Miami vs Temple Preview: Mario Cristobal Has Miami Rocking!

It’s been a long time coming for the Miami Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes haven’t been a terrible program. But this program has high standards. Fans and media will let you have it if they’re not met.

The Hurricanes finished the season 5-7 last year and missed the chance to go bowling. One of those losses came against Middle Tennessee State at home. Miami was one of the biggest disasters in college football last year in Mario Cristobal’s first season as head coach.

But he’s got Miami cooking right now. They’re 3-0 and will take on the Temple Owls on the road this weekend.

Temple is 2-1, with wins against Akron and Norfolk State. However, the Owls lost to Rutgers on September 9, by one of the more deflating college football scores, 36-7.

The Hurricanes are heavy favorites on the road. They’ll want to send a message before ACC play next weekend.

Take a look at the Miami vs Temple preview for Saturday’s non-conference matchup on ESPN2.

Tyler Van Dyke’s Development

It only took until he was 22, but Tyler Van Dyke has drastically improved for the Miami Hurricanes this season at quarterback.

Although he’s 22, Van Dyke is still in his junior season. He didn’t play much in 2020 but started for the Hurricanes in 2021 and 2022.

He failed to reach 3,000 yards in those seasons and completed about 63% of his passes. Van Dyke never threw a large amount of interceptions. In those two seasons, he added 35 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions. But his completion rate was still low, and he was sacked 33 times.

That’s all changed this year.

In 2022, Van Dyke threw ten touchdowns on 253 attempts. This year, he’s thrown eight touchdowns on just 75 passing attempts. He’s also completed 76% of his passes and has thrown just one interception.

He’s also been sacked just twice and has thrown for 822 yards, averaging 11 yards per pass.

In 2022, Van Dyke averaged just 7.3 yards per pass. Even in 2021, he averaged just nine yards per pass.

He’s got 30 fewer passing yards than last year’s Heisman winner, Caleb Williams, and has a better completion percentage than other Heisman hopefuls like Michael Penix Jr. and Sam Hartman.

Beyond that, Van Dyke has earned 16 passing plays, 20 or more yards. That’s more than Jayden Daniels of LSU, Caleb Williams of USC, and Drake Maye of UNC.

Van Dyke could push Miami to one of its best seasons in a long time. He’s already got them inside the Top-25 NCAA Football rankings.

E.J. Warner Has Seen Benefits From Having NFL Father

If the last name Warner sounds familiar, it’s because it should.

E.J. Warner is the son of former NFL star Kurt Warner. He’s not the starting quarterback at Temple and has led the Owls to a 2-1 record this season.

Warner broke multiple school records during his first season at Temple and is optimistic he can continue to provide a spark for the Owls moving forward.

For Temple, he added over 3,000 yards passing and completed 18 touchdowns. He threw 12 interceptions but was only sacked eight times in 443 attempts. Warner likes to get the ball out of his hands instantly, which helped Temple stay away from many sacks last season.

The same has been done this season. Warner has only had one sack in three games. He’s also thrown for 760 yards and has four passing touchdowns with only two interceptions.

The Temple offense has added nearly 400 yards per game, including over 250 in the air. If Warner wasn’t as quick to release the ball out of his hand, the Owls would be in trouble.

So far, the offensive line has been miserable and flat-out bad for the Owls. Warner also doesn’t have a lot of talent around him, either. Warner isn’t very mobile and won’t drag out plays. But he’s given fans something to root for.

In 2023, he added muscle to his frame. He also learned a lot from his dad’s attention to detail and learned how to read defensive coverages at an early age, thanks to his dad.

Let’s take a look at the odds for the Miami vs Temple preview below.

Miami vs Temple Preview

The Miami Hurricanes are 24-point favorites against the Temple Owls in Week 4. The Hurricanes are only 3-7 against the spread over their last ten games.

However, to start the season in 2023, they’re 2-1 against the spread. The Hurricanes earned a -16.5 cover against Miami-OH in a 38-3 win. They also added a straight-up against as an underdog against Texas A&M the week after.

The cover streak ended after Miami only scored 48 points against Bethune Cookman last weekend. The Hurricanes were 53.5-point favorites but won that game 48-7. The Under has also hit in two of three games. However, the total against Bethune Cookman was 64.5, while the other games were under 50-point totals.

On the other hand, Temple began the season going 0-2 against the spread. The Owls defeated Akron, 24-21, but were a 9.5-point favorite. They also lost to Rutgers as a 7.5-point underdog in a 36-7 defeat. Against Norfolk State, Temple was able to get its first cover as 31.5-point favorites.

They won, 41-9, just squeezing by with a cove.

Meanwhile, the Under hit in all three games for Temple.

Expect Warner To Struggle

Although we just talked highly of EJ Warner, our college football predictions remain that he’ll have a tough time against Miami’s defense. The Hurricanes have only allowed 271 yards per game, including 60.3 yards on the ground.

The Hurricanes are dominant against the run and have a lethal pass rush that will force Warner to make rapid decisions. Warner is used to making good and quick decisions. But he’ll always have to pass against a very good secondary for Miami.

It’s also unlikely that Temple can get many stops against the Hurricanes. Miami has added over 500 yards of offense under Tyler Van Dyke. He’s got the best group of playmakers he’s ever had at Miami, too.

Henry Parrish Jr. has rushed for 7.4 yards per carry with the Hurricanes on 26 attempts, while Xavier Restrepo has hauled in over 300 yards receiving on 17 receptions.

Miami will score at will against many opponents this year.

So, while Temple’s defense has played well, the Owls haven’t faced an offensive this lethal. Temple has only allowed 171 yards in the air per game. But that number will start to rise, even against a quality secondary. The Owls don’t match up well against the playmakers on the Hurricanes.

Give Us Miami!

Although Temple has played tremendous defense, the offense hasn’t done them any favors. Temple has scored 72 points but has allowed 66 points.

Meanwhile, Miami has scored 134 points and has allowed just 43 points this year. That’s a tremendous difference. The Hurricanes are playing much more consistently right now.

Although the Hurricanes will play their first actual road game this season, playing at Lincoln Financial Field against Temple won’t feel like it.

Temple plays at the same stadium that the Eagles play in. But they don’t get the crowd that the Eagles get. This won’t be much of a test for Miami.

If the Hurricanes added at least 38 points, there’s no reason why they can’t cover a 24-point spread against Temple. Miami has added at least 38 points in every game, including Texas A&M, who have much more talent defensively than Temple.

Let’s ride the Hurricanes at -24.

For NCAAF new today, betting odds, analysis and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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