The Rundown Take
Nine-Point Underdogs? U Talk Says Vegas Is Sleeping on the New-Look Canes
A Friday night in May turned into two hours of pure Cane optimism as Devin and Larry Frank Jr. broke down Miami's freshly minted nine-point underdog status against Texas A&M, and the room was not having it. LFJ opened the show fresh off the best news of his year — he'd just become a grandfather less than 24 hours earlier — and rode that high into a full breakdown of the schedule, the transfer portal, and why he thinks the oddsmakers owe Miami an apology.
Key Takeaways
- Larry Frank Jr. announces his first grandson, born on his grandmother's birthday, and dedicates the show to him.
- The panel calls the Texas A&M line "disrespectful," predicting it drops to 4.5-6 points by kickoff once the roster settles.
- Miami sits at 12 in the CBS post-spring poll and 19 in the AP, with Larry Frank trusting the AP over CBS or ESPN.
- Four linebackers have transferred out this offseason, but the panel runs down a full defensive transfer-portal haul: Caleb Johnson, Akheem Mesidor, a hybrid linebacker/end out of UCLA, cornerback Daryl Porter Jr., defensive tackle Daryl Jackson, defensive end Antoine Moultrie and Jake Lichtenstein.
- NIL gets a full airing — the panel argues the transfer portal is now leveling the field for programs like Miami that used to lose recruiting fights to the SEC's under-the-table money.
The Case Against Nine Points
Larry Frank walked through his math: SEC bias, a road game in College Station, and residual hype from A&M's upset of Alabama last season. But he wasn't buying it, pointing out Miami was only a 14-point underdog at Alabama last year and has since upgraded both roster and coaching staff. His read: Miami blows out Bethune-Cookman and its second tune-up game, the line moves, and the Canes go into College Station catching value. "That's some easy money," he said, urging anyone watching to lock in the number before it shifts.
Rankings, Respect, and the 2017 Blueprint
The pair dug into the CBS post-spring top 25 — Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Baylor up top, with Miami at 12 and question marks all over the list (Tennessee ahead of Cincinnati, Arkansas in the top 10). Larry Frank leaned on the 2017 comparison: Miami destroyed a top-three Notre Dame team on national TV and still barely moved in the polls, proof the program has to stomp opponents just to get the credit others get by default.
Defense by the Numbers
With fans still skeptical of the defense, Larry Frank read off the stat lines on the incoming transfer haul — production numbers in tackles, sacks and tackles for loss from players who spent last season anchoring other Power Five defenses. His point: drop that kind of production into last year's win totals and Miami is a different team. Caller Jamal, calling in from Panama City, Florida, backed the read that Miami can win both the Texas A&M and Clemson games this fall behind a heisman-hopeful quarterback and a defense finally built with SEC-caliber pieces.
"We didn't have the team or the coaching staff last season that we have this season."
The show closed with a nod to the Miami Heat's playoff run, a Hurricane Bash plug for November 11th in Duluth, Georgia, and Larry Frank signing off to go spend more time with his new grandson.