The Miami Hurricanes won’t get a soft landing this season. They open with an exhibition against Vanderbilt, then jump straight into a season opener against Florida in Tampa, a setup head coach Jai Lucas wanted from the start.
Lucas said the move toward tougher non-conference games was intentional, especially with the tournament expanding and strength of schedule carrying more weight in seeding.
"Yeah, it was," Lucas said on getting more out of conference games this season. "And then, also with the tournament expanding and kind of some of the new stuff going on, I felt like the seeding is going to come down to strength of schedule a lot.
"And so putting us in some, I guess some more prime time games will help when it comes to that. But also going into conference, it gives us a better chance with the conference schedule we have because we got a lot of big road games. It just gives us more information and more kind of experience to get ready for that."
Miami enters this season in a different place than it was a year ago. The Hurricanes have Lucas back for another year, and Shelton Henderson and Dante Allen also return with more understanding of what the level requires. Last season was a learning curve, but this group is no longer walking into the opener blind.
At the same time, Lucas is still piecing together a roster that looks very different from the one before it. He has 13 new players to work into the system, while Malik Reneau’s return gives Miami an important piece for depth. The Hurricanes are bigger, deeper and younger, and they believe that combination can make them one of the best teams in the country.
Even with that optimism, Lucas made clear the team is still in the middle of its work.
"We still have a lot to work on and a lot to get ready for before we get to November 2nd," Lucas said. "But also starting the game with such a big test is exciting because it gives you an early gauge of where you are and what you need to fix.
It’s the first game of the year. If we win, it's not a championship.
If we lose, it's not the end of the world. But having the opportunity to play somebody so good is what was exciting for me."
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The matchup also offered a blueprint for how a skilled quarterback can work against Clemsons coverage looks and pass rush tendencies, even when the Tigers make adjustments the next season. Mensahs game was not clean across the board, especially when pressure arrived, but the combination of timing, depth of target and explosive plays is the part Miami will care about most. If the Hurricanes are studying how Clemson can be stressed again, this is the sort of film that makes the conversation worth having. [Read more 🡒]
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For all the noise around bringing the team closer to home, the real question is whether the move would be worth the financial strain. A new stadium near campus could easily push past $1 billion, and the athletic department would be taking on serious risk in a market already crowded with other venues. The recruiting debate is loud, but the financial debate may be the one Miami fans should be watching most closely. [Read more 🡒]