Florida State DESTROYS Miami in In-State Battle – Game Takeaways

It was an eventful week in college football, both in the country and in the state of Florida.

In a game that brought a lot of hype, and a long-standing in-state rivalry, it would be Florida State who came out on top. And they came on top BIG time, traveling to Hard Rock Stadium and KO’ing the hapless Miami Hurricanes, 45-3. Here are my takeaways from the game.

1. Miami’s offense looked lost.

Everything went wrong for Miami’s offense Saturday night. It was even worse when there were 60+ recruits in attendance for the game.

Other than the opening drive, which resulted in a field goal, Miami looked like a bunch of zombies laying dead in an open field. The Canes only ran a total of 52 plays for 188 total yards.

QB Tyler Van Dyke, who started the game after missing last week’s game against Virginia due to a sprained shoulder, did not do much. He threw the ball only eight times, completing four of those passes for 24 yards. Unfortunately, Van Dyke would re-aggravated his shoulder in the middle of the second quarter and would be done for the game.

It was a split of Jake Garcia and true freshman QB Jacurri Brown who replaced Van Dyke. After seeing both play, it appears like the Canes need to focus on keeping Brown around. Brown, while not having a great day passing, did turn on the jets, carrying the ball 13 times for 64 yards.

2. Meanwhile, Florida State seems to be clicking on all cylinders.

Florida State looked PERFECT at Hard Rock Stadium, and it was all started by QB Jordan Travis, who went 10-of-12 passing for 202 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.

Florida State pretty much set the tone on the first drive, with Jordan Travis finding a wide-open Ontaria Wilson for a 56-yard touchdown.

The Noles also took advantage of Miami’s mistakes. A notable example was in the first quarter when a Miami interception was taken away for a pass interference penalty. Three plays later, linebacker DJ Lundy would score for the Noles, making it 14-3. The Noles also turned a Miami interception deep in Seminole territory into six points.

Simply put, the offense was firing on all cylinders, recording 454 yards of total offense.

RB Trey Benson had 128 rushing yards and the Noles exceeded 200 rushing yards for the fourth straight game.

The defense played superb, forcing four turnovers (two interceptions and two fumbles).

3. Bowl-Eligibility.

Florida State is bowl eligible for the first time since 2019. It’s a big step forward for a rebuilding Seminoles team under Mike Norvell, who went 3-6 and 5-7 in his first two years.

The Noles will travel to Syracuse next week to face a tough Orange team. The Seminoles will then host Louisiana and Florida to close out the season.

Meanwhile, the Canes drop to 4-5 and have to go 2-1 in their final three games to be eligible for a bowl game. \\With Clemson looming down, the Canes basically have to win their two other games (next week at Georgia Tech and 11/26 at home against Pittsburgh).

Overall, Miami’s lopsided loss at home Saturday night was the worst since Clemson back in 2015. It was the broken stick that got Al Golden fired the day after. Luckily, Mario Cristobal will not be fired, at least that’s what we think.