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Hello again, Canes fans. We’re back for another GameThread as the Miami Hurricanes look to continue their strong start and undefeated season.
Today, the Miami Hurricanes return home to Hard Rock Stadium to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at 3:30pm on ABC.
Here’s our Game Preview by Stefan Adams.
Here’s our Opponent Q&A by Cam Underwood.
Here’s the other side of that Q&A (my answers to their questions) over on From the Rumble Seat.
Here’s our X’s and O’s Scheme Preview by Justin Dottavio.
Here’s our Matchup of the Week by Matt Washington.
Here’s this week’s injury report (with SEVERAL starters out for Miami) by Cam Underwood.
Here’s our picks from around the CFB world for this week by John Pickens.
Here’s a tailgating guide for this week from Donovan Hutchins.
Here’s a look at the season stats coming into today’s game:
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There may be some traffic issues due to road closures in SoFLA. So, here’s how you can most easily get to Hard Rock Stadium.
There are construction sites and road closures that could affect your drive to @HardRockStadium, info: https://t.co/xBAaejl5em pic.twitter.com/4HvEPvpeWC
— Canes Football (@CanesFootball) October 14, 2017
Here are Game Notes from Miami Athletics:
Notables
#11/#10 MIAMI RETURNS HOME FOR MATCHUP WITH JACKETS
• #11/#10 Miami (4-0, 2-0 ACC) will continue its ACC slate on Sat., Oct. 14 with a matchup against ACC Coastal foe Georgia Tech (3-1, 2-0 ACC) at Hard Rock Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 PM.
• Miami is looking to extend its recent run of dominance against the Yellow Jackets; Miami has won seven of the last eight matchups dating to 2009, including four straight wins at home.
• The Hurricanes are looking to start a perfect 3-0 in ACC play for the fourth time since joining the conference in 2004 and for the first time since 2013; Miami has never started 4-0 in ACC play.
• The other three years where Miami has started conference play 3-0 are 2004, 2012 and 2013.
• Saturday’s game was slated for Thurs., Oct. 12 but was pushed back due to Hurricane Irma in conjunction with a postponement of UM’s matchup with Florida State from Sept. 16 to Oct. 7.
• The Hurricanes won the 2016 matchup against Georgia Tech, 35-21, at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta. Miami scored two defensive touchdowns in Mark Richt’s first ACC game as UM coach.
LAST TIME OUT: LANGHAM LIFTS CANES OVER RIVAL SEMINOLES
• Thanks to WR Darrell Langham’s 23-yard touchdown reception with six seconds remaining, Miami topped Florida State, 24-20, for its first win against the rival Seminoles since 2009.
• Trailing 20-17 with 1:24 left, QB Malik Rosier marched Miami 75 yards down the field on nine plays, resulting in the go-ahead score. Rosier tied a career high with three touchdown passes.
• Langham had not entered the game on offense until the previous play, and he played a total of two offensive snaps. The touchdown catch was his second of the year and first since Week 1.
• Miami’s defense forced two turnovers and held the Seminoles to just three first-half points.
• WR Braxton Berrios recorded a touchdown reception for the fifth straight game dating back to 2016, the first such streak by a Miami receiver since Leonard Hankerson did so in 2010.
• Berrios became the first pass catcher since Reggie Wayne in 2000 to have a TD in his first four games of the season. Berrios leads Miami with 18 catches, 282 yards and five touchdowns.
ROSIER LOOKING TO IMPROVE TO 3-0 IN HIS CAREER AT HOME
• QB Malik Rosier will be making just the sixth start of his career and third home start when he lines up under center versus Georgia Tech on Oct. 14. He is 2-0 at home and 3-0 on the road.
• Rosier became the first Hurricane QB to open his career with a 5-0 record since Brock Berlin did so in 2003. He is fifth in the ACC in passing efficiency (148.1) with 11 touchdowns and three picks.
• In his career at home as a starting QB, Rosier has completed 44 of 64 passes (68.8 percent) with six TD passes and just one interception. He has added 52 rushing yards and one rushing score.
• Rosier was announced as Miami’s starting quarterback by head coach Mark Richt on Aug. 22, during the final week of Hurricanes fall camp, winning a four-man quarterback race for the job.
BERRIOS BALLING, NAMED ACC RECEIVER OF THE WEEK
• Senior WR Braxton Berrios has been one of Miami’s top offensive threats in the first three games of 2017, and leads all wide receivers with 18 receptions, 282 yards and five touchdowns.
• Berrios had just 12 catches for 178 yards and two receiving touchdowns in all of 2016 (13 games).
• Berrios came up big last time out vs. FSU-, starting and hauling in a career-high eight receptions for 90 yards with two touchdowns. He was named ACC Receiver of the Week on Oct. 9.
• Berrios caught two passes for first downs on the game-winning drive against the Seminoles.
• Berrios posted his first career 100-yard receiving game in a win over Toledo on Sept. 23, catching five passes, including a career-long 55-yarder, for 105 yards with one receiving score.
• Berrios became the first Hurricane since legendary WR Reggie Wayne in 2000 to record a touchdown catch in each of his first four games of the season. Berrios’ two-touchdown performance against Florida State on Oct. 7 was the first multi-score game of his career at UM.
• Berrios has a touchdown catch in each of the past five games dating to a win over West Virginia in the 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl, the longest such streak since WR Leonard Hankerson in 2010.
OFFENSE LOSES WALTON TO SEASON-ENDING INJURY VS. NOLES
• The only returning running back in the ACC who posted a 1,000-yard rushing season in 2016, RB Mark Walton was off to a sizzling start to 2017 before suffering an ankle injury at Florida State.
