Miami INSIDER Reveals KEY to Gators Success vs the Hurricanes

chatting here with Manny Navaro of the athletic he covers all of college football but is extremely close to the Miami program and we're gonna talk a little about this game this weekend so let's get to it Gators vers hurricanes this is gonna be big Manny yeah I mean we don't get to see these teams play often enough uh I know uh I'm a little older than you Ally I've been around this Earth 46 uh years now and I remember when when the Gators and Canes would meet uh every year uh and it ended when I was about eight or nine years old once the SEC sort of expanded their schedule but it was such a fun rivalry for a long time it was a game that I always looked forward to as a kid and I'm just glad that they're they're getting to play this year and next you know I have an aunt who is in the Miami athletic Hall of Fame she was a swimmer for them and so I grew up listening to How Florida backed out of this rivalry and it was the best rivalry and it should every single uh year and so you know I am excited that it's back I'm excited to talk to you about this um our video is presented by bet us so we'll talk more about them in a little bit but cam Ward okay so there is a ton of talk about how good he can be and I do think that he has an extremely high ceiling and I think he could be really really productive for the canes but game one in the swamp against a rival I mean this is probably the toughest condition he's going to see all season long and he sees him his first game in a Kane's uniform how do you think that could impact him well the good the good news for cam Ward is that he's played in tough environments before I I would agree with you wholeheartedly if if he was a guy even with all the experience that he has and 40 plus career starts I I'd be a little bit more worried if he'd never played an environment like the swamp but he has he played at Washington last season he played at Oregon and he played well at both of those places uh threw for 438 yards against the Ducks uh his team lost by two touchdowns uh but he was in the game and he performed well and then Washington who made it all the way to the national championship game I mean they lost that game 24-21 threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns so I think cam Ward yes it's going to be different he's playing on this side of the country now not all the way out west but I think at least he's had some experience in rockus environments and so for that reason alone I think he'll be able to handle it just waiting for the gator fans in our comments to talk about you comparing Washington to one of these things is not like the other but uh you know the Florida State game was this past weekend and Georgia Tech seemed to struggle a little bit with the crowd noise on the helmet Communications and obviously that was a neutral sight game but there were more Florida State fans uh there than Georgia Tech fans and do you think that that is something you know it's new to college football this year you think that's something that he could struggle with yeah I mean I think every quarterback and and every player who who's got one of those communication systems in their helmet could struggle because it's there it's an adjustment right everybody's just used to looking over at the sideline turning their head getting the hand signals uh the poster boards all that kind of stuff now it's going to be different he will have uh that uh microphone in his helmet for about uh up until 15 seconds before the play clock uh but it's something everybody's going to be dealing with everybody's going to be adjusting to Mario Chris Ball did talk about that this week saying that they're prepared to do it the old school way uh if there's any sort of communication issues but I think it will be an adjustment for everybody in college football uh to just get used to you know hearing and having to cup your ears to hear what's going on inside your helmet kind of interested to see how that uh plays out Miami upgraded their running back room and their wide receiver room through the portal this year and obviously you know cam Ward is there do you expect them to just be really balanced on offense or could you see them leaning more on the run or more on the pass yeah when you look at Miami's play calling last year when they went seven and six uh they I think they had four more rushing plays the whole season than passing plays Mario chrystall likes the 50-50 balance he wants to have the running game sort of be the strength of this team and and then allow guys like cam Ward who's got an incredible arm uh to you know hit a few big plays down the field and he's got three receivers to throw to that had over 800 yards last season so there's a lot of quality experience proven guys guys I don't know if they're NFL guys all of them but they're certainly good solid college football players and so I think uh you know this this offense I expect it to be balanced I think in this game the way Florida's going to want to play this in my opinion I think Miami is going to try to come out and establish the run and put a little bit of pressure on their offense by playing a little bit of keep away Miami's front seven is getting a ton of Praise Is there a name in that group that maybe people aren't talking about enough and you think may end up surprising us yeah everybody wants to talk about Ruben Bane right because he was the ACC uh freshman defensive freshman of the year last year but the guy to watch out for is AEM mesidor he played uh he didn't play much for Miami last year only appeared in two games but in 2022 he led them in tackles for loss and sacks and everything I've been hearing coming out of Camp is he's healthy again and he is back to looking like the mesidor who Miami got uh and was really effective for them in Mario Christal's first season