The Miami Hurricanes are on a mission to avenge last year’s late season failures that led them to missing out on a shot at the College Football Playoff. The USF Bulls are looking to set themselves up on a hot streak to open the season following massive wins over the Boise State Broncos and the Florida Gators. Whose aim for greatness gets derailed this week?

Miami obviously boasts the talent edge on both sides of the ball, from their veteran edge rushers to breakout true freshman offensive weapons like Malachi Toney. Carson Beck is looking like the best version of himself to open the year at quarterback despite the lengthy recovery following elbow surgery this offseason. However, can they contain the dual threat QB play they’ll see from South Florida’s Byrum Brown?

USF has been able to get critical stops when they need them and limit explosive plays for the most part, but they haven’t quite faced a team like Miami’s just yet. Their offense looked great against Boise State, but outside of one touchdown play on a horrible missed tackle from Florida they couldn’t score against the Gators a week ago. Can they get creative enough to keep up with Miami?

Since this should be one of the most highly anticipated games of Week 3, media members of A to Z Sports who cover the sport nationally decided to come together, sharing their final score predictions for how this game might play out. Who will win? The picks are in. Enjoy!

Miami 34, USF 16

Miami’s pass rush trio of Rueben Bain, Akheem Mesidor, and Marquise Lightfoot has generated a collective pass rush pressure rate of 15% off the edge through two games, tallying three sacks. Their defense overall ranks inside the top 20 in EPA per play allowed despite having already played Notre Dame in Week 1. Then on offense, Carson Beck and his dynamic duo of true freshman wide receiver Malachi Toney and veteran CJ Daniels are posting a top five pass success rate among all power conference teams. Both sides of the ball have been dominant thus far and that should continue.

Meanwhile, USF has kicked off the year 2-0 by dominating Boise State 34-7, and squeaking by Florida with an 18-16 victory too. Unfortunately their bend-don’t-break smoke and mirrors show is going to come to a halt this Saturday. Their defense has done a great job of getting off the field on third downs, and limiting touchdowns when their opponents rarely found their way to the red zone, but overall their defensive efficiency has been middling at best. The Bulls currently rank 68th among FBS teams in yards per play allowed, 79th in success rate against, and they’re not actually forcing many pressures or havoc plays as a defense overall. This stays close early as Miami feels out how to exactly exploit the weak spots in USF’s “please don’t hit explosive plays” defense, but they’ll pull away late. – Travis May

Miami 31, USF 20

The early story of South Florida has been a really fun one to watch, defeating Boise State and Florida in back-to-back weeks to kick off the season. They are led by dual threat quarterback Byrum Brown, who will need to make some timely plays against an aggressive Hurricane front seven. Defensive ends Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor will be counted upon to make a lot of plays, and keep him inside of the pocket. That will be the key to this game.

For Miami, transfer quarterback Carson Beck has been clean through two games. Playmakers like Malachi Toney and running back Mark Fletcher are off to good starts. While USF has played good defense through two weeks, the difference in this game will be a couple of big plays Miami is able to make in a very important part of this game. – Ryan Roberts

Miami 33, USF 20

This was a game last year where the Bulls hung with Miami tough for a half, and the Canes’ superior depth and physicality wore USF down and Miami put a foot on their necks with a 50-15 win. Things won’t be as easy this time around, although I think this will be a game for the majority of four quarters. Miami’s big offensive line will take over in the fourth quarter, and Rueben Bain, Jr. will be a nightmare for USF, forcing some second half mistakes to allow the offense to put the dagger in. – Craig Smith

Miami 31, USF 20

This is arguably the biggest thing that the CW has ever had air on their network, and for sure the biggest since Supernatural. It doesn’t have the sound of a marquee game, but it is one after South Florida cruised past Boise State and upset Florida in The Swamp. Byrum Brown is at the top of the fun quarterback ranks in the country, and he is taking advantage of what the defense gives him, including attacking vertically down the field. The Hurricanes are still riding high after their win over Notre Dame, but there are still concerns about Carson Beck’s arm strength. The one thing the Hurricanes will have over the Gators is less mistakes. That will be the difference in the game, as South Florida will need to play closer to a perfect game to get the win. Ultimately, the Hurricanes will prove to be too much, especially in the trenches. – Tyler Forness

USF 14, Miami 13

Just like the USF-Florida game, I think this one is low scoring. However, Miami has looked much better than Florida throughout the early stages of the season. But, there is something about this USF team. They are resilient, and just when you think they’re done for, they make a spectacular play to get them in position to win the game. They did that several times against Florida in The Swamp. Alex Golesh has his team in Tampa playing their tails off, and I think they get a win on Saturday in upset fashion behind the likes of QB Byrum Brown, WR Keshaun Singleton, and the pesky defense they have that just can’t stop making plays. – Justin Churchill

The sports books are not being kind to USF heading into this matchup as they’ve posted a -17.5 line in favor of Miami. Our team at A to Z Sports is a little bit more kind, with the estimated score coming in around 28-18, but this is looking like it might just be a one-sided fight. The hype for this matchup is there given USF’s hot start, but unless something surprising happens, the Bulls are going to get a healthy dose of reality poured on them this weekend against Miami.

We’ll be back with more national college football coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!