Arkansas State @ Miami preview

Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya has had an up-and-down first two starts but has the trust of his coach heading into Saturday’s non-conference home game against Arkansas State. “His poise is really good, and his line of scrimmage demeanor is really good,” Hurricanes coach Al Golden said of the freshman at his weekly news conference. “… But there's certain things in terms of his mechanics and just trusting his feet (that Kaaya needs to improve on).”

Kaaya, who was chosen to start over fifth-year senior transfer Jake Heaps while Ryan Williams recovers from April knee surgery, has completed 29-of-51 passes for 356 yards and three touchdowns in the team’s 1-1 start. But he’s also thrown four interceptions and has rushed for minus-17 yards thanks to three sacks. Kaaya’s inexperience gives the visiting Red Wolves one of their few advantages as they can rely on dual-threat junior quarterback Fredi Knighten, who’s thrown for 385 yards and rushed for 158 more with three total touchdowns.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU. LINE: Miami -16

ABOUT ARKANSAS STATE (1-1): The Red Wolves, who opened the season with a 37-10 victory over FCS member Montana State, are on the second leg of a rugged back-to-back road stretch, having lost 34-19 at Tennessee last Saturday. Arkansas State hung with the Volunteers for much of the first half but a rash of penalties (nine for 75 yards) and game-long third-down struggles (4-for-17) proved too much to overcome. Those issues will have to be corrected Saturday if the program is to avoid suffering back-to-back losses for only the second time since 2010.

ABOUT MIAMI (1-1): The Hurricanes bounced back from the season-opening 31-13 Atlantic Coast Conference setback at Louisville with a 41-7 home victory over FCS member Florida A&M last week. The Miami defense pitched a shutout - the Rattlers’ lone touchdown came on a fumble recovery in the end zone - and is allowing an average of 225 total yards to rank eighth nationally. Although he doesn’t return kicks any longer, tailback Duke Johnson remains Miami’s top weapon and leads active NCAA players with an average of 165.7 all-purpose yards.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Miami won the only previous meeting 42-10 in 1997.

2. The Red Wolves have won or shared three straight Sun Belt Conference championships and have posted back-to-back GoDaddy.com Bowl wins, but that success has forced the program to hire new coaches on an almost annual basis. Coach Blake Anderson, the former offensive coordinator at North Carolina, is Arkansas State’s sixth coach in its last 42 games.

3. Miami WR Stacy Coley, a 2013 Freshman All-American, hadn’t practiced through Wednesday after injuring a shoulder against Florida A&M and could miss Saturday’s game.

PREDICTION: Miami 27, Arkansas State 16