Miami at Virginia Week 1 Free Pick

Miami travels north to take on Virginia in ACC action in Week 11 of the NCAA regular season. Both teams feature new head coaches, as Miami welcomes alum Mark Richt, who left Georgia after 15 seasons, while the Cavaliers are bringing in Bronco Mendenhall, who left BYU after a successful career there. Both coaches look to energize programs that have struggled to contend in recent years. In 2015, Miami held off Virginia on Homecoming, with a 27-21 victory two weeks after the firing of Al Golden. Don’t forget to be on the lookout for more college football lines by clicking here.

Take a Look at the Miami at Virginia Week 1 Free Pick

Summer Campaign Week 5 is racked. Take a look: https://t.co/NOHwFEa6na

— Virginia Football (@UVa_Football) July 22, 2016

When: Saturday, November 12, 2016, Time TBA Where: Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, VA TV: TBA Radio: Miami / Virginia Live Stream: ACC Digital Network  NCAA Odds: TBA

Why should you bet on Virginia?

Mendenhall coached BYU to at least 10 wins during five of his 10 years with the Cougars. He was coaching an independent program and didn’t have the same recruiting pool that some of the bigger schools had, and now as a Power 5 coach that should just increase. Matt Johns returns at quarterback, having completed 61.3% of his passes last year and throwing for 2,810 yards. However, he threw 17 picks last year — too many for a team to be competitive. Taquan Mizzell, Albert Reid and Olamide Zacchaeus round out a solid tailback corps — and they can also catch balls out of the backfield. Look for Mendenhall to run the offense at a quicker pace than Virginia did under Mike London. On defense, expect Virginia to change to Mendenhall’s preferred 3-4 defense – – which could cause some hiccups as the Cavaliers don’t have the size to dominate with a three-man front.

Why should you put your money on the Hurricanes?

Richt comes to town having won 145 games in his 15 seasons at Georgia, but somehow that wasn’t enough, as he got painted with the brush of never winning the big game, as Florida kept running away with SEC East titles. Miami has not won 10 games since 2003; Richt has won at least 10 games in 10 of the seasons since then. Brad Kaaya posted a passer rating of 132 or higher in eight games last season. He posted a 152.4 passer rating on first and second down. In the spring game, he went 29 for 45 for 345 yards, with a green receiving corps. If Joseph Yearby can keep up that 4.9 yard per carry average from last year, the Hurricanes should be able to move the ball.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

Changing defensive schemes can be challenging for a team that doesn’t have the personnel to fit the size and strength requirements. I like Mendenhall’s enthusiasm, but Miami has more pieces in place. I’m predicting a 28-24 Hurricane win.