Miami Hurricanes ‘finalizing’ 2013 game vs. Savannah State

By Kevin Kelley -

Miami HurricanesThe Miami Hurricanes are “finalizing” a 2013 game against the Savannah State Tigers, the Miami Herald has reported.

Miami will host Savannah State at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens on a date to be announced. It will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.

Savannah State is a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision. The Tigers played their first two games against FBS competition this season, losing 84-0 to Oklahoma State and 55-0 to Florida State.

Miami is currently set to open the 2013 season at home vs. Florida Atlantic on Aug. 31. The Hurricanes then host the Florida Gators on Sept. 7 and also travel to USF on Nov. 30.

In ACC play, Miami will face Coastal Division foes Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia, and Virginia Tech. The Hurricanes will also face Florida State, provided the cross-division rivalries are kept, and one other to be determined opponent from the Atlantic Division.

Miami finished the 2012 season 7-5 overall and 5-3 in the ACC. They would have played Florida State in the 2012 ACC Championship Game, but chose to self-impose a postseason ban for the second consecutive season.

Update (12/4/12): The Savannah Morning News reports that the game is set for Sept. 21, 2013. Savannah State will receive $375,000 for the game.

“We both had a common date to fill, and it was just a matter of us reaching out and agreeing on an amount,” said SSU athletics director Sterling Steward.

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Comments (18)

Nice….Canes might score 75

Could they not find a D3 school or maybe a Jr. college?
Dillard HS might have an opening

Miami is a private school and does not have the money to pay huge for OOC games. Just about every FBS team schedules one FCS team per year, and it looks like Savannah St comes cheaper than other FCS teams do. Don’t see the big deal here. Both FSU and Ok St played the Tigers this season, were the Noles and Cowboys ‘that hard up for a team to beat?’

FAMU is playing at Ohio State in 2013 (why, I don’t know). Maybe they didn’t need/want two sacrificial lamb paydays.

If SSU had a pulse,maybe you could excuse this “game”. But after Oklahoma put 84 on them and God stopped FSU from putting another 84 with that timely storm,don’t you think Miami would have passed on such a horrible team?

So, Jinzo who would you rather see them play that week? Remember teams that have already scheduled a game for that day are not eligible. As are teams that are unwilling to show up for less than $375,000 or so and teams that would require to reciprocate with road games. let me know what teams you come up with.

inzo must have a woody for FSU. Oay for them to play 2 piss poor FCS tems this past year in Mura St and SSU…but hey for Miami to play one, you make this response. Btw, did you look at the 2013 schedule for FSwho…Wofford and Idaho, 2 more FC teams. Guess the team from N. Fla. – no disgrace there!

Wow…get a life!

Truthfully I have a hard time believing that there isn’t some semi-respectable MEAC, Southern, or CAA team that Miami could have landed that’d be a better option than Savannah State. Even by FCS standards SSU is utterly hapless.

True but you have to figure that they don’t want to have a upset on their hands. SSU is a safe and cheap game to get. You have to figure this game is purely to get a win and as other people have said a glorified practice game for Miami. It could be between 2 ACC games this year. They could use this as a week to rest their starters after the first quarter.

The Colonial Athletic and the Southern Conferences are approached every year by SEC schools that are willing to pay up to $500,000 and travel expenses hence a school like Miami can not afford to pay almost $700,000 to play a FCS school. Last year South Florida played Chattanooga for $380,000 and travel expenses which tallied everything up to $500,000. Most Mid Eastern Athletic Confernece Schools complicate the payout because some require that the travel expenses are not exclusive to the football team but also to their marching bands. Some schools like jacksonville State play two BCS teams every year so that they could pay off athletic facility construction projects, last year jacksonville State open the season against Arkansas and got $500,000 and travel expenses, then ended their season at Florida and got $500,000 and travel expenses.
Next Season Chattanooga will end their season at Alabama and pick up a check for $550,000 and travel expenses. Small schools like Miami can not come close to that number.

Miami playing a FBS team isn’t a big deal, Bama opens almost every season against a FCS team. Its really like a scrimmage against an actually opponent to get a look at new recruits against college competion and to get returning players ready for the season.

It is football, not life. Only about 20 or so athletic programs are showing a profit at the end of an academic year. It all comes down to dollars and cents, or rather dollars and sense.