Fresh off a bye week, No. 3 Miami continues its pursuit of a national championship as it prepares to host reeling rival Florida State in an Atlantic Coast Conference game on Saturday night.
The Hurricanes (5-0, 3-0) will try for their third consecutive win over the Seminoles (3-3, 1-2), who are coming off their most lopsided loss of the season — a 44-20 setback at Louisville last Friday.
Florida State has lost 11 games in a row on the road since beating Florida on Nov. 25, 2023, and is 10-20 overall since beating Louisville in the 2023 ACC Championship Game.
The speculation surrounding Seminoles coach Mike Norvell’s job security has intensified again this week.
“Nobody was happy with Friday night,” Norvell said on Monday, referring to the loss to the Cardinals. “Extremely disappointed in what that was. I understand that this process for us is about the best of Florida State football showing up and consistently playing to an extremely high level. When you have an outcome like we did the other night, man, that’s, nobody’s happy with that.”
Despite Florida State’s turmoil, Miami coach Mario Cristobal said Monday he thinks overconfidence will not be an issue for his players in what he referred to as “the greatest rivalry in sports.”
“A fourth-and-two conversion [for FSU] makes it 21-0 [against Louisville], and the game’s practically over. A 21-6 lead at Alabama and a seven-point game with 4 1/2 minutes left is real,” Cristobal said, referring to the Seminoles having leads slip away in losses to Alabama and Louisville. “… So, football nowadays, everybody has really, really good talent.”
Establishing the run will be one of the biggest keys in the game as Miami and Florida State rank third and fourth, respectively, in rushing offense in the ACC.
Seminoles quarterback Ashton Daniels has run for a conference-best 10 touchdowns, and Ousmane Kromah is second in the ACC with 565 rushing yards. But Florida State’s rushing defense was awful against Louisville, allowing 397 rushing yards, including 235 to Isaac Brown.
Miami features a deep backfield led by Mark Fletcher Jr. and Javian Mallory, who have combined to rush for 596 yards.
The Hurricanes complement their ground attack with a potent passing game, led by Heisman Trophy candidates Darian Mensah at quarterback and Malachi Toney at wide receiver.
“We want to be a defense that sets the edge,” Norvell said. “We want to have an edge to our defense. We’re not doing that good enough. There’s some things that are scheme-related that need to be better. That has been challenged.”
Florida State has shown it can rush the passer effectively and ranks second in the ACC with 18 sacks, led by Rylan Kennedy (five).
“They make it tough to zero in on what they’re doing, and the guys they have up front are really, really explosive football players,” Cristobal said. “They have experience returning, but they’ve also picked up a couple guys in the portal that have played really well for them, and have certainly made a difference.”
The Hurricanes’ defense, which has allowed an ACC-low average of 9.8 points per game, will be healthier against Florida State. Cornerback Xavier Lucas is expected to return, per Cristobal, as is linebacker Ezekiel Marcelin.
On Tuesday, Florida State said freshman cornerback Chuck Kennon has been dismissed from the football program for “conduct detrimental to the team.”
Kennon was the Seminoles’ top-ranked recruit in the 2026 class.
–Field Level Media
