Miami Football: 8 Reasons the Hurricanes Can Beat the Seminoles

The 5-4 Hurricanes take on the 6-3 Seminoles on Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium.

The Hurricanes have had a roller coaster season thus far beating good teams and losing a couple of easier games they should have won.

In their four losses, two of them against ranked teams, they couldn't close the deal and lost only by a combined 22 points.

The Seminoles, on the other hand, started off slow, losing to quality teams such as highly-ranked Oklahoma and Clemson.

The Seminoles also lost to a much improved Wake Forest squad, 35-30.

Here are my reason why the Hurricanes can steal one from Florida State.

No. 8: Miami Does Well at Doak Campbell Stadium

The Hurricanes have won the last two games and four out of the last five at Doak Campbell Stadium.  In fact, Miami has won 14 of 21 in Tallahassee in the 55 games they have played against each other.

So going into Saturday's game, history is on Miami's side, right?

Maybe.

The Hurricanes are just 1-2 on the road this year, their only win coming against North Carolina, 30-24, but this isn't just a regular game for Miami.

It is their biggest game this year, not because they are trying to get their sixth win to get a bowl bid, but because it's Florida State.

The rivalry is like no other and if history repeats itself, Miami has a better chance on leaving Tallahassee with yet another win.

No. 7: Miami Will Create More Turnovers

Miami is not that great of a team when it comes to creating turnovers, they have created just two more turnovers (13) than they have turned over themselves (11).

In fact, Miami's 11 turnovers rank them 15th in the country.

Florida State is worse, though, having created 13 while turning it over 16 times.

When it comes to FSU versus Miami, turnovers will play a big key, and the way Jacory Harris is playing right now I believe that Miami will edge Florida State on turnovers.

I believe Miami will win the battle of turnovers, something they need to do in order to win.

No. 6: The Hurricanes Will Utilize Their Playmakers on Offense

Miami racked up 48 points last week against Duke by doing something they haven't done in years, get their playmakers the ball.

Offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch played backup quarterback Stephen Morris at times to produce another run play, something that is rarely done in a pro-style offense.

Fisch also ran a couple Wildcat formations which I haven't seen done in Miami since the end of the 2005 season when Miami was trying to get Devin Hester more touches on offense.

Miami even used Mike James in the Wildcat to get him more playing time and to keep Duke off balance.

I absolutely love what Fisch and the offense are doing this year and they need to keep up the momentum from last week.

Florida State has some freakishly fast players on defense which can actually play to Miami's advantage with some trick plays.

No. 5: Miami Plays Better in Big Games

Miami has played three teams that are currently ranked (VT, Kansas State and Georgia Tech) and lost two of them, VT and Kansas State, which may prove like that struggle against ranked foes.

That isn't all true.

In fact, Miami beat Ohio State when they were ranked, while Kansas State wasn't ranked when Miami lost to them.

Either way, the Hurricanes have lost to those two ranked teams by a total of seven points.

In both of those games the Hurricanes should have won.

Against the Wildcats, Miami had four opportunities inside Kansas State's five yard to score and came a foot short.

The game against Virginia Tech, they gave up a quarterback draw up the middle on fourth down to lose the game in the last minute.

Miami has played good enough to beat everyone on their schedule, but they have just struggled with inconsistency.

With the defense having a better showing last weekend, they will head to Tallahassee with some confidence and an opportunity to beat another good team.

No. 4: Tommy Streeter

Tommy Streeter has never gotten a chance to play against Florida State in his first two years at Miami.  In fact, Streeter hasn't played much at all during his freshman and sophomore years.

It's funny how new coaching and a more confident quarterback can completely change one of the worst receivers on the team to their best.

Coming into this season, Streeter caught six passes.

Going into the Florida State game, "Touchdown Tommy" has 32 catches for 666 yards and eight touchdowns.

He leads Miami in all three categories and has quickly become the main target for Jacory Harris.

His 20.8 yards per catch is second in the country and his eight touchdown catches have him ranked in a tie for 15th.

Streeter is 6'5" and runs a 4.5/40 which sets him apart from many wide receivers in the ACC.

Florida State just can't double him because Miami has two other receivers who are also dangerous.

Streeter will get his touches and could very well be a difference maker for the Hurricanes.

No. 3: Travis Benjamin

Over the last three years, Travis Benjamin has had his better games against the Seminoles.

In 2008, his freshman season, Benjamin lit up Florida State for 274 all purpose yards (185 kick return yards, 71 receiving yards and 18 rushing yards).

In 2009, Benjamin recorded an personal best 128 yards receiving and a touchdown on four catches.

Last year he only was able to produce 78 total yards, mainly because Miami's offense was flat out horrible at times.

This year I expect a lot more from Benjamin.  Harris is throwing the ball extremely well and with Streeter and Allen Hurns having good years, it will allow Benjamin to go against more one-on-one coverage.

If Benjamin can produce the numbers he generally does against the Seminoles, the Hurricanes' offense will put up huge numbers.

No. 2: Jacory Harris Is on a Streak

The season didn't start off all too well for Jacory Harris, as he was suspended for the first game due to taking money from a booster.

His first game back he threw two interceptions in a win over Ohio State.  The very next game he threw yet another interception in a loss against Kansas State.

At this point of the season I was calling for his head.  In fact, I wasn't the only one, as Hurricane fans across south Florida were upset.

Head coach Al Golden and offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch must have seen something else as they kept him in his starting role and I, as well as everyone else, is glad that they did.

Since the third quarter of the Kansas State game, Harris has thrown 15 touchdowns and just one interception (which wasn't even Jacory's fault).

Harris has the sixth-highest passer rating in all of college football (166.1) and his completion percentage of 64 percent is the highest in his career.

His confidence is at an all-time high right now, and the way the offense is moving the ball right now the Hurricanes have every chance in the world to leave Tallahassee with a win.

No. 1: Lamar Miller and Company Need To Be Able To Run

This is by far the most important aspect of the game for the Hurricanes when they head into Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Hurricanes have to get the running game going if they want any chance at all at upsetting Florida State.

Miami's a pure pro-style offense and without a run game, Harris will have to throw 40-50 passes and that is something the Hurricanes can not do.

In the Hurricanes five victories this year, Lamar Miller ran for over 100 yards in all of them but the Georgia Tech game, in which he had 93.

If Miami can get Miller and Mike James rolling like they did against those teams, Miami should come away with the victory.