Saturday, Aug. 31
3:30 p.m. Eastern, 12:30 p.m. Pacific
ABC
The 2024 college football season has a number of highlighted attractions in Week 1, and this game in Gainesville is one of them. It’s the Hot Seat Bowl, featuring Miami and Mario Cristobal versus Florida and Billy Napier. It could very easily be the case that both coaches will not survive into 2025 with their current teams. If both Miami and Florida win fewer than eight games, both coaches could be gone.
Miami has a far, far easier schedule than Florida, which means the Hurricanes have to win this game. They have a few central tests on their schedule. If they pass them, the Canes would win 10 games this season and restore the sense that The U is ready to compete for big prizes on a national level. If Miami can’t at least win eight games with this schedule, it will rate as a massive failure for Cristobal, who came to The U with a lot of fanfare after leading Oregon to Pac-12 and Rose Bowl championships in his tenure in Eugene. Cristobal is a native son of Miami who came home when “mama called,” but mama will kick him out of the house if he goes 7-5 with this roster and this schedule. There is no more time for patience in South Florida.
Billy Napier has to turn things around at Florida this year. He was brought in to replace Dan Mullen because of a belief that he could recruit at the level Mullen never attained. Mullen was the ultimate X-and-O genius but a man who lacked the golden touch in recruiting the best players. Napier’s recruiting was supposed to be so strong that the Xs and Os would take care of themselves. Having Cadillac players who would physically dominate opponents would relieve Napier of the need to be the very best tactician in the SEC.
Hear the breakdown of the Miami-Florida game with T.J. and Gary on the latest “3 Dog Thursday” by clicking play below,
Florida’s recruiting has not hit the heights Napier and Gator boosters have hoped for. In Year 3, Napier has to show the program is on the verge of turning the corner – it won’t fully turn the corner this year, but it must at least make clear progress. If that progress doesn’t emerge, Napier will be gone and Florida will start over. The Hot Seat Bowl should be filled with tension, because both coaches are fighting for their jobs in Week 1.
Miami Hurricanes vs Florida Gators Odds
Spread: Miami -2.5 (-120), Florida +2.5 (+100)
Total: 54.5 (Over -110, Under -110)
Underdog moneyline: Florida +125
Players to Watch
Miami quarterback Cam Ward is very talented, but if you saw him at Washington State, he could go off the reservation and commit very bad mistakes. Ward has to blend his awesome athleticism with in-game discipline. Miami has struggled to find an elite quarterback in the 20 years of struggle for the program since the glory days of the early 2000s. Cam Ward need to be a star for all the pieces to come together for the Hurricanes.
Stepping into the Swamp, on an afternoon in late August when weather conditions figure to be nasty and uncomfortable (side note: why was this game scheduled for a daytime kickoff under a punishing late-August sun, instead of being a night game?), will not be easy for Ward. Florida, as the underdog in this game, will bark if its defense can force Ward into his third or fourth read. The Gators need to take away the first two reads and also contain the pocket so that Ward doesn’t beat them with the scramble. If the Florida defense can ward off Cam, the Gators will give themselves a chance to win a game in which the defenses figure to call the shots.
Stay with 3Dog Thursday for more underdog-themed previews as the 2024 college football season continues.