Hurricanes Fall Late to Seminoles
Wide Right. Wide Left I,II, and III. The Miami Muff.
When you hear these names the Miami/Florida State rivalry comes to mind. For decades it was the rivalry to end all rivalries. It was a rivalry that other rivalries tried to be like. It decided National Championships and undefeated seasons. It was THE rivalry in college football.
While the past decade has resulted in struggles for both programs on and off the intensity and significance of the game has not faltered. So when undefeated Florida State came to Miami on Saturday night and put their 25 game winning streak on the line against a 6-3 Hurricanes squad on national television everyone knew it was going to be a grudge match.
The Seminoles might have been the defending national champions and undefeated in 2014 but they had struggled as of late having to come back against inferior opponents Louisville and Virginia. Meanwhile, Miami had ripped off three straight impressive wins over Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina.
There were many pundits and analysts who actually said that Miami would finally be the team to end Florida State’s run and it almost happened.
With a sold out crowd of over 75,000 at Sun Life Stadium, the Hurricanes jumped out to a quick 16-0 lead and appeared to be the dominant team on both sides of the ball. The ‘Canes took a 23-10 lead into the half and once again Florida State looked beatable for the first thirty minutes.
Just like against the Cardinals and Cavaliers, Florida State was the dominant team in the second half. Outscoring Miami 20-3 in the second half, the Seminoles started to roll and catch some lucky breaks.
They scored what ended up being the game winning touchdown with three minutes left before Miami made one last shot at the upset. The Hurricanes made it down to the Florida State 42 before freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya threw an interception that ended the game and sealed the victory for the Seminoles, extending their win streak to 26.
In the loss, once again Kaaya and running back Duke Johnson headlined the offense for Miami. Kaaya went 16 for 34 with 316 yards passing, two touchdowns, and the one interception, while Johnson carried the ball 27 times for 130 yards and a touchdown.
While the loss will keep the Hurricanes out of the ACC title game again this year, the season is not over. There are two games left in the season starting this week at Virginia. A win against the Cavaliers and in two weeks at home against Pittsburgh on senior day would give Miami an 8 win season and would likely result in a mid to upper tier ACC bowl game.
About Dan Hauser
Golf and Sports enthusiast, Hurricanes supporter, Reds fan, UCF alum & writer for Country Clubs in Florida specializing on golf in South East Florida for Waterfront Properties.
