By Dave Holcomb
SouthernPigskin.com

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Dave Holcomb on Miami’s momentum.

Its amazing what a change at quarterback can do for a program. Exhibit A of that in the ACC this season is the Miami Hurricanes.

Just two weeks ago, the question around Miami was whether coach Manny Diaz would finish the season let alone be back in 2022. But after two straight wins against ranked opponents, including a road victory versus Pitt last Saturday, the Hurricanes are rejuvenated and ready to make things interesting in the ACC Coastal.

Meanwhile, Georgia Tech is hoping to make things interesting this weekend against the Hurricanes. If recent history means anything, the Yellow Jackets have a decent chance of that occurring.

Coming into the season, Miami was considered one of the two favorites in the ACC Coastal because of senior quarterback DEriq King. He didnt play badly in September, but the rest of the team struggled against superior competition. Everyone knew Alabama was a great team, but Miami also faced Michigan State in Week 3.

Against the Spartans, King suffered a shoulder injury that ruled him out for the year. Like King, Miamis season appeared to be done.

Instead, second-year freshman quarterback Tyler Van Dyke has emerged. He didnt play well immediately, but in the last two games, hes been sensational in victories versus NC State and Pitt. Against the two ranked opponents, Van Dyke completed 76 percent of his passes while averaging an astonishing 10.01 yards per attempt. He also had seven touchdowns versus one interception.

The new Miami signal caller has connected particularly well with veteran wide receiver Charleston Rambo. The junior had a career-high 156 receiving yards in Kings last game, but Rambo also has three games where hes recorded 99+ yards with Van Dyke behind center.

In the last two weeks, Rambo has 16 catches for 228 yards and two touchdowns. Junior tight end Will Mallory also has multiple touchdowns in the last two games — his only two scores of the season.

Van Dyke and the Miami passing game have a great chance of continuing their hot streak this week while facing a porous Georgia Tech pass defense. The Yellow Jackets are 11th in passing yards allowed per game in the ACC but even worse in the percentage categories. Georgia Tech has enabled opposing quarterbacks to complete 64.7 percent of their passes and yielded 8.6 yards per pass. The Yellow Jackets are ranked in the bottom 10 among Power 5 schools in both categories.

Against three of the top four passes in the ACC (Sam Howell, Kenny Pickett and Brennan Armstrong), Georgia Tech has given up an average of 367 passing yards per game and 10 touchdowns with zero interceptions.

The Yellow Jackets may have to play x9ckeep awayx9d like they often did during the Paul Johnson era to upset Miami. But the Georgia Tech ground game has been great lately, and it still hasnt been enough to win. Georgia Tech has posted 453 rushing yards with an average of 7.1 yards per carry in the last two games. Yet, the team still lost by more than a touchdown against Virginia and Virginia Tech.

More explosiveness from quarterback might help, though, overall, that hasnt really been the issue for Georgia Tech either. Second-year freshman signal caller Jeff Sims is averaging 8.5 yards per pass this season, and he threw for 300 yards against Virginia two weeks ago. The Yellow Jackets scored 40 points and lost by eight.

Georgia Tech has won the last two matchups with Miami. The last three games in this series have been decided by a combined 14 points, but Georgia Tech will need its defense to play better to win a third straight against Miami.

The Yellow Jackets are in the bottom half of the ACC in third-down defense, red zone touchdown percentage against, sacks and takeaways. If they are going to give up a lot of yards as they have been, the Georgia Tech defense must at least be better situationally to stay close to Miami.

Miami is looking to end that short losing streak against its division foe and stay alive in the ACC Coastal race. In the middle of October, it appeared as though Pitt was going to run away with the Coastal, but with Miamis win at Heinz Field last week, the Hurricanes are now a game behind the Panthers and hold the tiebreaker.

As long as Van Dyke continues to play well, the Hurricanes appear poised to compete for the division title after all.