Florida State vs. Miami Prediction, Game Preview

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The Florida State Seminoles (4-0) and the Miami Hurricanes (3-1) renew their rivalry this Saturday night in Tallahassee. Check out the Florida State vs. Miami prediction and game preview.

Florida State vs. Miami Game Preview

Broadcast

Date: Saturday, October 10
Game Time: 8:00 ET
Network: ABC

Why You Need To Care

Florida State and Miami meet for the 60th time in a storied rivalry that’s lost some luster, but remains contentious and meaningful on many levels.

Noles-Canes isn’t what it was in the 1990s and early part of this century. Agreed. But the hatred is prepackaged, as is the importance to the ACC race and the race for the state’s best recruits. Neither program, though, enters Week 6 with the wind at its back. Sure, Florida State has won five straight in the series, all with Jimbo Fisher at the helm. However, this team hasn’t impressed since the Texas State opener. And much like in 2014, the Seminoles’ perfect record contradicts its imperfect game film.

Miami gets most of the blame for this rivalry’s decline over the past decade. And it’s earned the blame again in 2015, losing for the first time last week in Cincinnati. The unexpected loss heaped a new round of pressure on beleaguered head coach Al Golden, who’ll be even further under the microscope in Saturday’s nationally televised contest. Golden needs this game, but so do his Hurricanes in a year that the Coastal Division is once again up for grabs.

Why Miami Will Win

Florida State isn’t playing well. And now it must play without starting LB Terrance Smith, starting S Nate Andrews and possibly star RB Dalvin Cook.

The Canes are the healthier team entering this Week 6 showdown. Plus, they won’t be intimidated by the Seminole offense, especially if Cook’s hamstring keeps him out. LT Roderick Johnson aside, the FSU line has been inconsistent, and it’s not as if QB Everett Golson has set the world on fire the last three games. The Miami D has been serviceable, with more picks than touchdown passes allowed, and its backfield combo of QB Brad Kaaya and RB Joseph Yearby could trump Golson and whoever shoulders the FSU load.

Why Florida State Will Win

The Noles have history—and the better D—on their side.

If the Canes are going to win Saturday night, they’ll have to snap a lot of streaks to do so. Golden is winless in four tries against Fisher. And Florida State has won 16 straight at Doak Campbell, 26 in a row in the ACC, and hasn’t lost a regular season game in almost three years. The D is allowing just 11 points per game, and a secondary led by CB Jalen Ramsey and rookie SS Trey Marshall will create tight windows for Kaaya. The Nole DBs will enjoy a big edge on an average collection of Miami receivers.

Player Who Matters

If not Cook, then who?

If Cook can’t suit up, or is less than full strength, who joins Golson in the Florida State backfield? Backup Mario Pender is already out with a collapsed lung, so true freshman Jacques Patrick and sophomore Johnathan Vickers are poised to see the most action of their brief careers. The underclassmen are light on experience but bruising between the tackles, especially the 235-pound Patrick who turned a lot of heads in his first offseason with the program.

What’s Going To Happen?

Close. Exciting. A Seminole survival. In other words, an awful lot like last year’s matchup between these schools.

Florida State is not a great football team right now, and the injuries are troublesome. But if the Noles do one thing well, it’s survive, particularly in Tallahassee. It’ll be nip-and-tuck throughout, with neither team building a double-digit bulge at any point in the game. Golson, sans his usual backfield mate, will be the Week 6 hero, displaying his crunch-time experience with a couple of decisive drives down the stretch.