Florida State vs. Miami: Game Grades, Analysis for Seminoles and Hurricanes
The No. 23 Florida State Seminoles stunned the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes with a blocked extra point to earn a 20-19 triumph in the annual rivalry game.
DeMarcus Walker deflected Michael Badgley's attempt with 1:38 remaining in the fourth quarter, and Florida State (4-2) picked up two first downs on the ensuing drive to seal the win. Head coach Jimbo Fisher and the 'Noles secured their seventh straight win in the series.
Miami (4-1) took a 13-0 lead before surrendering 20 straight points and ultimately falling in heartbreaking fashion.
Bleacher Report is handing out grades for both teams, broken down by offense, defense and coaching staff. Whether you agree, disagree or are indifferent, please add your thoughts in the comments section.
Florida State Offense
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Florida State's offense wasn't effective early. But it's not how you start, it's how you finish.
Dalvin Cook tallied 150 yards on the ground, also hauling in a 59-yard touchdown that sparked the team's comeback. "He is one of the special players in the country," Fisher said, according to Bob Ferrante of 247Sports.
Deondre Francois completed 20 of 31 attempts for 234 yards and two scores. He missed two possessions due to a shoulder injury but returned after Sean Maguire threw a red-zone interception.
When faced with a third-down situation, the Seminoles moved the chains nine times in 17 tries—including a combined 7-of-9 mark on their four scoring drives.
Grade: B+
Miami Offense
2 of 6
"We took what the defense gave us," running back Mark Walton said, per Christy Cabrera Chirinos of the Sun Sentinel. But for the Hurricanes and their running game, the problem was FSU didn't give them much.
Walton—who had a spectacular 45-yard touchdown negated by a holding penalty—and Joseph Yearby mustered just 78 yards on 24 attempts, just 3.3 per tote. Both players entered the contest averaging more than seven yards per carry.
Miami's ineffectiveness on the ground hurt QB Brad Kaaya, who finished 19-of-32 with 214 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. However, for the offense's biggest mistake of the night, Kaaya is the only person who can take the blame.
Holding a 13-3 lead and at the FSU 18-yard line, the junior stared down Ahmmon Richards and tried to force a pass. But Seminoles cornerback Tarvarus McFadden was the only player with a chance to catch it, and he did.
Cook scored on the ensuing possession, and Florida State took control of the game.
Stacy Coley paced Miami with seven receptions, 80 yards and both scores, while Richards added four grabs for 58 yards.
Grade: C+
Florida State Defense
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Through five weeks, Florida State was 93rd nationally in yards per game allowed (438.4) and 105th in points (35.4).
Saturday once again proved statistics can become meaningless during rivalry games.
The Seminoles limited Miami to 276 yards of total offense and 19 points. Most impressively, they held the country's No. 24 rushing attack to a meager 2.2 yards per carry.
Florida State registered three sacks, two of which came on a fourth-quarter drive after the Hurricanes crossed midfield.
Early on, Kaaya attacked a weakness in FSU's man coverage downfield, but the 'Noles tightened up and held the quarterback to a 5-of-11 mark for 60 yards after halftime.
Grade: B+
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Miami Defense
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For Miami to both snap its losing streak against Florida State and return to national relevancy, the defense needs to avoid the one big mistake. That didn't happen on Saturday.
On Cook's 59-yard touchdown, the linebacker who was supposed to be in coverage fell and couldn't recover. Unlucky is still a breakdown.
The Hurricanes were pretty average on defense, but they surrendered too many yards on first down. Florida State faced an average third-down distance of just 5.1 yards, and that number dropped to a stunning 3.4 in the second half.
Miami—and more specifically, Chad Thomas—provided a clutch stand to give Kaaya and Co. one final chance to even the score, but the unit couldn't come up with one final stop.
Grade: B-
Florida State Coaching
5 of 6Charles Kelly—the much-maligned defensive coordinator—took advantage of Florida State's dominance up front. On third down, he consistently showed pressure, forced Kaaya to focus on changing protections and only sent three rushers.
It's not a coincidence Miami finished 4-of-13 on third down.
Plus, heading into the game, two plays in Florida State's repertoire stood out as potential game-breakers: The play-action rollout throwback and the play-action bootleg designed run.
Not only did the Seminoles execute both calls, they broke Miami's proverbial back Saturday night. Fisher dialed them up at the perfect time, scoring a 59-yard touchdown to cut into a 10-point lead and then sealing the victory, respectively.
Throw in a perfectly executed special teams play—though Walker's sheer strength played the largest role in the block—and FSU's coaching staff had a wonderful showing.
Grade: A
Miami Coaching
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Mark Richt tried to keep the offense balanced, but the Hurricanes didn't have an answer once quick-hitting routes stopped working.
Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz brought an aggressive scheme to Miami, which is the complete opposite of what the unit ran last season. The philosophy worked for most of the night, but Diaz had one strange alignment that led to FSU's go-ahead score.
Florida State sent three receivers wide to the left. The Hurricanes only had two players on that side—not strange—and the slot man (Jaquan Johnson) was inside of the inside-most receiver—very strange. Whitfield took the screen to the left sideline for a touchdown.
Richt and his staff clearly have the program moving in the right direction. But for the 'Canes, this loss will sting until next year's matchup—and probably longer.
Grade: B-
All recruiting information via Scout. Stats from NCAA.com, cfbstats.com or B/R research. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.
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