The college football playoff quarterfinals begins this Wednesday. Number two seeded, Ohio State, faces Miami in the Cotton Bowl. Miami snuck into the playoff just ahead of Notre Dame and BYU. They won a defensive battle against Texas A&M in their first round game, 10-3. Traveling to College Station and beating the seventh ranked Aggies put to rest any claims that the Hurricanes did not belong in the playoffs.
Miami comes into the game with an 11-2 record. They beat Notre Dame at home in their first game of the season. They also dominated South Florida early in the season, 49-12. Their two losses were both to quality teams in Louisville (at home) and at SMU in overtime.
On offense, Miami is led by quarterback Carson Beck. The Georgia transfer threw for 3,175 yards, 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. Beck also completed 74.5 percent of his passes this season, second best in the nation to Ohio State’s own Julian Sayin. In the first round game against Texas A&M Beck threw for only 103 yards. He did throw the winning touchdown with under two minutes left though. Beck is a two time national champion, backing up Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Miami has several talented running backs and receivers. Freshman wide receiver, Malachi Toney, is the Hurricanes leading receiver. He also caught the winning touchdown against A&M. Receivers Keelan Marion and CJ Daniels are also reliable targets. Miami does not target their tight ends often, but when they do it is Elija Lofton.
On the ground, Mark Fletcher Jr. is the lead back for Miami. He finished the year with modest numbers, but did rush for 172 yards against Texas A&M. It will be interesting to see how Miami attacks Ohio State’s number one ranked defense.
Miami has a stout defense in their own right. They give up less than 300 total yards per game, and force almost two turnovers per game. Miami is ranked seventh in rushing defense, but only 31st in passing. Look for Julian Sayin to target wide receivers Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, and tight end Max Klare. Miami’s defense is led by Junior pass rusher Rueben Bain Jr. The projected first round pick totaled 7.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and an interception on the year.
There are several narratives leading up to this game. Will Beck exorcise his playoff demons from last year? Might the Buckeyes shake off their loss in the Big Ten Championship game to Indiana? Tune in on Wednesday night to find out.
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