What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?
That’s the age-old question. That’s what Miami fans have their hands on this week as the eighth-ranked Hurricanes fly across the country to take on a Cal team known for their stingy defense.
Miami has been blowing opponents out, with an average margin of victory of 42 points. That can largely be attributed to a Miami offense that’s been humming to the tune of 49.4 points per game. Miami’s offense is the best in the ACC and the second-best in the entire nation when looking at yards per game with 585.6. The same offense also leads the entire nation in total passing yards and total points scored with 1,963 and 247, respectively.
Where Miami really shines is through the air, with Heisman candidate Cam Ward running the offense, and with four legit wide receiver threats in Xavier Restrepo, Jacolby George, Sam Brown, and Isaiah Horton. The tight end complement of Elijah Arroyo and Riley Williams along with a strong pass blocking offensive line makes Miami nearly impossible to defend.
But, as Miami and the rest of the country learned last week in the dramatic Virginia Tech win, the way to make Miami stumble is by forcing turnovers. The Hokies picked Ward off twice and forced a fumble that turned into seven points for VT. Through four weeks, Ward had turned the ball over just once, against the Hokies, it was three.
Guess who leads the FBS in interceptions? That’s right, the California Golden Bears.
Nicknamed in the media as “The Calgoritm” Cal’s defense has picked their opponents off a whopping ten times this season, which leads the country. The Hokies defense was the best Miami had faced up to that point, and Cal’s defense will be a step up from that.
The Cal defense is not just known for taking the ball away, they have been fantastic in limiting opponents on offense. Through Cal’s four games this season, they have not allowed an opponent to score more than 14 points. The Golden Bears lead the ACC in points allowed per game at 12.8 and are third in total defense with 287.5.
The corner duo of Nohl Williams and Marcus Harris have combined for six interceptions with Williams standing out with four picks to lead the team. Cal has four corners who have been active in the run game and have been solid in coverage. The only team that has a chance to match up with Miami’s four-headed monster at receiver is this Cal team.
Miami’s offense still made things happen against the Hokies, and while Cal’s defense is much better than VT’s, Ward has shown he can be special with the ball in his hands. Cal has had a week off to prepare for this game, and Miami’s heart is still probably beating fast from last week’s dramatic game altering call.
The ‘Canes have to fly across the country to play a skilled defense, in their home stadium, with a student body that gets to host ESPN’s “College Gameday” for the first time in school history. There are traces of this being a challenging game for Miami. UM is favored in this game by -10.5 points. The ‘Canes were also favored by two scores against the Hokies.
The Ward-led Hurricane offense has shown it can set off some fireworks and be unstoppable. The Cal defense has shown that they are not interested in allowing opposing quarterbacks to make plays and have been impossible to move the ball against.
While it’s unknown which philosopher or scientist asked the unstoppable force and immovable object question, the entire county will find out when Miami vs Cal kicks off at 10:30 p.m. Start brewing your coffee and tea for what is sure to be a fantastic game in Berkeley, California.
All stats and data via Miami Hurricanes, NCAA, and ESPN unless otherwise noted.