ACC

#17 Miami Comes Back to Shock Rival FSU

It has been 14 years since the Miami Hurricanes walked out of their home stadium with a victory over in-state rival Florida State. But tonight, after going into halftime down 27-7, Miami walks out with a victory 28-27. This game and this rivalry is unlike any other in the country; Oklahoma and Texas play and you can expect a high scoring game from at a neutral site. When Georgia and Florida play, again, it’s a game at a neutral site between teams who are not even in the same state. But when Miami and FSU play it is a in-state rivalry between two teams that have produce countless NFL Hall of Famers, countless field goal games, countless friends becoming enemies for one night. This game might be the biggest game in all of the south.

Miami come from behind win is bigger than just another win over a rival, it is a stepping stone into the right direction. No the game was not pretty, but the finish was for Miami. Miami allowed a redshirt freshman, N’Kosi Perry get his feet wet last week against North Carolina as the starter, but tonight they let him get his second start in the biggest game on the schedule.

A few things happened tonight:

Miami ended a streak that FSU had on them again this year. Miami also saw the maturation process of a young team come alive when adversity hit. For most, if not all, of Mark Richt career as Miami’s head coach, he has played with players that were not his own; even now, as the season continues, you see players that Mark Richt did not recruit and may not have offered. Miami is close to turning the corner from being the after thoughts they became under terrible coaches. Miami players are not letting teams just run through them, but they are competing and learning on the spot.

N’Kosi Perry was up and down this game. The jitters of playing against FSU has gotten the best of a lot of QB’s in this rivalry. There are some that have never beaten FSU before, so to Perry, well done. Perry was not accurate at all in the first half, which is likely why the Canes were down 27-7. The offense could not move because the passing game was none existent. Perry over threw, under threw, fumbled, and looked out of wack in the first half. he threw only one touchdown in the first half.

Kosi in the second half threw 3 touchdowns to get the game back, but he can thank his defense.

The old saying is big time players make big time plays in big time games, and that is what the defense did. It started with Michael Pickney’s interception that led to a touchdown. It continued when Shedrick Redwine forced a fumble that was recovered by big Gerald Willis that led to a touchdown. The Canes defense showed up when they needed it most.

This was the first time Miami had a solid second half offensive showing all season. For most of the year, the Canes would blow a team out to start the game, and in the second half fall asleep offensively. This is a problem Miami needs to cure.

 

Here is why Miami is still not where they need to be.

Miami needs to find consistent play from the offensive line. The Canes offensive line will play well only for 1 half and not the entire game. The Canes will need to get better linemen play, or they will never get to the top of college football.

Next, Miami needs to find a kicker and a punter in recruiting, Juco, transfers, somewhere. Miami has not been able to flip field position well all season, and now with a iffy freshman kicker, it looks like Miami will have to go for it of 4th down every time.

Lastly, Miami has to start faster than what they have been. The both sides of the ball has not played a complete game together all season. For these reasons, Miami is still a year or two away.

(Featured Photo: CBS Sports) 

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