The Miami Hurricanes have successfully claimed the state of Florida after beating the Florida State Seminoles last night, with a final score of 28-22. The score may indicate that it was a close game, but it was rather a near-disaster.
The Hurricanes were up 28-3 heading to the fourth quarter. All of a sudden, the Seminoles’ offense became unstoppable, but ran out of time in regulation to complete a miraculous comeback.
Despite the late meltdown, the Hurricanes were victorious and improved their record to 5-0.
Here are some key takeaways and notes from Saturday night’s game
Hurricanes; penalized merchants:
The Hurricanes were penalized 13 times throughout the game for a loss of 114 yards, which was eight more than the Seminoles, who only lost 45. Many of those errors caused the team to fall short of converting first downs, which they only successfully did 14 times.
The Hurricanes were able to overcome those yellow flags, but that might not always be the case. Last night was the most they were penalized thus far this season, as well as the most yards lost by a wide margin. If the team manages to clean up and regain the discipline they have shown from the start of the season, then the offense will pick up again.
Hurricanes; receivers spark scoreboard:
In their week four matchup against the Florida Gators, it was the Hurricanes’ run game that helped them pull through with the victory. However, it was the opposite against the Seminoles.
Hurricanes’ quarterback Carson Beck managed to find his star receivers on a clear route to the end zone. Both Malachi Toney and CJ Daniels scored all of the team’s touchdowns, and they also combined for 185 yards. Their explosive plays were needed to run the Hurricanes’ score up.
Hurricanes; defensive slumps in the clutch:
The Hurricanes nearly suffered the same fate as the Atlanta Falcons did in the 2017 Super Bowl against the New England Patriots. They were up 28-3 as the fourth quarter began, but the Seminoles didn’t back down.
The Northern Florida program exploded for 188 yards, along with two touchdowns, and also converted on the extra two points for both.
The Hurricanes’ defense was tremendous in the first three quarters, but the players were gassed in the final 15 minutes of action. They gave so much effort early in the game when the offense was stagnant at times.
It wasn’t the way Mario Cristobal, Corey Hetherman, or the team wanted to finish, but they were lucky to finish on top, despite a near-collapsing finish.
It’s a good experience for the Hurricanes, in case a situation such as this comes up again with future opponents. It helps build a battle-tested mentality.
It’s the second straight game in which the Hurricanes managed to come out on top despite the heavy obstacles. They will have some games against unranked opponents ahead, which are must-wins. Cristobal and the team must carry this momentum from the last couple of in-state victories to continue their playoff campaign and potentially win the program’s first-ever ACC championship.