Canes Release Final 2008 Schedule

If this were a classic Canes team, we'd be looking at 11-1 or 12-0. However, if Miami plays like they did last season, don't expect anything more than 6 wins again. The schedule is full of teams that should be beaten, but for some reason have given Miami fits over the past 3 years.

Thurs., Aug. 28 - vs. CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
Sat., Sept. 6 - @ Florida
Sat., Sept. 20 - @ Texas A&M
Sat., Sept. 27 - vs. NORTH CAROLINA
Sat., Oct. 4 - vs. FLORIDA STATE
Sat., Oct. 11 - vs. CENTRAL FLORIDA
Sat., Oct. 18 - @ Duke
Sat., Oct. 25 - vs. WAKE FOREST
Sat., Nov. 1 - @ Virginia
Thurs., Nov. 13 - vs. VIRGINIA TECH (ESPN)
Thurs, Nov. 20 - @ Georgia Tech (ESPN)
Sat., Nov. 29 - @ North Carolina State

It's actually quite favorable in terms of traveling. I'm glad to have that week off after the Florida game. It might give the team some time to refocus in the event of a loss to the rival Gators, but more importantly a chance to heal in time for the A&M game. I expect the UF-UM battle to be a very physical ballgame.

We also get a break in that we have no 4-5 day weeks before a Thursday game like we usually do. Instead, we got two Thursday games in a row. A little odd, considering I don't think ESPN has done that too often, if ever. But it does give us 12 days to prepare for Virginia Tech, and 9 days of rest before our final game at NC State, with none of those short weeks in between.

Overall, the schedule is favorable for a competent team with a productive offense. However, that's not what we've seen from Miami in the past few years. If Robert Marve can be 2/3rds as good as Sam Bradford was in his redshirt freshman year, I would think 9 wins is not out of the question. Heck, maybe even 10. But if he struggles and the defense doesn't improve from last season, then a 6 or 7 win season is far more likely.

My predictions (I figure I'll update them after spring and summer practices):

Wins

Charleston Southern. God I hope so.
Texas A&M. They will keep it close.
North Carolina. No way we go down 27-0 again like that. Not to Butch.
UCF. A dangerous game for Miami.
Duke. It better be by 2 touchdowns or more this time.
Wake Forest. Jim Grobe's magic will wear off eventually.
Georgia Tech. They keep beating us despite being awful. Not again.
NC State. A terrible team that had no business beating us in the OB.

Losses

Florida. An obvious result. A win is possible but highly unlikely.
FSU. No Xavier Lee to save us now. It's a coin flip really.
Virginia. 48 points better than us last year. Gut feeling about this.
Virginia Tech. Yep, 0-3 vs rivals.

I think the team is too young to beat our rivals, though despite my predictions, I do expect us to come out with 1 win of the 3. Individually though, I think we lose each game independent of how we do in the others.

Don't hesitate to post your own predictions if you'd like.