No. 9 Miami Hurricanes at No. 11 Virginia Tech Hokies

Opening Line: Miami Hurricanes -2.5

Time: 3:30 PM ET Saturday September 26, 2009 on ABC

by Marasoft.com Staff

This Saturday afternoon the Virginia Tech Hokies host the resurgent Miami Hurricanes in a vital early season ACC Coastal Division match up. Is Miami back to being the powerhouse they were in the past? Last week the Hurricanes looked solid in beating the then 14th ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 33-14 while the Hokies beat Nebraska 16-15 in a nail-biter. Miami is already 2-0 in ACC play while this is the first division game for the Hokies. Last season the Hurricanes upset the Hokies last season 16-14 at home and now they are favored in this game even though the game is at Virginia Tech. Whoever wins this game will have the inside track to the ACC Championship.

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The Hurricanes are led by QB Jacory Harris (656 yds 5 TD 2 INT) and his main targets are Travis Benjamin (7 rec 157 yds 1 TD) and Leonard Hankerson (5 rec 107 yds). The Canes rushing attack is led by the RB duo of Graig Cooper (124 yds 1 TD) and Javarris James (108 yds 2 TD). The Hokies are led by Tyrod Taylor (444 yds 3 TD 1 INT) and his main targets are Danny Coale (5 rec 148 yds) and Jarrett Boykin (9 rec 94 yds). The Hokies rushing attack is led by the duo of Ryan Williams (342 yds 6 TD) and David Wilson (161 yds 1 TD).

The big match up in this game will be the Miami offense vs. the Virginia Tech defense. Jacory Harris has played solid at the QB position and he is using the many weapons that he has and has limited his mistakes, which killed the Canes last season. They have a solid WR corps, which will cause the Hokies secondary problems. The Hokies do have a decent secondary, but the Canes have so many weapons that it will be difficult to cover them all.

Last week the Hokies did not look good against Nebraska, but they managed to score with only 20 seconds remaining to seal the victory. The Hokies are strong up front on D and they will have to get to Harris early and often and not allow him time to find his receivers. The Hokies will have to control the clock in this game by rushing the ball. If the Hurricanes defense can stop Ryan Williams and not allow him to move the chains on the ground they will be in great shape.

This season the Canes are 2-0 on the season, 2-0 against the spread, and 2-0 against teams ranked in the top 25. If this game becomes a high scoring affair it definitely favors the Hurricanes, as the Hokies do not have the firepower on offense to get into a shootout. Conversely if this is a low scoring game it favors the Hokies.

The Marasoft Pick: Miami minus the 2.5 points