Florida State’s defense forced a takeaway to end the game. And the Seminoles have a third straight rivalry win over Miami.
Jarrian Jones’ interception of Tyler Van Dyke on fourth down in the final minute sealed the Seminoles’ 27-20 win over Miami in front of a packed Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday night.
Trey Benson had two touchdown runs, including a 38-yarder that put FSU ahead for good in the third quarter, while Jordan Travis connected with old friends Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson once again.
FSU (10-0, 8-0 ACC) finished off a perfect league season for the first time since 2014. The Seminoles also won their 16th straight game, helped by a defense that kept a 10th straight opponent under 30 points.
In the last 16 meetings, FSU leads the series with Miami 11-5.
Below are some takeaways and notes from FSU's win:
FSU's second-half fight was needed response
Stop us if you’ve heard this one: FSU started slow, needing a surge in the second half of a big game. This happened a week ago at Pittsburgh and has been a storyline against Duke and throughout 2023.
While Miami fielded the onside kick to open the second half and got a field-goal attempt, the Hurricanes then punted on five straight possessions. FSU’s defense held Miami to 24 offensive yards and Miami converted for only one first down in that stretch.
The Hurricanes got an 85-yard touchdown on a busted coverage, but the defense was overall quite good outside of Miami's eight big plays (more on that below).
The Seminoles used some big plays to move down the field and generate points. Ja’Khi Douglas’ 62-yard catch-and-run set up a chip-shot field-goal attempt. Trey Benson then weaved through the Miami defense on a 38-yard touchdown. And Keon Coleman’s 57-yard punt return set up FSU at the Miami 10, and Coleman caught a 6-yard TD pass to put FSU ahead 27-13.
Coleman and Wilson made a massive difference
The pregame storyline of “will they play” was the wrong one. It was more of “how big of an impact” will Coleman and Wilson have.
Wilson caught five passes for 82 yards, while Coleman had the long punt return that set up his ACC-leading 10th touchdown reception. He had four receptions for 24 yards. Coleman is also the first FSU receiver to have 10 or more touchdown receptions since Auden Tate in 2017.
The offense looked very different at Pittsburgh without Coleman and Wilson. It was functional, especially in the second half. On Saturday against Miami, the passing game often ran through the trio of Coleman, Wilson and Ja’Khi Douglas.
FSU allows chunk plays but little else
Sometimes chunk plays tell the story of the game, but this is a bizarre series of stats. Miami had 335 offensive yards, but eight chunk plays (four rushing of 10 or more, four passing of 15 or more) went for a combined 261 yards.
The other six completions went for 36 yards. That's just six yards per catch.
The other 30 rushes went for 38 yards. That's just more than one yard per run.
Mastromanno's right leg is (yet again) a valuable weapon
Yes, there is Norvell’s decision to call the onside kick. Let’s set that one aside for the moment and reflect on an overwhelming specialist positive.
For all of the miserable FSU history with special teams in the Miami series, the Seminoles might not have won this game without Alex Mastromanno. The junior punter had seven punts that averaged 49 yards, including three that pinned Miami deep. His first punt went 52 yards and pinned Miami at its own 2, prompting a three-and-out. Another punt went for 51 yards and out of bounds at the Miami 5.
Mastromanno put Miami in tough positions and long fields as often as he could, with one exception being when he had to punt from deep in the end zone. He was averaging 46.4 yards per punt but outdid that on Saturday.
The FSU-Miami series has all-too-often come down to a kick, although not of late. And on this night, Mastromanno was a clutch option to flip the field. And, yes, Ryan Fitzgerald also made field goals from 33 and 22 yards.
Injury report
Miami started freshman quarterback Emory Williams, who connected on 8 of 23 passes for 175 yards, including an 85-yard catch-and-run for Jacolby George. Williams left the game with 2:43 to go, converting on a 2-yard fourth-down run as he injured his left arm.
Williams' injury is "significant" and he is being evaluated at a nearby hospital.
Noteworthy
Norvell’s decision to go for the onside kick was highly questionable but in the end only cost FSU three points.
Edwin Joseph had his arm in a sling pregame.
Scouts from the Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, NY Giants, Denver Broncos, LA Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs were in attendance.
Follow The Osceola on Facebook
Follow The Osceola on Twitter
Subscribe to the Osceola's YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Osceola's podcasts on Apple
Subscribe to the Osceola's podcasts on Spotify
