MIAMI, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 09: (Photo by Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
The ACC announced Wednesday a new soccer schedule for the Miami soccer program that includes Clemson and drops Duke. How does that alter expectations for hurricanes in 2020?
The Miami soccer program has high expectations for the 2020 season with major changes to the offensive coaching staff and the addition of multiple transfers to the roster. The ACC announced a new 10-game conference schedule for the 2020 season with various changes for hurricanes and conference rivals.
Behind the Miami soccer schedule is Duke. Games in Clemson, Louisville, and North Carolina have been added for the Hurricanes in 2020. Miami will play 10 ACC games in 2020 compared to the usual eight-game ACC schedule. The elimination of the Atlantic and coastal divisions was also changed for the 2020 season.
Notre Dame will be a member of ACC Football for the 2020 season, her first time as part of a conference. Miami does not play Fighting Irish in 2020. Miami will play home games against Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Pitt and Virginia. Miami was previously slated to host FSU, UNC, and Pittsburgh.
The Georgia Tech and Virginia games were rescheduled from Charlottesville and Atlanta to Hard Rock Stadium. The 2020 road games for the Miami soccer team will be at Clemson, Louisville, NC State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. The hurricanes were pre-scheduled for games at Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
Aaaaaaaaa! 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 pic.twitter.com/Qez8pHh2ql
– Manny Diaz (@Coach_MannyDiaz) July 29, 2020
Wake Forest was one of two ACC crossover games originally scheduled for Miami as part of the traditional eight-game conference schedule. Miami defeated Louisville 52-27 last season in a game in which former Miami quarterback Jarren Williams tied an ACC record with six touchdown passes.
That was the pinnacle of Williams’ football in Miami and for Dan Enos as the offensive coordinator for the Hurricanes. Both have been replaced since the end of the 2019 season. D’Eriq King hopes to raise QB’s move to Miami in 2020 and new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee is expected to improve the hurricane offense.
ACC 2019 soccer standings
Miami is slated to play at NC State in its non-FSU crossover game in 2021 and at Clemson in 2022. No announcement has been made about game times and dates in 2020 or how future games against opponents would be affected. 2020. If nothing changes, Miami would host UVA and Georgia Tech three consecutive seasons.
The other games in the schedule don’t change much. Miami was already slated to host the state of Florida, North Carolina, and Pittsburgh and travel to Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. Virginia Tech CB star Caleb Farley announced he will be out of the 2020 season “Due to uncertain health conditions.”
Clemson will obviously be the biggest challenge. The Tigers have won five consecutive ACC titles, appeared in the last five college football playoffs, four national championship games, and won two titles in that span.
Miami AD Blake James: If we want to have college football, it is up to all of us to do our part to end the pandemic
– Matt Baker (@MBakerTBTimes) July 29, 2020
Louisville showed a lot of progress in the Cardinals’ first season with Scott Satterfield despite Miami’s convincing victory. The Cardinals finished 8-5 in 2019 after a 2-10 record in the closing seasons of Bobby Petrino’s second season.
Wake Forest also comes from an 8-5 season and has one of the most dynamic offenses in the country. North Carolina state was a worst ACC 1-7 in 2019 and had the second worst ACC overall record with 4-8.
The new schedule for Miami is more challenging than the old one. Clemson and Louisville will be more challenging than Duke. Playing the state of North Carolina will be a more difficult game than at least Wagner or UAB and along the way it could be said that it was as difficult as Michigan State or Temple would have been.
Manny Díaz and his staff have a challenging season ahead. The changes Miami made in the offseason should lead to an entertaining season where every game is critical. Ten of the 11 games Miami will play in 2020 will count toward the chance to play a conference championship in December.
