Through the Smoke: A Miami Hurricanes football podcast · 247Sports, Miami, Miami Hurricanes, Miami football, Miami athletics, College Football

Game Preview: No. 18 USF vs. No. 5 Miami

·54 min·4 clips

Force Byron Brown into one dimension and he becomes much easier to defend.

David Lake opens the show by setting up Miami’s ranked home matchup with USF. Gabby Urrutia joins him for a more detailed look at the personnel. The game is set for a 4:30 kickoff on The CW, and that gives the whole Saturday window some shape. Lake starts with the broader USF view before handing the personnel side to Urrutia. They also get into the injury picture, even while noting how murky that kind of information can be during the Cristobal era. Hayden Lowe is already out for the season, and that sits in the background here. The conversation then turns to how USF plays on defense. They describe a group that is not the biggest or the fastest, but does play hard. A lot of the focus lands on the back end and the way that unit attacks with an aggressive mindset. On third down, the Bulls will bring exotic blitzes. They even use safety and nickel pressure in twist concepts, which is a real part of the matchup. James Chenault comes up for his pick against Florida on a deep ball. Deshaun Rucker is mentioned as another transfer who has shown up at corner. Nico Grammatica is also part of the discussion. He is a good kicker, and that could matter if the game tightens late. The hosts point out his long-range leg and the fact that he has already shown he can hit from distance. From there, the conversation returns to how Miami should read what USF showed against Florida. That result is useful, but it does not automatically help USF sneak up on Miami now. The episode ends with a clear prediction. Lake has Miami winning 34-20. The point is less about a surprise and more about whether the Hurricanes take care of business in a ranked game.

As heard by us

A grounded ranked-game preview that treats the matchup like real film work, not noise.

The episode frames the Miami-USF matchup as a serious ranked-game preview, with David Lake and Gabby Urrutia keeping the focus on personnel, injuries, defensive tendencies, third-down pressure, and special teams.

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Why you'd press play

Get a ranked Miami-USF preview before a 4:30 kickoff.

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