Florida State smothered at home by rival Hurricanes, 27-10
Another rivalry game, another disappointing performance for Willie Taggart's Florida State Seminoles.
The University of Miami, which entered Saturday's game as a slight underdog, took control in the early going and pulled away in the second half for a 27-10 victory. The Hurricanes led by two touchdowns at halftime and answered authoritatively when FSU tried to rally in the second half.
Florida State is now 0-5 against rivals Miami, Clemson and Florida, and the Seminoles likely will be major underdogs when they travel to Gainesville later this month.
With the loss, FSU falls to 4-5 overall and 3-4 in the ACC.
Miami, with first-year head coach Manny Diaz, improves to 5-4 and 3-3.
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After a dismal first half, the Seminoles made it a 17-10 game in the third quarter when Cam Akers caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Alex Hornibrook. But Miami pulled away in the fourth quarter with a 56-yard touchdown pass to Dee Higgins and then tacked on another field goal.
FSU's defense, which had shown improvement in recent weeks, got gashed for a number of big plays.
The Hurricane struck early with a 39-yard touchdown pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Jarren Williams to Jeff Thomas. That came two plays after a 42-yard pass from Williams to running back DeeJay Dallas.
Miami added two more scores in the second quarter -- a 6-yard touchdown run by Dallas and a short field goal before halftime.
The first half could not have gone much worse for Florida State on offense. With their front line getting dominated by Miami's defensive front, the Seminoles accounted for just 88 yards of total offense in the first two quarters.
They did put together one solid drive -- a 17-play, 54-yard march that resulted in a field goal by Ricky Aguayo -- but that was the only drive of more than five plays and the only one of more than 17 yards.
The Seminoles finished the game with 203 yards of total offense.
Florida State will need to win two of its final three games -- against UF, Boston College and Alabama State -- to become bowl eligible and show improvement from Taggart's first season.
The Seminoles travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass., next Saturday at noon.
Stay connected with Warchant.com for complete coverage following the game.
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