Virginia Cavaliers vs Miami Hurricanes Prediction, Odds and Preview - 09/30/2021

Game Time: 7:30 pm ET, Thursday, September 30, 2021

Venue:  Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  UVA +3.5, Miami -3.5; Over/Under:  61 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  UVA +3.5, Miami -3.5; Over/Under:  63 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  UVA NL, Miami NL; Over/Under:  62 points

 

Virginia Cavaliers:  2-2 (7th place, ACC Coastal)

Miami Hurricanes:  2-2 (5th place, ACC Coastal)

 

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Larry Ness has a CFB/NFL start to 2021: 26-18, +$5,810. Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

 

Virginia Cavaliers:  lost at home on Sep. 24 against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 37-17.

Miami Hurricanes:  won at home on Sep. 25 against the Central Connecticut Blue Devils 69-0.

 

 

 

The Virginia Cavaliers football team is coming into this game with a 2-2 record overall and is 0-1 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 3rd conference game of the year and they have had an awful start to the season with a 0-2 record in conference games this year losing to UNC and WF. They started their season off strong getting wins over the William & Mary Tribe and the Illinois Fighting Illini. That quickly ended though as they lost their last 2 games against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Scott Stadium and Wake Forest in their last game. Brennan Armstrong had an alright game in their last one as he completed 33/59 passes for 407 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. They did not really get a good run game going in that one as Mike Hollins led the team in rushing with 36 yards on 6 carries. The receiving corps did have a decent day though as Dontayvion Wicks led the team in receiving with 114 yards and 1 touchdown on 8 receptions. Jelani Woods also had a nice day with 73 receiving yards and 1 TD on 4 receptions while Billy Kemp had 7 receptions for 65 yards. Joey Blount led the defense with 5 solo tackles and 6 assisted ones while Anthony Johnson had 5 solo tackles as well as 2 assisted ones. No one on this defense recorded a sack or an interception in that game. They have scored 141 points in their first 4 games and they have allowed their opponents to score 110 points against them. Their offense is averaging 545.3 YPG while their defense is allowing 423 YPG.

 

 

Miami-Florida is coming into this game with a 2-2 record overall and they are 2-1 in their home football games this season where they will be in this game with their fans. This will be their first conference matchup on the schedule this college football season. Their 2 losses came against Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide in their season opener and the Michigan State Spartans while their 2 wins came against the Appalachian State Mountaineers and Central CT State in their last game. The Miami quarterbacks played well in their last game as Jake Garcia completed 11/14 passes for 147 yards and 2 touchdowns while Tyler Van Dyke completed 10/11 passes for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns. D'Eriq King was given the week off for rest but he last played against MSU completing 38/59 passes for 388 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. He will likely be the starting quarterback in this game. Their run game had a great day on the ground as Cam'Ron Harris led the team in rushing with 100 yards and 2 TDs on 10 carries. Thaddius Franklin Jr. also had a nice day with 88 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 7 carries while Cody Brown was right behind him with 14 carries for 77 yards and 2 touchdowns. Brashard Smith led the receivers with 91 yards receiving and 1 touchdown on 5 receptions while Xavier Restrepo had 4 receptions for 75 yards. Cam'Ron Harris also caught 1 touchdown pass for 83 yards. Gilbert Frierson led the defense with 4 solo tackles and James Williams came away with the only interception for his team in that game. Jordan Miller, Jahfari Harvey, and Zach McCloud all recorded 1 sack each in that game. They have scored 124 points in their first 4 games and they have allowed their opponents to score 105 points against them. Their offense is averaging 360.3 YPG while their defense is allowing 427 YPG.

 

The online sportsbooks have the total set in the low 60's for this game. Virginia did not look good on offense in their last game as they managed to score just 17 points. Miami is coming off of a game where they scored 69 points but when they have gone up against FBS opponents they are barely scoring more than 25 points in those games. Virginia's defense has been awful in their last few games now so that is going to be something they focus on fixing in practice for this game. This should be a lower scoring game where both teams struggle a bit on offense to score. The best bet to make here is on the under.

 

Virginia Miami Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Thursday, September 30, 2021 (7:30 pm ET start time) is Miami 23 UVA 17.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert NCAA football betting picks today.  And if you enjoyed this Virginia Cavaliers Miami Hurricanes prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

 

 

Virginia Cavaliers: 16-11 ATS in all games. 112-121 ATS against conference opponents.

Miami Hurricanes: 56-79 O/U in home games. 76-100 O/U against conference opponents.

 

 

Virginia Cavaliers:  W. Taulapapa (RB) day-to-day - Concussion. J. Hayes (CB) Out indefinitely - Leg injury. C. Bennett Jr. (LB) out for season - Achilles injury.

Miami Hurricanes:  J. Knighton (RB) Prob Thurs - Suspension. D. King (QB) day-to-day - Shoulder injury. J. Rivers (OL) out for season - Knee injury.

 

 

Virginia Cavaliers: Dontayvion Wicks is one player to watch here. He leads his team in receiving yards and in touchdowns and he is coming off of another big performance. Look for him to keep up his great play in this game and make some big catches down the field.

 

Miami Hurricanes: Tyler Van Dyke is one player to watch here. He is the replacement for D’Eriq King if he is unable to go in this one. He will have to step up and play a good game in his place. Look for him to make some key throws here to help his team win this game.

 

"The bottom line is Wake Forest won most of the one-on-ones from the beginning of the game to the end." - Head coach Bronco Mendenhall taking the blame for not preparing his team well enough after losing to Wake Forest.

 

 

 

“Proud of our football team today obviously against an overmatched opponent. It was against an overmatched opponent, I thought the most important thing today was Miami, and how we played. And, number one, I thought it was a clean game. We had only three penalties, and I think two of those right the end. Very few missed assignments, just a clean game, and with all the people that got it, we're able to get in there.” - Manny Diaz after their win against Central CT State.

 

 

WR Wicks, Dontayvion 

WR Henry, Ra'Shaun 

WR Kemp IV, Billy 

TE Woods, Jelani 

QB Armstrong, Brennan 

RB Taulapapa, Wayne 

 

WR Smith, Key'Shawn 

WR Rambo, Charleston 

WR Harley, Mike 

TE Mallory, Will 

QB Van Dyke, Tyler 

RB Harris, Cam'Ron 

 

Passing: B. Armstrong (1705)

Rushing: W. Taulapapa (81)

Receiving: D. Wicks (460)

Touchdowns: D. Wicks (4)

Sacks: N. Taylor (2)

Tackles: J. Blount (24)

 

Passing: D. King (767)

Rushing: C. Harris (272)

Receiving: C. Rambo (288)

Touchdowns: C. Harris (3)

Sacks: J. Harvey (2)

Tackles: G. Hall Jr. (16)

 

Coaches:

Virginia Cavaliers: Bronco Mendenhall (6th season)

Miami Hurricanes: Manny Diaz (3rd season)

 

80 degrees F mostly sunny, 68% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 15 mph wind speeds NE.