Talk CanesToday: Pinstripe Bowl Bound, Transfer Portal Opens
Good morning, CanesToday readers. It wasn’t the greatest weekend for Miami sports, as the basketball team suffered an loss to Kentucky at Rupp. But there were some bright moments. The Miami Volleyball team advanced to the Round Of 32 of the NCAA Tournament, Miami Women’s Basketball is 8-0, and we found out the football team will go bowling in New York after all.
If you were too busy getting your Christmas tree or watching football on the couch, let’s catch you up on everything that happened and look ahead to another busy week.
Miami will play Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl
What a weekend for college football. Georgia’s loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship threw a wrench in the College Football Playoff rankings, eliminating the Bulldogs from national championship contention. Instead, it’ll be No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama and No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas to set up the matchup for college football’s biggest crown.
Florida State being left out of the top four did not give Miami a bit of a boost. Instead of bracing for a Mario Cristobal Sun Bowl in El Paso, the Hurricanes Nation can head to The Big Apple to see Miami take on Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 28. The game kicks off at 2:15.
If you’re still playing catch-up, here is where all the AC teams ended up:
Thursday, Dec. 21 – RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl; Boca Raton, Fla.
Syracuse (6-6) vs. South Florida (6-6) – 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Friday, Dec. 22 – Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl; Tampa, Fla.
Georgia Tech (6-6) vs. UCF (6-6) – 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 23 – 76® Birmingham Bowl; Birmingham, Ala.
Duke (7-5) vs. Troy (11-2) – 12 p.m. (ABC)
Wednesday, Dec. 27 – Military Bowl presented by GoBowling.com; Annapolis, Md.
Virginia Tech (6-6) vs. Tulane (11-2) – 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Wednesday, Dec. 27 – Duke’s Mayo Bowl; Charlotte, N.C.
North Carolina (8-4) vs. West Virginia (8-4) – 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Wednesday, Dec. 27 – DirecTV Holiday Bowl; San Diego, Calif.
No. 15 Louisville (10-3) vs. USC (7-5) – 8 p.m. (FOX)
Thursday, Dec. 28 – Wasabi Fenway Bowl; Boston, Mass.
Boston College (6-6) vs. No. 24 SMU (11-2) – 11 a.m. (ESPN)
Thursday, Dec. 28 – Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl; Bronx, N.Y.
Miami (7-5) vs. Rutgers (6-6) – 2:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Thursday, Dec. 28 – Pop-Tarts Bowl; Orlando, Fla.
No. 18 NC State (9-3) vs. No. 25 Kansas State (8-4) – 5:45 p.m. (ESPN)
Friday, Dec. 29 – TaxSlayer Gator Bowl; Jacksonville, Fla.
No. 22 Clemson (8-4) vs. Kentucky (7-5) – 12 p.m. (ESPN)
Friday, Dec. 29 – Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl; El Paso, Texas
No. 16 Notre Dame (9-3) vs. No. 19 Oregon State (8-4) – 2 p.m. (CBS)
Saturday, Dec. 30 – Capital One Orange Bowl; Miami Gardens, Fla.
No. 5 Florida State (13-0) vs. No. 6 Georgia (12-1) – 4 p.m. (ESPN)
4 Questions vs. Rutgers
The Miami Hurricanes (7-5) are facing off against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-6) inside of famed Yankees Stadium. It’s the Pinstripe Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 28. With the 2:15 p.m. kickoff between the ACC and Big 10 opponents, here are four questions for Miami fans ahead of the game.
1) With quarterback Jacurri Brown making the start behind center, how intrigued are you by the sophomore run-pass quarterback?
During moments from the 2022 season, Jacurri Brown’s athleticism could not be ignored. Yes, it’s true that he was not ready as a passer yet but was thrusted into action while Tyler Van Dyke was on the sidelines with an injury.
That being the case, Brown has upside as a quarterback. If he decides to stay in Coral Gables after a quality game, it could be interesting to witness what he does next season.
2) Miami has several freshmen players with talent, but which ones rise to the occasion and play well against Rutgers?
Off the bat, I’m going with Nathaniel “Ray Ray” Joseph for my pick. One could choose many other players and do well, too.
How about running back Chris Johnson, Jr. or defensive end Jayden Wayne? Those would be two more freshmen to consider. To be truthful, from Miami’s first and second-year players, the list is long for which ones could break out that have not already had at least one quality game from the 2023 season.
