The Southern Miss Golden Eagles take on the Miami Hurricanes. Check out our college football odds series for our Southern Miss Miami prediction and pick.
Southern Miss endured one of the more brutal losses anywhere in the country in Week 1 of the college football season. Get this: Liberty starting quarterback Charlie Brewer got hurt and was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Liberty had to eventually go to a third-string quarterback in this game, which would seemingly have given Southern Miss a great chance to nab a first-game win in 2022. The teams went to overtime tied at 24. Southern Miss gained defensive stops in the first two overtime innings, and in the first overtime inning, the Golden Eagles didn't even allow a field goal. Merely three points would have won for Southern Miss in the first OT inning, and a touchdown would have won in the second inning. Southern Miss could not get the job done. The Golden Eagles scored a total of just three points in four overtime innings and lost 29-27 on a Liberty 2-point conversion in the fourth overtime inning (which is decided by 2-point conversions, not full possessions).
Miami got the Mario Cristobal era started with a blowout of FCS school Bethune-Cookman. Tyler Van Dyke began his first full season under center at Miami. He filled in for the injured D'Eriq King last year. Miami has a lot of new faces on its new-look staff under Cristobal, chiefly offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, who helped Jim Harbaugh and Michigan make the College Football Playoff last year, and Charlie Strong, who will work with the Miami linebackers and help coordinate the defense. Strong won national titles as Urban Meyer's defensive coordinator at Florida. He also won the Sugar Bowl as Louisville head coach a decade ago. Miami has assembled elite coaches, which is a key reason why the Hurricanes are viewed as a team with a real chance to win the ACC. The other big reason Miami is viewed as a top-line ACC contender is that Clemson's offense doesn't look good. You saw why against Georgia Tech this past Monday.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Southern Miss-Miami College Football odds.
College Football Odds: Southern Miss-Miami Odds
Southern Miss: +26.5 (-112)
Miami: -26.5 (-108)
Over: 51.5 (-106)
Under: 51.5 (-114)
Why Southern Miss Could Cover the Spread
Miami looked rusty and sluggish in the first half of its Week 1 game against Bethune-Cookman. The Hurricanes might be very good later in the season, but right now they are learning how to play and are trying to come together under a new coaching staff with a new scheme. While Miami works to figure out how all the pieces of this very new puzzle fit, the Hurricanes will remain sluggish enough for Southern Miss to stay reasonably close and cover the spread.
Why Miami Could Cover the Spread
After seeing Southern Miss fail to score a touchdown in overtime against Liberty, and after seeing the Golden Eagles fail to take advantage of a great opportunity against an opponent which was using a third-string quarterback, Miami becomes a very attractive pick in this game. The Hurricanes worked out the kinks in Game 1 of the new season. This offense should flow a lot more in Game 2, and if it does, Southern Miss is not going to score a lot of points against an athletic Miami defense.
Final Southern Miss-Miami Prediction & Pick
Southern Miss's loss to Liberty was really bad. It's surprising the spread is not 32 to 35 points. Take Miami here.
Final Southern Miss-Miami Prediction & Pick: Miami -26.5
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