Virginia vs. Miami College Football Week 5 Picks and Predictions

With starting quarterback D’Eriq King questionable due to a shoulder injury, do the Miami Hurricanes have a chance, at home, against the Virginia Cavaliers on Thursday Night? Let's see the NCAAF odds.

Virginia Cavaliers vs. Miami Hurricanes

Thursday, September 30, 2021 – 7:30 PM EDT at Hard Rock Stadium

The Miami Hurricanes dominated Central Connecticut State, 69-0, last week, but they’ve struggled when it mattered the most. Miami is just 2-2 on the season with ugly losses to Alabama and Michigan State. Their lone intriguing win came against Appalachian State, which is a great win, but it’s a game Miami is supposed to win.

Virginia, on the other hand, has a terrific offense, but that same offense struggled against an ACC caliber defense in Wake Forest, driving their season to a 2-2 record through four games. Right now, there are more questions than answers when it comes to Miami. Quarterback D’Eriq King did not play against Central Connecticut due to a shoulder injury.

https://youtu.be/-TmkfUDdgLA

Now, it’s unclear if he’ll be ready against Virginia in a short week. King has thrown for 767 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions on the season. His backup, Tyler Van Dyke threw for 270 yards against CCSU with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He looked good against that competition but ACC competition is a bit different.

So far, again, it’s unclear who will play quarterback, but one thing that is clear is that Miami should be able to throw the ball down the field regardless of who is quarterback. Virginia’s defense has not been good this season, allowing 423 yards of offense per game.

D'Eriq King #1 of the Miami Hurricanes. Michael Reaves/Getty Images/AFP

The Cavaliers are coming off two straight games allowing 37 or more points, allowing two premier ACC offenses to just torch them down the field. The coverage has been weak and the rushing defense along with the pass rush hasn’t been much better.

On the other hand, Virginia has a quarterback in Brennan Armstrong. The junior has already thrown for 1,705 yards along with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions. Wake Forest found ways to stop the big plays from developing down the field but Miami won’t.

Miami’s secondary has been atrocious and the tackling by Miami has been absolutely embarrassing to start the season. Virginia is averaging 546 yards per game through four games this season. This offense is no joke and while Miami might have the talent to stop Virginia, they won’t have the schemes.

https://twitter.com/MiamiHurricanes/status/1442252477408051200

Prediction

Thursday Night Football is so exciting at the college level. The ACC is wide open this year and we might just see one of these teams get hot in the conference. Virginia’s offense can be elite and they’ve done very well at completing big plays down the field. It didn’t work out against Wake Forest but the yards were there. The clutch plays in the red zone weren’t.

Mike Hollins #7 of the Virginia Cavaliers. Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images/AFP

Against Miami, I’d expect Virginia to complete plays down the field. Despite the quarterback, Miami should also be able to score plenty of points. There’s nothing special with Virginia’s defense and the offense scores so quickly. Therefore, let’s take the Over 62 in this ACC matchup. Some of these offenses in the ACC are ridiculous. Virginia’s one of those offenses so take that into consideration for your NCAAF picks.

NCAAF Pick: (visit our Sportsbook Review)

*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.