Which young Canes will stand out in your opinion? Vote below:
3) Which Miami players will play in the Pinstripe Bowl versus Rutgers?
This is hard. Each year, media members call each other and their sources to try and find out which players are opting out of the bowl game before those players officially announce their intentions. It’s a never-ending task to be ahead of the curve and break news.
The other part of that, just trying to forecast the game itself. Even one key lineman going to the NFL or hitting the Transfer Portal, can completely change the dynamic of the outcome.
4) How enthused will Miami be to play in this lower-level bowl game?
If you follow college football, the new concern is whether or not players will take the bowl game seriously. Opt-outs for the NFL Draft are one thing and understandable. Sometimes it’s obvious that a team has at least several players that went through the motions during their game, however.
With Rutgers as the opponent, it’s not like the UM players are going to be as fired up as if it was Florida State or Clemson or North Carolina.
Pinstripe Bowl tickets are on sale NOW
Want to see the Canes vs. the Scarlet Knights in person? Tickets are now on sale through the Miami Hurricanes website, you’d like to sit with other members of the Canes nation at EverBank Stadium. Get in there.
The Transfer Portal opens and we’re going LIVE to talk about it
It feels like we’ve been hearing which players plan to enter the transfer portal for a week now, but the portal officially opens for business today. It will close on Jan. 17. For the next 45 days, players can enter the portal and transfer to another school, or withdraw their name and return. Each college athlete now gets one free transfer and retains eligibility for the following season.
New College Basketball AP, Coaches Polls
A week ago, Miami moved up two spots to No. 8 in the AP and Coaches College Basketball Polls. Where will the Canes land after losing to No. 10 Kentucky? Your guess is as good as mine.
Miami wasn’t the only ranked team to lose last week. Including the Hurricanes, eight Top 25 teams lost to unranked opponents, including three in the Top 10:
No. 1 Purdue: Lost to Northwestern
No. 3 Marquette: Lost to Wisconsin
No. 7 Duke: Lost to Arkansas and Georgia Tech
No. 12 Kentucky: Lost to UNC Wilmington
No. 14 Texas A&M: Lost to Virginia
No. 18 Villanova: Lost to St. Joseph’s and Drexel
No. 21 Mississippi State: Lost to Georgia Tech and Southern
No. 22 Alabama: Lost to Clemson
The AP Poll drops around 2 p.m. ET and the Coaches Poll shortly before. We’ll have both for you on CT.
Miami Transfer Portal Tracker
Free agency commences again in full as the NCAA transfer portal opens for all of college football on Dec. 4. The portal window for football has been reduced from 45 days to 30, per a new ruling by the NCAA Division I Council, which means the portal closes on Jan. 3. Graduate transfers aren’t restricted by the portal window and were able to enter beforehand. We’re tracking it all here, profiling those deciding to leave or join the Miami program during this period
Coming to Miami via the Transfer Portal
None (at this moment)
Leaving UM via the Transfer Portal
1. DL Jahfari Harvey entered Nov. 27
2. RB Donald Chaney Jr. — entered Nov. 27
3. QB Tyler Van Dyke— entered Nov. 27
4. LB Corey Flagg Jr.— entered Nov. 29
5. EDGE Chantz Williams — entered Nov. 30
There is a lot to know about what the transfer portal means for Miami. There are significant holes that Mario Cristobal and his staff are responsible to fill and key positions that need an injection of talent and specific body types.
The Hurricanes will need to find starter level talents at multiple spots, while also being aggressive when it comes to top talent that emerges, whether that be at a position of need or not.
Miami is an favorite vs. Rutgers
The college football postseason is set. Bowl season arrives in just a couple of weeks as 41 teams prepare for one final contest on the gridiron to complete the 2023 season. The CT crew will be handicapping almost every single one of those games, especially the one in in New York. Miami will play Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 28. Vegas is giving the team from the ACC the early edge.
The opening line for the Pinstripe Bowl is Miami -4.5 vs. Rutgers with a total of 43.5.
Miami is 11-0 against Rutgers all time. The Hurricanes last faced the Scarlet Knights on November 22, 2003. Miami came away with a 34-10 win.
Miami ended its season (7-5, 3-5 ACC) and will look to finish with eight wins for the first time since 2020. That year was the last time the Hurricanes played in a bowl game, a 37-34 loss to Oklahoma State in the Cheez-It Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
The last bowl victory for the Hurricanes came in 2016 against West Virginia.
Trinton is the owner of CanesToday. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, he is a freshman in high school and wants to graduate from the University of Miami
