Scouting Miami

NC State football is back on the road this Saturday with yet another 7:30 p.m. kickoff, this time at Miami on ESPN2.

The Wolfpack is ranked No. 18 in both the Associated Press and the coaches' polls with a 5-1 overall record and 2-0 mark in the ACC. Miami is 2-4 overall and 0-2 in the conference, but has also played a very challenging schedule.

Here is a full scouting report on Miami:

Redshirt junior safety Bubba Bolden (No. 21)

Last season was a breakout one for the physically imposing (6-3, 204 pounds) Bolden, a former transfer from Southern Cal.

Considered one of the top recruits in the country in the 2017 class, Bolden started living up to the billing when he was named second-team All-ACC and a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist, given annually to the top defensive back in college football. He finished with 74 tackles, including 6.5 for loss and a sack, in 11 games in 2020 and also had an interception, four passes defended and an impressive four forced fumbles.

Thus far in six games this season, Bolden leads Miami with 41 tackles. He has broken up two passes and also recorded 2.5 hits for loss.

Senior receiver Mike Harley Jr. (No. 3)

Harley was third-team All-ACC in 2020, and he took advantage of eligibility being frozen to return to Miami as a super senior in 2021. One of Harley's best performances during that all-conference campaign came during a win at NC State, when he made eight receptions for 153 yards and two scores.

Harley is part of one of the best receiving corps in the ACC, and he has 25 receptions for 229 yards and two scores thus far this season.

Freshman running back Jaylan Knighton (No. 4)

Miami lost its leading rusher for the season when Cam'Ron Harris, who had rushed for 406 yards and five touchdowns, was injured last Saturday in a loss at UNC.

There does not seem to be a lot of concern about a falloff in the rushing attack however, primarily because of the speedy Knight. He played nine games and made two starts, rushing for 209 yards and a score, as a true freshman in 2020 and now gets to repeat that season from an eligibility standpoint.

Knighton has played two games this year — the two ACC losses for Miami — and rushed 32 times for 136 yards and two scores. He also has caught two passes, including a 60-yard touchdown vs. the Heels.

Redshirt junior receiver Charleston Rambo (No. 11)

Rambo started 24 games at Oklahoma before transferring to Miami for this season. He caught 76 passes for 1,180 yards and nine touchdowns at his previous school, and played a part of two Sooner teams that made the College Football Playoff.

Thus expectations were high that Rambo would make a big impact at Miami, and he has. Through six contests he leads the Hurricanes with 35 receptions for 422 yards and is tied for team-high with two receiving scores.

Freshman quarterback Tyler Van Dyke (No. 9)

Last year, QB D'Eriq King torched NC State, and the Hurricanes won 44-41 in Raleigh. King though will not be on the field this Saturday. A shoulder injury has knocked him out for the rest of the season.

That means Van Dyke is the signal caller going forward. Although technically a true freshman, it is Van Dyke's second year in the program. He played in two games in 2020 when eligibility was frozen.

In two starts against ACC teams, Van Dyke has been inconsistent. He completed 15 of 29 passes for 203 yards and a score against Virginia, and then was 20-of-45 passing for 264 yards with a touchdown but had his first three career interceptions at UNC last Saturday.

Van Dyke was a touted prospect coming out of high school, a consensus four-star product who was a Rivals250 member.

1. A dangerous receiving corps: Harley and Rambo lead the group, but they are not alone in producing. Freshman Key'Shawn Smith has 20 catches for 239 yards, and his classmate Xavier Restrepo has added 12 receptions for 236 yards and a score.

Two more freshmen have caught TDs this year in Romello Brinson and Brashard Smith. This is a deep and talented wide receiving corps that ranks among the best in the ACC.

2. A good kicking game: Freshman Andres Borregales missed a chance to win the game as time was expiring against Virginia, but he is also 8 of 11 on field goals this season and had enough leg to make a 55-yarder in a home loss to Michigan State.

Redshirt junior punter Lou Hedley was a second-team All-American in 2020 by the Associated Press and is averaging 44.8 yards per attempt thus far this year.

3. A defense that struggles to tackle: Per Pro Football Focus (PFF), Miami's tackling grade is 128th out of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. Only 1-6 New Mexico State and 1-5 South Florida are worse.

It is a major reason why the Hurricanes are allowing an average of 150.8 yards per game on the ground, which ranks 72nd nationally. That number includes the Central Connecticut State contest in which the Canes surrendered only 29 yards rushing.

In two ACC games, Miami is allowing an average of 204.5 yards per contest on the ground.

1. Run the football: Make Miami prove that it can tackle, since that has been a consistent issue for the Hurricanes this season. NC State has a pair of running backs that are good at gaining yards after contact in junior Ricky Person Jr. and sophomore Zonovan "Bam" Knight.

In the four games Miami has lost, it has allowed rushing outputs of 147, 193, 181 and 228 yards respectively to Alabama, Michigan State, Virginia and UNC. In its win over Appalachian State, the Mountaineers had 127 yards on the ground.

2. Win the turnover margin: In three of Miami's four losses, it has committed at least three turnovers. The lone exception was when it did not turn the football over in a defeat to Virginia.

The Hurricanes are feeling the pressure at 2-4 overall. There is heat on head coach Manny Diaz, a former assistant coach at NC State. The Wolfpack saw firsthand last Saturday when it gathered two turnovers on back-to-back possessions by Boston College how deflating that can be for an opposing team.

Getting some turnovers coupled with the pressure Miami already has upon it may be enough to break the Hurricanes' back.

3. Pressure Van Dyke: Along those lines, NC State does not want to let Van Dyke get comfortable. He has struggled early in games before finding his rhythm.

This will be the best defense that Van Dyke has seen in his starts yet. Rattling the young QB could lead to turnovers and more importantly struggles with accuracy in getting the football into the hands of his dangerous receiving corps.

0-2 Head coach Dave Doeren's record against Miami, one of just two teams in the ACC he has not beaten yet along with Virginia Tech.

22 Miami's strength of schedule ranking per USA Today's Sagarin Ratings, highest among teams in the ACC.

+26 Miami's scoring margin over its opponents thus far in the third quarter, the only period of the four in which it has outscored the opposition.

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