Canes Welcome Bulls To Sun Life On Saturday
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Miami Hurricanes have just two games left to become bowl eligible in 2012 including Saturday's home game against the University of South Florida Bulls.
Miami is coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Virginia Cavaliers last Saturday, 41-40 at Virginia. The Bulls won last week against Connecticut after losing the week before by just one point against Syracuse University.
Still, USF has only won three games on the season in 2012 and has lost to teams including Florida State, Ball State, Rutgers, Nevada, and Temple. The Bulls have, on average, given up more points than they have scored this year, but still manage 5.7 yards per offensive play.
Miami's problems all season long have been on the defensive side of the ball. The Canes haven't been able to stop anyone this season and have given up at least 30 points seven times in 2012. Overall, Miami has a 5-5 record on the season.
Statistically, in terms of total defense, Miami is one of the worst in the nation. The Canes rank 118th out of 124 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total defense, allowing 489.6 yards per game, according to cfbstats.com.
The Canes also give up 31.2 points per game, which ranks the U 89th in the country, according to cfbstats.com.
Miami has struggled to get its opponents off the field, allowing a third-down conversion rate of 45 percent on the season. In addition, Miami has not been able to stop opponents in the red zone, allowing points 83.3 percent of the time.
On the flip side, Miami is only converting on third down 38.9 percent of the time and converting red zone opportunities to points 87.2 percent of the time.
Still, Miami's offense puts up 408.8 yards per game, good for 57th in the nation and scores an average of 28.5 points per game.
Miami's offense will be manned by junior quarterback Stephen Morris, who is looking to finish off an impressive season as the Canes' starter. Morris has completed 57 percent of his passes for 2,563 yards, 15 touchdowns, and seven interceptions on the season for Miami.
The Canes and Bulls kick off at 3 p.m. Saturday and can be seen on Fox Sports Net affiliates.
