No. 5 Miami heads into Friday night with a lot of momentum on offense, but the storyline around the Hurricanes is starting to shift toward the other side of the ball. The attack has been humming, the ranking has climbed in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls, and yet the questions are piling up on defense because of injuries.
That’s the backdrop as Miami visits Wake Forest at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Hurricanes are 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the ACC, while the Demon Deacons are also 2-0 and 1-0 in league play.
Miami’s secondary will be especially young in this one. The Hurricanes will be without OJ Frederique Jr. for some time and Xavier Lucas for at least a month, which opens the door for more movement and more evaluation in the back end. Against Wake Forest, that means Miami is leaning on a group that has already started to shuffle into different spots.
Bryce Fitzgerald got a start at corner while working around in the secondary, and freshman JJ Dunnigan made his first start in just his second game as a Hurricane. Head coach Mario Cristobal liked what he saw while the staff continues sorting out the best combinations.
"Bryce has shown the versatility since he has been here," Cristobal said after the 77-7 victory over FAMU. "I think JJ's play since he got here warrants him playing there…That's how we wanted to start the game. After that I think if you watch the tape, you will see a couple of other combinations."
The Hurricanes are coming off a huge offensive night against FAMU, when they broke a program record for total yards and tied the season scoring mark. Mark Fletcher Jr. also climbed the all-time running back rankings in Miami history during that game.
Wake Forest arrives with some confidence of its own after beating Purdue in double overtime. That win helped the Demon Deacons move to 2-0, and quarterback Gio Lopez is being viewed as one of the better quarterbacks in the conference.
Miami has handled Wake Forest well over the years, leading the series 9-3. The last meeting went the Hurricanes’ way behind Cam Ward and the running game.