The Miami Hurricanes have seen nothing like what they will face on Saturday, when the conference favorite Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets bring their triple-option attack to South Florida. No other offense in the FBS is similar to the that of the Yellowjackets, which presents some ominous matchup problems for the Canes.

Canes coach Al Golden has faced off with Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson twice before when Johnson coached Navy and Golden was at Temple. Navy won both contests by a combined score of 72-26, but those games were during the first two years of Golden's tenure at Temple, while the school was just starting its transformation from perennial doormat to midmajor competitor.

Georgia Tech will enter Sun Life Stadium angry, having suffered their first loss of the season at Virginia last week. A loss would put a serious damper on their hopes of winning the ACC Coastal division, while a Miami loss would effectively kill all hope of Miami's first berth in the ACC Championship game.

When the Canes have the ball: Miami's wunderkind running back Lamar Miller had his first disappointing game of the season, rushing for 29 yards on 16 carries and snapping his five-game streak of 100-yard performances. That did not matter for the canes, as quarterback Jacory Harris continued his shocking streak of effectiveness. Harris threw for 267 yards and completed 67% of his passes, three of which went for touchdowns.

He has not thrown an interception in 14 straight quarters, something which no Cane fan would have predicted before the season started. Harris will have to continue his pattern of smart decisions. Georgia Tech has a pair of DBs, Isaiah Johnson and Rod Sweeting, with 5 interceptions between them.

When the Yellow Jackets have the ball: Georgia Tech features the second-best rushing attack in the FBS, averaging an astonishing 347.9 yards per game on the ground thanks to their triple option attack. This should make Canes fans very worried, as Miami's interior run defense is among its biggest weaknesses. Exacerbating that problem is the absence of Micanor Regis, who was suspended for the Georgia Tech game for a groin punch he inflicted on a UNC player last week.

The Yellow Jackets' stout running game creates huge opportunities in the passing game for quarterback Tevin Washington. He has completed only 48% of his passes through 7 games, but is averaging 13.3 yards per attempt, easily among the best in the country. If Miami sends lines up with an extra defender near the line of scrimmage, the Yellowjackets could make him pay.

But Georgia Tech's bread and butter is the running game, and three Yellowjackets already have over 400 yards rushing on the year (Washington and running backs David Sims and Orwin Smith). As a team Georgia Tech is averaging 6.3 yards a carry, and the Canes defense will have their work cut out for them. Miami gets defensive end Olivier Vernon back from suspension, but that may not be enough to keep Georgia Tech in check.

Who has the edge? This game could end up looking a lot like Miami's loss to Virginia Tech two weeks ago. The Canes offense should continue to hum along as long as Harris can avoid any glaring lapses in judgment, but Miami will have a hard time outscoring Georgia Tech thanks to the Canes' weak defense.

The pick: Georgia Tech 31-Miami 28

Kickoff is at 3:30 on ESPN