Grading Seminoles after Miami victory
Throw out the records when it comes to the Miami-Florida State football rivalry.
Despite entering the game as two-touchdown favorites, the No. 4 Seminoles got all they could handle from the rival Hurricanes.
FSU regained enough control in the fourth quarter and took down Miami for a third straight time 27-20 in front of a sold-out crowd at Doak Campbell Stadium.
The Seminoles (10-0, 8-0) finished off the ACC slate with a perfect record for the first time since the 2014 season. They have won 16 straight games dating back to last season.
Miami (6-4, 2-4) has dropped back-to-back games and is just 2-4 since opening the season 4-0.
FSU has now trailed in the second half just four times this season, including twice at home.
The Seminoles play North Alabama at Doak Campbell Stadium next Saturday at 7:30 p.m.. The game will be broadcast on the CW Network.
Here are our grades for FSU against Miami.
Offense: B
After scoring 30 points or more in 14 straight games, the Seminoles still need to notch that number in back-to-back games. But it doesn’t matter, as the offense scored enough to win.
Johnny Wilson – in his first action since the Duke game on Oct. 21 – led the team with five receptions for 82 yards on eight targets. He was often the go-to threat for quarterback Jordan Travis in big moments.
Travis finished 19-of-31 passing for 265 yards and a touchdown. Keon Coleman – who also missed the Pittsburgh game – caught four passes for 24 yards and the touchdown. Coleman’s TD came with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter and pushed the lead to two touchdowns.
Ja’Khi Douglas also added a key 62-yard catch to set up a field goal which tied the game at 13 early in the third quarter.
The Seminoles never got much traction in the run game, rushing 28 times for 96 yards (3.4 yards per carry) when adjusting for sacks. But Trey Benson did have a crucial 38-yard run in the third quarter to give FSU a 20-13 lead in the third quarter.
Travis made one key mistake in the game when he held on to the ball too long and nearly ran into the end zone on a sack. Luckily for him, he was ruled to be out of the end zone and the play did not result in a sack.
Travis was sacked three times for 39 yards, including twice on third downs to end drives.
Defense: B
The big plays hurt the Seminoles throughout the game. Fentrell Cypress and Kevin Knowles II were beaten on a deep route by Jacolby George in the fourth quarter for an 85-yard touchdown to bring the Hurricanes back into the game.
Cypress was beat on coverage and Knowles over-pursued allowing George to break free for the TD. He had 153 yards and two TDs.
The pass defense entered the game allowing just four passing touchdowns – tied with Michigan for the fewest in college football – but gave up two in this game. The Seminoles did hold Miami to 10-of-30 passing (33%) for 204 yards and Jarrian Jones came up with an interception of Tyler Van Dyke to close out the game.
The rush defense struggled in the first half, allowing 96 yards and 5.1 yards per carry. However, in the second half, they limited Miami to just 15 rushes for 35 yards. Twenty of those yards came on one play in the beginning of the third.
Kalen DeLoach had two sacks and led the team with 10 tackles. DJ Lundy, Tatum Bethune, Malcolm Ray and Akeem Dent each added a tackle for loss. Ray, Jared Verse and Gilber Edmond each added a QB hurry.
Special Teams: A
Alex Mastromanno was arguably the MVP of the game for the Seminoles. He tied a season-high with seven punts for 343 yards, averaging 49 yards per punt. He pinned the Hurricanes inside the 20 four times – including twice inside the 10-yard line.
He had four punts of over 50 yards, allowing FSU to win the field position battle. His shortest punt was the one he had to boot out of the end zone, which still went 46 yards.
Ryan Fitzgerald continued his strong start to the season with a pair of field goals from 33 and 22 yards out. The second field goal tied the game in the third quarter.
Coleman returned a punt for 62 yards to set up his touchdown a few plays later to push the lead to two touchdowns in the fourth.
He also had a punt he decided to not field but then went after it and the ball hit him. He was able to fall on the ball to keep from disaster.
Coaching: B+
Head coach Mike Norvell seemed to be less aggressive with his fourth-down calls in this one, as the Seminoles did not go for it on fourth down once. Twice he deferred to Fitzgerald to kick the field goal and take the points. Both decisions paid off.
One curious decision was to run with Travis on a third and goal from the 2. Travis ended up losing two yards and the team had to settle for the field goal.
Another was the decision to go for an onside kick to open the second half. It gave Miami a short field and the chance to get its first lead of the game on a field goal.
After struggling against the run in the first half, the Seminoles brought more of a rush blitz in the second half and slowed the Hurricanes down in that department, putting the game in freshman quarterback Emory Williams’ hands.
Overall, the offensive play calls were not too bad. FSU did run the ball (31 times) as many times as they passed it, showing a good balance.
Maybe getting Coleman more involved early could have unlocked the offense?
Overall: A-
Beating a rival is never easy, regardless of how they are playing. For the second straight in-state rivalry game at Doak, the Seminoles played a rival in a one-score game but made a defensive stop at the end to pull out the victory.
FSU did what it had to do to move to 10-0 and finish with a perfect 8-0 ACC record. At this point of the season, if the Seminoles win out, they should be in the College Football Playoffs. Style points are nice, but unimportant if you’re not winning.
Reach Ehsan Kassim at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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