MIAMI – This game was another chapter in the book of the Florida State Seminoles and University of Miami Hurricanes rivalry.
When you begin to read it, the easy conclusion is that the Seminoles have added another win with bragging rights ridding into next season.
Not so fast, my friend. The game took on a stunning twist.
In only his second start – and his first of this huge rivalry stage – N’Kosi Perry threw four touchdown passes, and then-No. 17 Miami pulled off its biggest comeback against the Seminoles by rallying from 20 points down midway through the second half to defeat the Seminoles 28-27 on Saturday night (Oct. 6).
Perry became the fourth consecutive quarterback to win his initial FSU-Miami start, joining Miami’s Malik Rosier in 2017, FSU’s Deondre Francois in 2016 and FSU’s Everett Golson in 2015.
“It has hasn’t hit me yet,” Perry said. “I’m glad to be a part of it, and I’m happy that people will talk about it down the road. As of right now, it’s just another game that we won. A big win for us.”
There were no significant College Football Playoff implications thus time. However, the rivalry is far from dead.
One play in particular stood out in this chapter.
The Seminoles had a fourth-quarter touchdown off a double pass taken off the board when officials ruled that the first throw from Francois to D.J. Matthews was forward, and negated Matthews’ throw to Keith Gavin for a score that would have put Florida State up by two touchdowns and seal the win.
“He threw it in front of him,” Florida State head coach William Taggart said. “I thought it was good.”
The Hurricanes (5-1, 2-0 ACC) accomplished back-to-back wins in the series for this first time since winning six consecutive meetings from 2000 through 2004, a streak that included regular season and Orange Bowl victories in the 2003 season. They also get their first win at home over the Seminoles since 2004.
The Hurricanes finished with six sacks and 12 tackles for loss. They completely shut down the FSU offense in the second half.
“Tough loss for our football team,” Taggart said. “We didn’t finish the game in the second half. We did some things that we knew we shouldn’t do. We just turned the ball over. We stressed that all week, not giving up the turnover.”
FSU was outgained 145-45 in the second half.
Miami was a nearly two-touchdown favorite entering the game. However, the heat up to this point of the season has been on Taggart, so he was determined to come out firing on all cylinders to prove the naysayers wrong.
Taggart is in his first season at Florida State and was catching some heat when the Seminoles (3-3, 1-3 in ACC) lost to then-No. 24 Virginia Tech and Syracuse in two of their first three outings. They struggled against Samford as well, trailing the FCS team 26-21 early in the fourth quarter before staying alive with a 36-26 victory.
The Hurricanes rose one spot from No. 17 to 16 in the AP Top 25 Poll and two spots from No. 17 to No. 15 in the Amway Coaches Poll on Sunday. This is a good thing because they will travel to Charlottesville, Virginia for a 7 p.m. Saturday kickoff against the Virginia Cavaliers (3-2, 1-1 ACC).
Miami will be on the road for four of its next five games.
With that said, Perry remains the starting quarterback for the defending ACC Coastal champs.
He will be tested moving forward on the road, and he’ll likely need to keep performing well enough to win more games.
Rosier, a fifth-year senior, lost the starting job after playing in four games this season. He completed 38 of 73 passes for 611 yards and five touchdowns, with two interceptions. He also has run for a team-high five touchdowns.
If Perry falters down the stretch, we could be looking at yet another quarterback controversy at Miami. Head coach Mark Richt may think about going back to Rosier should that happen.
Miami is quietly in position to steal a CFP spot in December. This is possible if this team wins out by repeating as ACC Coastal champs and winning its first-ever ACC title game.
We’re close to the midway point of this exciting season. We’re eager to see what happens down the road.
