Miami football will make yet another big statement vs. Florida State

Miami football seeks to win their fourth straight and make a statement against Florida State to keep building momentum in the 2020 season.

Miami is off to a good start in 2020, looking like a totally different football team than it did a year ago when it finished 6-7. The new look offense led by D’Eriq King and coordinator Rhett Lashlee has surpassed expectations so far as the Hurricanes look much more explosive than they did a year ago.

The Hurricanes’ rushing attack has been very good through the first couple of games as Cam’Ron Harris has been breaking through tackles and looks like one of the best running back in the entire country. King has completely changed how the Hurricanes look on offense and he looks to keep the momentum rolling against the Seminoles.

Florida State, on the other hand, looks like the same team that we have grown accustomed to seeing the past few. Offensively inept and sloppy play all around.

To make matters worse, head coach Mike Norvell will not be able to be on the sidelines for the game after contracting COVID-19 and that will be a big blow for the Seminoles. Florida State’s offense looked terrible two weeks ago against Georgia Tech and will be looking for a bounce back performance against a formidable Hurricanes defense.

This was once one of the fiercest rivalries in all of the country that had the eyes of the nation on it every time these two teams clashed. Now, it seems that these two only play for bragging rights between the two schools and fanbases. The ACC and the sport of college football could really benefit from having Miami vs. Florida State return to glory and therefore challenge Clemson and make the conference more respectable in the eyes of the country.

Here is how you can watch Miami vs. Florida State on Saturday night:

Date: Saturday, Sept. 26
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Miami Gardens, Fla.
Venue: Hard Rock Stadium
TV: ABC
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

For Miami, the running game will be key once again this week. The biggest advantage that the Seminoles have over the Hurricanes is their defensive line against Miami’s offensive line. The offensive line must protect King and open up the running game for the Hurricanes and they key to doing that will be establishing the run and not allowing the Seminoles defense to tee off on the Hurricanes line.

On defense, Miami will have an advantage with their pass rush against what appears to be another terrible Seminoles offensive line. If the Hurricanes run the ball well and put pressure on James Blackman, this game could get ugly quickly for Florida State.

For the Seminoles, the offensive line will have to protect Blackman for the them to even have chance. FSU’s receivers must do better at helping out Blackman by not dropping so many passes like they did a couple of weeks ago against Georgia Tech.

Defense is the Seminoles’ strength with studs like Marvin Wilson and Asante Samuel Jr. on that side of the ball and they will have to force turnovers, which is something that King has not done so far this season. Stopping the run and forcing Miami into passing situations will be key that way Florida State can unleash their pas rush.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of The Action Network

Point Spread: Miami – 9.5
Over/Under: 53.5

Prediction

Make no mistake about it, Florida State will probably show up and play their best game of the season due to this being a heated rivalry and this might be the super bowl for the Seminoles as they look to spoil any momentum that the Hurricanes have built.

FSU has the defense to hang around in this game and I still have questions about Miami’s offensive line. The Hurricanes have given up some yards on defense as well, but I don’t think the Seminoles are good enough to take advantage of the Hurricanes’ deficiencies.

The game will be close for a half, but expect Miami and King to make plays in the second half to put it away and for the Hurricanes to earn their fourth straight victory over the Seminoles.

Final Score: Miami 37, Florida State 24