By The Numbers: Side-By-Side Comparison – Miami Vs. Florida State

In week eleven, the Hurricanes remain outside the AP and Coaches Poll after its 20-6 loss at NC State last week. Florida State remains positioned to take the final spot in the college football playoff after defeating Pitt 24-7 on the road.

Series History

Miami and Florida State have met every year since 1969 – the longest consecutive series for any UM opponent. Miami is 16-11 all-time in Tallahassee,

In Miami’s last trip to Doak Campbell in 2021, Florida State emerged victorious, 31-28, to snap UM’s four-game win streak in the series.

Florida State has won each of the last two meetings and holds a 12-7 lead in the series since the Hurricanes joined the ACC before the 2004 season.

Stats

Miami

Miami is one of just 11 teams in FBS to have started the same five players on the offensive line in all of its games this season; the Hurricanes are the only such team in the ACC.

The Hurricanes have recorded 30 sacks on defense and have been sacked only 11 times this season on offense. The +19 sack differential is tied for the fourth highest in the FBS (with SMU), behind only Penn State (+26), Oregon (+24) and Toledo (+20).

Mark Fletcher, Jr. rushed for a career-best 115 yards in the first start of his Miami career last time out at NC State; it marked the first 100-yard game by a true freshman running back at Miami since Joe Yearby did so in 2014 vs. North Carolina (104 yards).

Fletcher recorded 115 rushing yards, 5.0 yards per rush, and three receptions in his last game against NC State. The last UM freshman to match or surpass those numbers was Duke Johnson in 2012 at BC (135, 19.3, three).

Defensive Coordinator Lance Guidry has already made his impact felt in a short time in Coral Gables. Among ACC teams, Miami ranks No. 4 in scoring defense (20.0 points per game), No. 3 in total defense (311.4 yards per game), and No. 2 in rushing defense (89.2 yards per game). Among FBS teams nationwide, the Hurricanes also rank No. 8 in rushing defense, No. 29 in scoring defense, and No. 19 in total defense.

The Canes are one of just 21 teams in all of FBS, allowing fewer than 320.0 yards per game in 2023.

Miami had held its opponents under 100 rushing yards in its first five games of the season – a streak that ended at North Carolina on Oct. 14. It was the Hurricanes’ longest such streak to begin a year since 2006.

The Hurricanes were among only three Power-5 teams that held opponents to fewer than 100 rushing yards in six of their first seven games of 2023. The other two were Nebraska and Penn State.

Offensive Coordinator Shannon Dawson has made his impact felt in Year 1, with Miami as one of just 38 teams in the nation averaging 6.0 yards per play vs. FBS competition. The Hurricanes ranked No. 104 in FBS last season in yards per play.

In games involving only FBS teams across the country, the Hurricanes rank No. 20 in the nation in the fourth quarter, scoring 9.3 points per game in 2023. Through its first two games in wins over the Aggies and the RedHawks, Miami outscored its opponents by a 31-7 margin in the final frame.

Brashard Smith leads all of FBS with an average of 32.9 yards per kick return this season. Andy Borregales was named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, which goes to the nation’s best kicker.

Florida State

The Seminoles are 9-0 this season and 7-0 in the ACC, both their best marks since 2014 and the ninth time in program history starting a season at least 9-0, after a 24-7 win at Pitt last week.

FSU gained 501 yards of total offense and held the Panthers to 0-of-11 on 3rd-down conversions while grabbing a season-high three takeaways.

Florida State is No. 4 in this week’s Associated Press poll. It is the 10th consecutive week FSU has been ranked in the top 5, the program’s longest streak since 2013-14 when Florida State was in the top 5 for 27 consecutive polls.

The win over Pitt extended the Seminoles’ winning streak to 15 games, the longest active streak in the ACC and the 3rd-longest active streak in the country. During its streak, which is also tied for the 5th-longest in program history, Florida State has outscored its opponents 609-262.

FSU has held every opponent this season to fewer than 30 points. The nine-game streak is the longest active in the ACC and the 4th-longest active streak in the country. The last time Florida State held at least nine straight opponents to fewer than 30 points was a 12-game streak in 2015.

The Seminoles boast one of the nation’s best pass defenses, leading the country in opponent completion percentage (48.4) and fewest passing touchdowns allowed (4). FSU’s defense also ranks 4th in opponent passer rating (101.68).

Florida State (48.4%) and Ohio State (49.8%) are the only teams in the nation forcing more incompletions than completions allowed. The last time a P5 team held its opponents below 50 percent completions in a season was 2018, when Michigan and LSU posted marks of 49.5 and 49.7 percent, respectively, and the last time FSU held its opponents below 50 percent completions for a season was 2012.

Florida State was the only team in the country that did not allow a passing touchdown in October. The Seminoles led the nation in opponent completion percentage (41.7), yards per pass allowed (4.2), and opponent passer rating (72.41) in October while also producing the ACC’s best scoring defense (14.0) that ranked 10th nationally.

FSU ranks 16th nationally in red zone defense, allowing points on just 74.1 percent of opponents’ drives that reach the 20-yard line, and its rate of 44.4 percent of red zone drives faced that result in a touchdown is 13th-best.

Florida State’s offense leads the ACC in fewest interceptions thrown (2, 2nd nationally), fewest turnovers (5, 3rd), scoring (39.6/game, 9th), passing efficiency (162.68, 11th), and fewest tackles for loss allowed (4.56/game, 26th).

The Seminoles are one of 12 teams nationally to have a receiver and a rusher with a three-touchdown game this season.

Keon Coleman caught a career-high three scores vs. No. 5 LSU, and Trey Benson tied his single-game career-high with three rushing scores vs. Southern Miss. Coleman is one of 27 receivers nationally with a three-touchdown game this year, and Benson is one of 64 players with three rushing scores in a game.

Florida State’s defense has faced 50 plays inside their 10-yard line this season and allowed just 12 touchdowns.

In the 45-24 win over No. 5 LSU, the Seminoles faced ten snaps inside their 5-yard line and allowed only two scores. On LSU’s first drive of the game, the Tigers had six plays inside the five-yard line, including four snaps from the 1-yard line, and the FSU defense forced a turnover on downs with a 13-yard sack on 4th-and-1.

During FSU’s three-game homestand, the defense faced only ten total snaps inside its 10-yard line and allowed one touchdown. Syracuse did not have a snap inside the 10-yard line and took only one snap inside FSU’s 15-yard line.

Stats are as of November 9, 2023

Miami Athletics and Florida State Athletics contributed to this report