so I think he's got a nice running mate so to speak next to him Ruben ban does on the defensive line but there's a lot of guys I think when you look at this Miami team as a whole and you say what's the strength I think that the strongest deepest position on this roster defensive line I think a lot of ways um you know that's going to make them and give them a chance to not only win this game but potentially win the conference because they've sort of built it the way that it needs to be built at the line of scrimmage um okay so let's St on the defensive side of the ball for a minute and talk about the secondary um how do you think that that unit is is going to do against a Graham merled passing attack that really wasn't bad last year no not at all and and I think that's the one area when I look at this game on paper and I say where does Florida have an advantage I think this is where they do because Graham Merz is very very good uh at completing passes and not throwing interceptions and making mistakes and so while Miami is going to try to you know bring the pressure uh and bring him down and create turnovers I I think ultimately the most important facet of this game is going to be how Miami's defensive backs tackle because he's going to get the ball out quickly he's going to get the ball uh and it's he may not be taking very many shots downfield but it may be just sort of quick five six seven yard passes where guys like Trey Wilson um and others can can catch the ball in space and then it's up to Miami's young defensive backs to have to make plays and that's the one area where going into the season everybody knows that Miami is not as experienced as they were they lost two starting safeties to the NFL um they lost two starting cornerbacks with over 30 career starts uh to graduate guys that are now in the NFL as as you know roster fielders so um they're very young in the secondary and and and so ultimately that's where I think this game comes down to as far as the Gators if they're going to have a chance to win this game they've got to be able to to beat Miami secondary um has do you think that Miami is concerned in any way about Florida's defense they weren't good last year but they've upgraded in a lot of spots they brought Ron Roberts in do you think there's anything about Florida's defense that's giving pause or you think really their biggest you know worry really is that Miami secondary we'll get right back to chatting with Manny but first I want to give some love to bet us right now Miami is a three-point favorite on BET us so there has never been a better time to bet on UF with the link in my description you can get a 125% deposit match on your first three deposits up to $22,000 make sure you're betting on BET us this season and make some money with me no I I think for sure I think look Florida's still recruiting SEC caliber defensive lineman and guys in their front seven I know pup Howard's a really good player they added him in the portal at linebacker I think Miami certainly respects their opponent right Florida State as good as they were last year uh struggled uh against the Gators and and it wasn't like they just ran them off the field so I think Miami looks it at Florida respects what they've got in their front seven and says look if we're going to run the football we've got to do our job we've got to block we've got to uh allow our our running backs to stay fresh so I I don't think this will just be the Damen Martinez show as some people suspect Mark Fletcher's back from his uh Liz Frank injury he was becoming a pretty big star for Miami at the end of last season I think you're going to see a double dose of of of those two guys in the backfield for Miami and they're going to share the wealth a little bit so if Miami wins on Saturday what went right for the cans I think they didn't turn the ball over um and they and they tackled well in the secondary I think those are the two primary uh things that you got to watch out for um you know Miami's biggest issues last year were turnovers and and Red Zone execution they just were bad uh Tyler van djk had a really rough season that's why cam Ward is here um couldn't really read Zone defenses and struggled uh but yet when I look at Miami Season last year uh you know they beat Clemson at home with a true freshman quarterback uh beat him up front physically and Clemson's supposed to be one of the best teams in the League this season they were within a touchdown of Florida State a team that was 13-0 uh with a true freshman starting in that game as well so to me what what the strength of this Miami team ultimately is what they've got up front on both lines of this you know lines of scrimmage and and they're going to try to win that game that way but one way you get beat playing that way is by turning the ball over and not tackling well so who do you think this game means more for which school wow I don't know that you can really pick one over the other for being honest I think it means a lot to both uh just just from a recruiting and sort of stature perspective right because you got to be able to recruit in your own backyard Florida you know is coming off a really rough finish to their season there's a lot of heat on Billy Napier Mario chrisal Ball's got seven years left on his contract uh he's playing in an easier conference in the ACC I think it means more ultimately to Billy Napier because of the fact that he's on the hot seat so to speak in Gainesville um but I wouldn't say it doesn't matter to Miami it certainly matters to Mario chryston Miami because you've been selling this dream of hey we're going to be ACC Championship contenders if you come out of the gate and stumble in Gainesville a game that you're favored to win you're going to be a lot of people questioning your leadership do you think that it's interesting that we have this narrative that you