2024 Miami Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 4: University Of South Florida
The beginning of this season for the Miami Hurricanes has seen the program face opponents that the team has not played in several years. Against Florida, it has been eight years, over ten years for Florida A&M, and against Ball State, it is the first time the teams will face off. It is the same regarding another Florida rival against the University of South Florida.
It has been over a decade since the programs have faced off against each other in 2013, however, this will be a step up in competition for the Hurricanes after coming off two games against teams from the SWAC and MAC conferences. They will still have the SEC experience after their first game, but the schedule seems easier for the front half of the Hurricanes season before they get into ACC play.
The game will be played on September 21, 2024, per USF. The game was originally scheduled for September 4, 2027. The return match with USF at Hard Rock Stadium will be held the following season on September 13, 2025. Here is a look at the 2024 USF team and what the Hurricanes will be going against.
Offense
One of the many things about this offense after last year's season is that they are fast and furious. The USF offense leads the nation by averaging 82.5 plays per game and has 114 explosive plays (15 yards or greater) on the season. USF has run a nation-best 953 plays from scrimmage. With how fast the Bulls it wasn't a surprise that the new and improved offense was ranked 17th in the nation with an average of 455 yards a game.
The outstanding season of redshirt freshman Byrum Brown is what led to the Bulls' record-breaking year on offense. Brown joined Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels (LSU) as the only player to post at least 3,000 yards passing and 800 rushing in 2023. He had a total of 40 touchdowns on the season, 26 passing and 14 rushing. He also broke practically every quarterback record for the university during this season.
Brown broke the season passing yards record (3,292), season passing touchdowns Record (26), season passing completion percentage record (64.6%), season passing completions record (276) and tied the season record with four 300-yard passing games in 2023.
What was also impressive was wide receiver Sean Atkins who became the school's first 1000-yard receiver. He had a breakout season jumping from 238 yards in his previous year to 1054. That could be because of the talent at the quarterback position but that will also be an interesting watch to see if the duo can improve on a historic season for the program.
Defense
Last season a toughness was added to the team that had been missing for quite some time. That was the goal for defensive coordinator Todd Orlando. That is what happened as they increased many of their defense statistics from the 2022 season. A key to that was TCU transfer, Doug Blue-Eli. With his presence alone, the team generated nine more sacks leading to them having 23 on the season.
With the improved pass rush, the team was able to have time to protect the outside numbers and the inside of the field. The team generated 14 interceptions which was an improvement from the previous season while also increasing the tackle total as well.
With this, the Hurricanes could have a difficult time, trying to push the ball downfield and the way quarterback Cameron Ward was under pressure all season could cause issues for the quarterback.
Schedule
At this point in the schedule, the Hurricane will be preparing to start facing conference opponents with a potential 4-0 record going into the game against Virginia Tech. This will also be a good time to understand the game plan of how the Canes plan on playing the game. They can either be a running or passing team on offense and a high-impact defense. This will be the end of the easier side of the schedule and will start conference play.
This can be a good or bad thing. Last season the team started 4-0 and then collapsed after the infamous run call. That is something that the team would like to leave in the past and this is around the same time as last season that things started to fall apart.
Outlook
With the turnover from last season, this will be the best offense the Hurricanes will have to face to this point in the season. How well they handle the fast-paced offense that is similar to the Tennessee Volunteers' offense will be very telling for how far the season can go.
After this game, it will be the first ACC game of the season against a possibly challenging foe in the Hokies. If the team can slow down the high-powered offense of the Bulls while also performing on the offensive side of the ball as well, the team will prove to be one of the most dangerous and exciting teams in the country.
The Game
Date: September 21
Time: TBA
TV: TBA
Location: Raymond James Stadium
Series: Miami leads USF 5-1
Last Matchup: The Miami Hurricanes defeated the USF 49-21 on September 28, 2013. The Hurricanes generaged over 500 yards of offense while holding the Bulls to 338 and generating five sacks in the game.
Miami Hurricanes 2024 Football Schedule
August 31 at Florida
September 7 Florida A&M
September 14 Ball State
September 21 at USF
September 27 Virginia Tech
October 5 at California
October 12 Bye Week
October 19 at Louisville
October 26 Florida State
November 2 Duke
November 9 at Georgia Tech
November 16 Bye Week
November 23 Wake Forest
November 30 at Syracuse
