Notre Dame vs. Miami: Keys to the game

A look at the big battles between Notre Dame and Miami in the 2010 Hyundai Sun Bowl:

Notre Dame offense vs. Miami defense

Forget Michael Floyd. The Fighting Irish can’t rely on the junior wide receiver, who has caught 73 balls for 916 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, to provide their offensive spark in the Hyundai Sun Bowl. Same goes for Notre Dame receiver Theo Riddick, who is an excellent No. 2. Neither will find much success early on against that Miami secondary, which is ranked No. 2 nationally in pass defense and features potential NFL first-round pick Brandon Harris. Harris, along with Ryan Hill, Vaughn Telemaque, Ray-Ray Armstrong and several others will give up the slants and hitches when they aren’t manned up, but they won’t be prone to the big play at all in Friday’s game.

Up front the Hurricanes feature big-time talent on the defensive line. Allen Bailey and Marcus Forston are monsters. And linebackers Sean Spence and Colin McCarthy can cover sideline-to-sideline. But for all the talent Miami’s front seven has, they are often the victim of their own physical prowess. It’s common to see Miami overpursue against the run. Florida State gashed the Canes for 298 rushing yards in a 45-17 romp. If Notre Dame’s Cierre Wood, who has played well in the absence of Armando Allen, can get going up the field on stretch plays where he can pick his holes and make cutbacks, Miami could find itself bringing safeties into the box to plug the run. That’s when Irish quarterback Tommy Rees can begin making things happen. But if the Notre Dame ground game doesn’t get going, the offense won’t get going. Will be a big challenge for Irish tackle Zack Martin and the No. 97-ranked rushing attack in the country.

Miami offense vs. Notre Dame defense

The Hurricanes have their modern-day version of the Four Horsemen with their stable of running backs — Graig Cooper, Lamar Miller, Damien Berry and Mike James. Any of those guys can start on any other team in the country. Youngster Storm Johnson is part of that group, too. Together, they’ve all gotten playing time this season and have been good for 190 rushing yards per game. They run behind a pretty good offensive line. Tackles Orlando Franklin and Seantrel Henderson are All-ACC players. But the biggest battle up front Friday will be the one fought between center Tyler Horn, and guards Brandon Linder and Brandon Washington, against Notre Dame nose tackle Ian Williams. Williams is coming back from an MCL injury that sidelined him for the last four games of the regular season. Williams is a stellar run plugger. He often lines up slightly shaded over the center and it will be up to Miami’s three guys in the middle to get the proper rub- and scoop-blocks to keep Williams at bay, as well as get to the second level of Notre Dame’s defense, where linebackers Manti Te’o and Brian Smith roam. Both guys are tackling machines and will wreak havoc on Miami’s ground game if left untouched.

In the passing game, the Hurricanes will turn to their junior quarterback Jacory Harris. Harris hasn’t started a game since Oct. 30 against Virginia, a game he exited after sustaining a concussion. His start this week was assured after his backup, Stephen Morris, went down with ankle injury Tuesday in practice. Harris has a beautiful long ball and has shown flashes of brilliance during his three years running the Canes’ offense. But he has also shown a penchant for interceptions. If the Irish can put Harris under duress, he will force balls into tight spots. And a game-changing turnover can be all Notre Dame needs to get an edge in this game. If Harris can protect the football, he has an abundance of talent to get it to — Leonard Hankerson and LaRon Byrd are big, fast, strong receivers. Travis Benjamin is electrifying, and will be a factor in the kicking game, too. The receiving game, however, takes a bit of a hit with the loss of Aldarius Johnson.

Special teams

Notre Dame kicker David Ruffer has been perfect this season. Miami’s Matt Bosher has made 12 of 16. Bosher also handles punting duties for Miami and averages a little over 44 yards per boot. Notre Dame averages 38.

Comments

[UMike]

GO CANES!!

Hey, Notre Dame...no more CONVICTS here!
Funny, you decided that you wanted to resume our rivalry starting next year in Chicago, but you're the ones who dropped us from our annual game back when we were kicking your butts!

Typical!

GO CANES!!

[Robert Muller]

I've already gotten cheap Sun Bowl tickets as well as cheap Insight bowl tickets. I've got a big New Year planned to be sure!
I got my tickets from http://amazonticketsonline.com/sun-bowl

[Qbaxya]

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