The Miami-Ohio RedHawks finished last season with a record of 6-7 which led to a tie for 4^th place in the East Division of the MAC Conference and an appearance in the Bahamas Bowl against the UAB Blazers in which the RedHawks lost by a score of 20-24. Before the start of last season, the RedHawks were voted to finish in 1^st place in the East Division by the coaches, so although they went to a bowl game, last year was a disappointing season overall. This season Miami-Ohio was voted to finish in 2^nd place in the East Division by the coaches back in July at the MAC Media Days. 

The RedHawks enter the season with an over/under win total of 7 wins and based on Vegas Odds are projected to be the 3^rd best team in the MAC behind the Toledo Rockets and Ohio Bobcats as they are +600 to win the conference.

In Mario Cristibal’s first season as head coach of the Miami Hurricanes, he led them to a losing record of 5-7 and a 5^th-place finish in the Coastal Division of the ACC. Cristibal made changes at Offensive Coordinator and Defensive Coordinator in the offseason, hiring Shannon Dawson, who recently served as the Offensive Coordinator/Quarterback Coach for the Houston Cougars to take over as the Offensive Coordinator and Lance Guidry who recently served as the Defensive Coordinator for the Marshall Thundering Herd. 

The Hurricanes enter the season with an over/under win total of 7.5 wins which means they are projected to finish with two or three more wins than last season and based on Vegas odds are projected to be the 6^th best team in the ACC behind the Clemson Tigers, Florida State Seminoles, North Carolina Tar Heels, Louisville Cardinals, and North Carolina State Wolfpack as they are +1600 to win the ACC this year.

BookMaker has the Miami Hurricanes listed as 15.5-point favorites at home against the Miami-Ohio RedHawks in week 1 of the college football season on Friday evening. This will be the first time in the history of these two programs that they will face each other in college football. Miami-Ohio finished last season with a record of 6-7 ATS overall, 3-3 ATS on the road, and 5-3 ATS as an underdog while the Hurricanes finished with a record of 2-10 ATS overall, 1-6 ATS at home, and 1-6 ATS as a favorite.

Not only were the Miami Hurricanes disappointing when it came to a win-loss record but they struggled at covering the spread last season going 2-10 ATS overall and although Miami-Ohio didn’t have a winning record ATS with a record of 6-7 they had a winning record as an underdog at 5-3. The Hurricanes are the more talented team in this matchup and should come away with the win, however, given their struggles overall and at covering the spread last season I am going to pivot, buy the .5 point, and take the Miami-Ohio RedHawks +16 on the road against the Miami Hurricanes in week 1 of the college football season on BookMaker.