know Miami could be uh you know in the hunt for an ACC title and Mario chrisal is this incredible recruiter when in reality if we look at Mario Christal's record and Napier's record Mario chrisal has one more win than Billy Napier in the ACC versus the SEC you know and we're talking about you would think that the seat would be somewhat equally warm but it doesn't appear to be that way why do you think that is two totally different contracts two totally different hires uh Florida is in a much tougher conference and they expect immediate turnaround right Billy Napier came over from Louisiana um and I think his contract is much friendlier in terms of terminating than than Mario Chris balls is he's got seven years left Chris Ball does on his contract Napier has four so it's just basic math and buyout money Etc and a lot of Miami's push look let's be honest here Miami wasn't before nil came along uh they weren't spending a lot of money on recruits and players they weren't buying guys because they just weren't investing in football the same way some other schools were now that niil is legal now that um you know you've got a coach in Mario chrisal who everybody that is funding Miami uh and Miami's nil initiative is behind that's why that's why this change is occurring if if Mario chrisal isn't part of the equation in my opinion I don't think Miami is spending the way that they're spending it just seems like then you know I guess the standards are different at the two schools or so I don't know it's hard to from the outside wrap my head around the concept of looking at their records there's not a whole lot different I understand totally what you're saying about cont ra and being looped in longer but you would think the people doing out the nil money would have very little patience for anything but championships right yeah I mean I think that's certainly the case at both schools and and again I'm not saying that Mario chrystall is not under pressure to win this game he is uh I think both head coaches certainly are they haven't won at all in their first two seasons they've as you said sub 500 both of them um but I just think the hiring process the build the approach to this all Miami was looking at this as a long-term investment I thought Florida's approach was a little different I think they were looking for Billy Napier to be able to deliver quickly and the fact that they've had two losing Seasons three in a row now and you know a head coach who's recruiting class basically fell apart because of a five-game losing skid those aren't the kind of you know steps forward that you want to see in your head coach especially in a a conference as competitive as the SEC so I just think that's why the heat is a little hotter on Billy Napier than it is Mario chrisal because he has been able to recruit quote unquote top seven recruiting classes Billy Napier hasn't so if Miami loses this game how bad is the Meltdown for your fan base I know what it's gonna be like for my fan base how how bad is it gonna be for your fan base well I think it depends on how the game plays out because I think Miami fans while they're hopeful that this is a great season and while they got their fingers crossed that Mario Chrystal ball is the right guy they also live in the reality that it's been 20 years since this program has done anything right like they've played for one ACC Championship in the 20 years they've been in the ACC so um going on the road playing at Florida who let's face it uh they are an SEC team there is Talent it's not like the Gators are terrible um I Miami keeps week saying Florida actually has more Talent on the roster than Miami right you could certainly make that argument but I mean Miami is a two-point favorite I think if Miami keeps it close and loses if they lose the same way Florida state did for instance on a last second field goal or they lose in a way where you know it's a late game mistake right people are going to be disappointed but I think it's totally different than if they go in there and get blown out if the gator beat Miami by two or three touchdowns and Miami's not even close then I think there'll be a total meltdown but I think Miami's fan base is smart enough to realize look Mario still has to prove it he hasn't gotten to that point yet and this is an opportunity man I want to meet these rational Miami fans they certainly on they're not the internet they're not on the internet absolutely I would say these are the people paying the bills the guys who actually invest in the change at Miami not the people who run their mouth there's a lot of those there there is all all fan bases uh do you have a pick or score prediction in this game I do I think Miami's going to win and I've said this by two scores because I do think Miami is fundamentally stronger upfront um but I think it's going to be a game in the fourth quarter where Miami's up by a score and they kind of add one on late to just sort of add a little bit insurance but I think this is like a 3420 30 to 20 type game where um you know the Hurricanes prove that they just are better than Florida right now and and I think they are I think right side of the offensive line uh for Florida is sketchy I think um there's some guys on their defense that still have to prove to me that they can be effective uh in terms of stopping the run and getting after the quarterback so I give Miami The Edge going in on paper but we'll see what happens Saturday well it's going to be a good one Manny tell everybody where they can follow your work or find uh more of what you're GNA put out this week yeah you can uh follow me on Twitter at Manny cornaro and you can read all of my work at the athletic also got a a podcast the wide right podcast you can find it on YouTube wherever you download your podcasts all right well we appreciate you thank you so much and uh enjoy Saturday I will