• Walton started and recorded 25 rushing yards against the Noles before what coach Mark Richt deemed a “season-ending” right ankle injury - Walton was carted off the field in Tallahassee.
• Walton was averaging 107.0 rushing yards per game through four games and 7.6 yards per carry.
• Sophomore RB Travis Homer, who has served as Walton’s backup since the first game of the season, has 207 yards on 25 carries. He is averaging 8.3 yards per carry with three touchdowns.
• Homer has caught five passes out of the backfield for 71 yards, averaging 14.2 yards per catch.
NINE IN A ROW
• The Miami Hurricanes have won nine games in a row dating back to Nov. 5, 2016, and have not lost since a 27-30 defeat at Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. on Oct. 29, 2016. The nine-game winning streak is the third-longest nationwide at the FBS level (Clemson - 11, USF - 10).
• The nine-game winning streak is the longest for UM since 2012-13 (Nov. 17, 2012 - Oct. 26, 2013.)
• Miami has not won 10 games in a row since 2003-2004 (Nov. 15, 2003 - Oct. 23, 2004).
• UM’s average margin of victory during its current nine-game winning streak is 19.1 points.
• Since taking over, Mark Richt has guided Miami to a 13-4 record and Miami’s 13 wins have come by an average of 24.6 points. The four losses have come by an average of just 8.0 points.
ROAD REGULARS
• Miami opened ACC play on the road for the eighth time in the past nine seasons (at Duke, Sept. 29) and with back-to-back road games for the fourth time ever and first season since 2012.
• Since joining the conference in 2004, the Hurricanes are now 8-6 all-time in ACC openers.
• When opening ACC play on the road, the Hurricanes have an all-time record of 5-4.
WHO’S ROCKING THE TURNOVER CHAIN?
• The University of Miami “turnover chain” made its debut Sept. 2 against Bethune-Cookman, when sophomore DB Malek Young was rewarded for his interception with an oversized sparkling “U” chain on the sidelines at Hard Rock Stadium.
• Miami has recorded seven turnovers on defense so far, and eight different student-athletes have worn the chain: Young, DB Amari Carter (forced fumble vs. Bethune-Cookman), DL Ryan Fines (recovered fumble vs. Bethune-Cookman), DB Sheldrick Redwine (recovered fumble vs. Toledo), LB Michael Pinckney(interception vs. Duke), DL Pat Bethel (forced fumble and fumble recovery vs. Duke), DB Michael Jackson (interception vs. Florida State) and DB Dee Delaney (interception vs. Florida State).
• The chain, which was the brainchild of Miami’s defensive staff in an effort to reward players for creating turnovers, has since inspired an Adidas designed t-shirt and been the source of viral social media posts since making its debut on Sept. 2.
• Is it the chain? Miami is tied for first in the ACC with a turnover margin of +4 (1.00 / game).
WELCOME BACK
• After missing the first two games of 2017 with a hamstring injury suffered during training camp, WR Ahmmon Richards returned vs. Duke on Sept. 29, starting and totaling 106 receiving yards.
• It was the fifth career 100-yard receiving game for Richards, who added a 49-yard TD in the win.
• Richards caught four passes for 68 yards with a long of 32 in UM’s win at Florida State on Oct. 7.
BADG-O-MATIC
• Senior K Michael Badgley, who earned third-team All-ACC honors for the second straight year in 2016, has enjoyed a strong start to 2017, going 5-for-6 on field goals and 19-for-19 on PATs.
• Badgley, who was named to the preseason watch list for the Lou Groza Award, ranks third in Miami history in career made field goals (67). He hit a Miami-record 25 field goals in 2015.
• Badgley needs just six field goals to tie Carlos Huerta’s (1988-91) Miami career record of 73.
• Badgley 339 career points are the second-most in UM history; Huerta (397) owns the UM record.
• Badgley’s lone miss this season came on a season-long 53-yard attempt vs. Duke (Sept. 29).
WALTON AMONG TOP BACKS IN MIAMI’S STORIED HISTORY AT RB
• With 1,995 career rush yards, RB Mark Walton now sits in 11th place all-time at Miami; he entered the season No. 21 in all-time rush yards. His eight 100-yard rush games are tied for eighth-most.
• With 25 yards against Florida State last time out, Walton moved from No. 12 to No. 11 in the record books, leapfrogging UM legend Frank Gore (2001-04), who totaled 1,975 career yards.
• Walton opened 2017 with a bang, recording 148 yards and two rushing touchdowns in Week 1. He followed that up with the seventh 200-yard rushing game ever in Week 2 vs. Toledo. Walton now has 28 career TDs in 30 career games and is tied for fifth in rushing TDs at Miami (26).
• In 2016, Walton became just the 10th running back in Miami history to rush for over 1,000 yards.
• The impressive feat marked the 11th 1,000-yard rushing season in Miami’s and the third straight year the Hurricanes had a 1,000-yard rusher; Duke Johnson rushed for 1,652 yards in 2014 while Joe Yearby finished with 1,002 yards on the ground in 2015.
• James Jackson (1,006 in 2000), Clinton Portis (1,200 in 2001) and Willis McGahee (1,753 in 2002) recorded the only other stretch of three straight 1,000-yard rushers in Miami history.
So there you have it. All the info you need for today’s game.
Now hop in the comments and discuss the action as your Canes (hopefully) take sole possession of 1st place in the ACC Coastal.