Miami Hurricanes remain without two starters against USF, but one starter returns

An injured starter for the No. 8 Miami Hurricanes looks set to return to action Saturday against the USF Bulls at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

But two players who were close to returning remain absent.

Anez Cooper, who left the court in the first half of Miami’s 62-0 shutout of Ball State last week, was in uniform and warming up before the game in his usual position at right guard.

Meanwhile, left tackle Jalen Rivers and defensive end Rueben Bain Jr., both of whom have not played since UM’s season opener at Florida, wore street clothes, a sign that they likely won’t play for a third straight game.

With Rivers out, junior Markell Bell is expected to start at left tackle for the third straight game. On the defensive line, Miami has rotated Tyler Baron, Elijah Alston and Akheem Mesidor on the outside without Bain.

UM not worried about crowd in Raymond James Stadium

USF expected a large crowd for its game against Miami on Saturday.

The school announced Sunday that more than 14,500 student tickets had been claimed for the game against the Hurricanes, which is a school record. The previous record, according to USF, was 12,549 for the Bulls’ home game against the Florida Gators on Sept. 11, 2021.

This prompted USF to open the west side of Raymond James Stadium, increasing capacity from 45,000 to 55,000 for Saturday’s game.

It is not new that the Hurricanes have attracted large crowds this season.

Miami’s season opener was played before an announced crowd of 90,544 and won the game 41-17.

“When people show up, they show up,” linebacker Francisco Mauigoa said. “We don’t let the outside factor get in our head. We practice it every day when we go to away games, so it doesn’t matter if it’s crowded. If it’s noisy, we just play a game.”