Miami has taken an interesting path to its Top 10 national ranking.
The unbeaten Hurricanes opened the season with an overmatched FCS program (routing Florida A&M 70-3), followed that with another home game against a lower tier Group of 5 FBS team (beating Florida Atlantic 38-10), and then went on the road for the first time to face a contender from a Group of 5 conference (handling Appalachian State 45-10).
Last week they won their ACC opener 35-21 over a Georgia Tech team that, though not rated a contender in the Coastal Division, was yet another step up in competition.
Now comes the toughest challenge yet.
The No. 10 Hurricanes will host No 23 Florida State Saturday at their Hard Rock Stadium home looking to snap a six-game losing streak in the intrastate rivalry.
Florida State comes into the game off a 37-35 loss to North Carolina in an ACC battle decided on a field goal as time ran out. The Seminoles lost big to Louisville earlier and are 0-2 in the conference and 3-2 overall.
Talking on his usual weekly Monday morning spot on Miami radio station WQAM, Miami coach Mark Richt downplayed the Seminole setbacks.
“I know they have two losses, but they’ve played some really outstanding football teams,” Richt said. “You play Ole Miss, Louisville and North Carolina — that’s Murderers’ Row in the first five games.
“We’re about to hit our Murderers’ Row. We’ll see how we do. I know our fans will be off the chain.”
Despite losing the last six meetings, the Hurricanes have played the Seminoles tough the last two years. In 2014, the last time they played in Miami, the ‘Noles rallied for a 30-26 victory. Last year the Hurricanes rallied from a 20-10 deficit to take a 24-23 lead with a little over 10 minutes left in the game but couldn’t keep the ‘Noles from scoring again for a 29-24 win.
Of the four meetings prior to those two, one was close, a 23-19 Florida State win in 2011, but the Seminoles outscored the Hurricanes by a combined 119-51 margin in the other three.
Miami goes into the game with a statistical advantage over Florida State, scoring at a 47.0 points-per-game rate to FSU’s 41.4 and holding opponents to just 11.0 points a game to FSU’s 35.4 mark.
The Hurricanes also are averaging nearly 509 yards in total offense with quarterback Brad Kaaya throwing for nearly 234 yards a game and running backs Mark Walton and Joe Yearby combining for nearly 192 yards a game.
The Seminoles are about the same in total offense with 508 yards a game with quarterback Deondre Francois passing for nearly 265 yards an outing. Running back Dalvin Cook has come alive the last two games and is averaging 127 yards a game rushing.
Defensively, however, the Hurricanes have a big edge in holding opponents to just 253 yards a game compared to the 438 the ‘Noles are surrendering.
But again, there is that big difference in the quality of opposition.
Like the Hurricanes, the Seminoles have played one FCS team (Charleston Southern) but also have taken on No. 11 Ole Miss, No. 10 Louisville, undefeated South Florida, and once-beaten North Carolina.
In other words, the stats are fairly meaningless.
This will be the first outing in a three-game stretch that figures to have a huge impact on Miami’s chances of making its first ACC Championship game appearance. After hosting the Seminoles, the Hurricanes get North Carolina at home Oct. 15 and then have a short turnaround before a Thursday night encounter at Virginia Tech on Oct. 20.
They close out the month with a trip to Notre Dame on Oct. 29.
NOTES, QUOTES
PLAYERS TO WATCH
–RB Joe Yearby may have lost the starting job he held for all 13 games last year, but he has not been forgotten. The junior rushed for a team-best 63 yards in the win over Georgia Tech and is averaging a team-best 7.3 yards per carry with 321 yards on 44 rushes, both second to Walton’s 63 and 445.
–WR Ahmmon Richards is just a true freshman but already has become the big play guy in Miami’s passing game. He is averaging 22.4 yards on his 11 receptions after catching two passes for 43 yards against Georgia Tech.
–LB Michael Pinckney has not received quite the attention of his classmate, true freshman Shaq Quarterman, but he is making no less of a solid first impression. He had four tackles, including a sack, and intercepted one pass and broke another against the Yellow Jackets, giving him 20 tackles (2.5 sacks) for the season.