No. 7 Miami Hurricanes at Stanford Cardinal
When: Friday, 9 p.m. (6 p.m. Pacific time)
Where: Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California
TV: ESPN
Coaches: Mario Cristobal is 35-19 at UM, 97-79 overall; Stanford’s Tavita Pritchard is 1-0.
Line: Miami is favored by 24.5 points
Weather: 71 degrees, 0 percent chance of rain
Quick slant: The Hurricanes begin their quest to get back to the national title game on the West Coast. Miami brings back many of the stars from last season’s team, including running back Mark Fletcher Jr., wide receiver Malachi Toney and defensive lineman Ahmad Moten Sr.
About No. 7 Miami: UM is widely considered one of the top teams in the nation to start the season. Featuring star transfer quarterback Darian Mensah, the Hurricanes are No. 7 in the preseason AP poll and coaches poll.
About Stanford (1-0): The Cardinal opened the season with a home win against Hawaii. Stanford, now coached by former Cardinal quarterback Tavita Pritchard, surrendered a 23-7 lead, then came back to win.
Three things to watch
1. The Hurricanes will be breaking in a rebuilt offensive line with four new starters on Friday night. Veteran Matthew McCoy is the only starter back from last year’s team. Cristobal and the staff have not yet publicly named their starting five for the season opener. Miami has a talented group of linemen who could play significant roles, including redshirt junior Samson Okunlola, sophomores SJ Alofaituli and Max Buchanan and freshmen Jackson Cantwell and Ben Congdon. But of those five, only Okunlola has played a significant number of snaps. The line should handle Stanford, but it will be a key question this season.
2. The Cardinal’s offensive line is already beaten up. Stanford ruled out starting center Aidan Kilstrom on Tuesday night, and tackle Niki Prongos and guard Simione Pale are listed as questionable. The Hurricanes feature a tough defensive line, led by edge rusher Damon Wilson II and defensive tackles Ahmad Moten Sr. and Justin Scott. If the Stanford offensive line is less than full strength, the Miami defensive front could make life difficult.
3. The Hurricanes will likely rotate multiple players in at wide receiver to team up with likely starters Cooper Barkate and Malachi Toney. Transfer Vandrevius Jacobs, sophomores Josh Moore and Daylyn Upshaw and freshman Somourian Wingo could all see time on the field.
“We’re going to roll a handful of guys in there,” offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said. “We have a lot of depth with that position, and I feel good about the depth all around, really. And so we’re going to roll guys in and stay fresh and see who’s got the hot hand, who can manage the game the best.”