went out with an injury, Khris Middleton stepped up and ultimately led the Bucks to a win. Here are five takeaways from the game…

#1: Giannis Antetokounmpo comes out the gate hungry, but ultimately goes out with injury.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was playing with a purpose out the gate, scoring 19 points in only 11 minutes. But eventually, stepped awkwardly on his injured right ankle, which put him out for the remainder of the game. This consequently fell on the supporting cast of the Milwaukee Bucks. As I’ve mentioned during the series, the only way for the Bucks to compete is if the rest of the team shows up. And after Giannis went out, George Hill and Eric Bledsoe stepped up to finish the second quarter, which put them up 2 at the half. Khris Middleton also stepped up for Milwaukee in the third quarter, scoring 21 in that stretch. He iced the game with a late three to put the game away.

#2: Jae Crowder doesn’t get enough credit for his elite shooting abilties.

Jae Crowder has clearly been a key piece for this Heat team all season, but especially in the bubble. First off, he deserves major credit for his ability to guard Giannis the whole series, which is a tough task in itself. He brings physicality on the defensive end on every possession, which further proves the fact that he’s a Miami Heat type player. And now to his offense. He has continued to be one of Miami’s most consistent and trusted offensive players in the postseason, especially with his shooting. Milwaukee is basically daring Jae to shoot threes for some reason, which definitely benefits Miami. And his on-court chemistry with Jimmy Butler has been clear in this series, since they constantly bounce off each other for offensive sparks.

#3: Miami’s bench unit struggles on the offensive end.

One of Miami’s biggest strengths and advantages this season has been their talented depth on the roster. Tyler Herro, Kelly Olynyk, Andre Iguodala, and others usually give Miami a huge offensive spark, but that wasn’t the case today. Miami’s bench scored 5 points in the first half, which ultimately led to Miami trailing by two at the half. What sets the Heat apart from others is that there is no drop off when their bench enters the game. With others, that’s not the case. But the problem is that if Miami’s bench doesn’t totally show up, they usually struggle. Today, their bench ended up scoring 17 points, with most coming from Tyler Herro at the end of the fourth quarter.

#4: Bam Adebayo is special. Very special.

It’s evident that Bam is the most impactful player on the floor at all times, due to all of the small things he does so well. He’s proved to be an absolute force throughout this whole series around the rim, but what everyone has been waiting for is his mid-range jump shot. And well, not only was he attempting these shots, he was making them. His confidence with the ball in his hands seems to be getting better and better. And with Giannis going out, this also opened up Miami’s offense for Bam inside. And once the defense began to key on him, this led to him utilizing his unique play-making ability, which is clearly his biggest strength. Bam’s ability to take over a game in so many ways was on full display today.

#5: Although a tough outcome, Miami’s in good shape.

The Miami Heat may have lost this game in a tough fashion, but it definitely wasn’t their best performance. Other than Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson, and Jae Crowder’s good games, there’s wasn’t much contribution from anybody else on the offensive end. As mentioned before, Miami’s bench didn’t show up today, scoring fourteen points. And most importantly, Jimmy Butler wasn’t able to get in a rhythm with the ball in his hands. Although all of this seems problematic, Miami won’t have these scoring issues many times, which means their shouldn’t be much worry heading into game five. And there’s just not much you can do with a scorching hot Khris Middleton.

Marlins Finally Beat Rays

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The Marlins and Rays faced off in game 2 of a 3 game series at Tampa Bay. Coming into last night’s game, the Rays were 4-0 against the Marlins on the season. With their ace Blake Snell on the mound, they looked to up it to 5. Sandy Alcantara and a slowly-waking up Marlins’ lineup had something to say about it. The Marlins won 7-3, improving to 17-17, while the Rays dropped to 27-13 on the year.

Sandy is back!

Since coming off his stint on the IL from COVID-19, Sandy Alcantara has had two starts: both against the Rays. The starts have been “A Tale of Two Cities”- esque. In his first start back a little under a week ago, he allowed 5 earned runs in 4 innings pitched while only striking out 2 in a 7-12 Rays win. Last night, Sandy allowed 1 earned run on 6 innings pitched while striking out 8. Without a doubt, Sandy getting back to ace-level will play a major factor for the Marlins the rest of the season. The bullpen looked fine allowing 2 earned over 3 innings of combined work. Luckily for them, this was the first game in a while where the hitting wasn’t totally dependent on them.

Are the bats FINALLY waking up?

I know one 7 run game shouldn’t be enough to ask this question, but that now marks two games in a row scoring 4 or more runs against one of the best teams in the league. Scoring 4 or more tomorrow would tie our longest streak of the season scoring that many runs. Corey Dickerson keeps having stellar at-bats, hitting a 2-run home run to propel the Marlins’ bats forwards. Matt Joyce came up with a clutch with a 2-out 2-RBI single to break it open.

Looking Ahead for the Marlins

The Marlins take on the Rays in the series finale today at 1:10 PM. Trevor Rogers (1-0, 2.00 ERA) takes the mound versus Tyler Glasnow (2-1, 4.24 ERA). It should be a good display of young pitching. Every game remains important for the Marlins as more and more time passes.

Miami Hurricanes: Kirk Herbstreit has ‘Canes as sleeper CFP team

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Leave it to Kirk Herbstreit to get Miami Hurricanes fans excited. He made a prediction, but perhaps it is not so outlandish.

On Saturday’s edition of College Gameday , he said that Miami was his sleeper team to make the college football playoff.

Miami is loaded with talent, there is no doubt about that. For starters, D’Eriq King should be able to make an immediate impact. At wide receiver, Michael Harley, Mark Pope, and Dee Wiggins should all be able to help carry the load in the passing game.

Offensively, perhaps one of the deepest groups is running back. The positional group has played well over the course of the past couple of scrimmages. Jaylan Knighton, Cam’Ron Harris, and Don Chaney Jr. are definitely capable of carrying the load.

Miami Hurricanes have talent defensively

Defensively, the Hurricanes lost a big-time player in Greg Rousseau, but they still have a ton of talent. Names like Quincy Roche, Jaelen Phillips, and Zach McCloud should help fill the hole. In the secondary, Al Blades and Bubba Bolden should be able to hold things down.

This Miami Hurricanes roster is extremely deep offensively. Although the defense has some moving parts, they should be able to play at a high level as well. There is definitely talent there, and in particular, the linebacker position intrigues me. I’ll be interested to see what kind of production Miami is able to get from that position group.

In the meantime, this prediction from Herbstreit certainly excites me. In what is a down year for college football, now could be the chance for Miami to show what they have. This is an extremely talented roster, and it’s generated extremely worthy buzz over the past couple of months. Now, it’s time for the Miami Hurricanes to live up to that buzz.

Let the fun begin.