We have finally made it.
One of the biggest rivalries in all of sport has arrived, and it’s one of the biggest games in their rich history of facing off.
Miami vs. Florida State.
The Hurricanes against the Seminoles.
Doesn’t get much better than this.
Both programs are ranked and have an old-school feeling heading into Saturday night. FSU just suffered its first loss of the season to Virginia last Friday in overtime, while Miami was on a bye week, preparing to stay unbeaten.
The Seminoles may have dropped
a game they weren’t supposed to, but that makes them even more dangerous heading into Saturday. Here are three matchups to watch for that will likely determine the outcome of this intense rivalry.
Canes’ Offensive Line vs. Noles’ Defensive Line
Despite having a shaky game against Virginia, this Florida State defensive line will look to have a bounce-back and prove itself against a great offensive line.
According to PFF, the Seminoles’ strongest unit is their run defense. They have the fifth-highest run defense grade in the country with an elite 92.8 grade. They are just behind Georgia, Maryland, Miami, and Texas Tech in this category.
Darrell Jackson Jr. leads the Noles in run stops with eight on the season. He is surrounded by other talented players, including Deante McCray, Mandrell Desir, Justin Cryer, and others, who help him stop the run.
FSU is capable of stopping the run against anyone, but they showed a couple of flaws in their game against Virginia, and Miami has to capitalize on their dominant offensive line.
The Hurricanes have been touted as one of the best teams in the country, excelling on both sides of the line of scrimmage. On the offensive side of things, Miami needs to prove it once again against a formidable opponent and impose its will.
Led by future first-round pick Francis Mauigoa and Anez Cooper, they will set the tone on the right side of the line on Saturday. They have been phenomenal through four games and will need to repeat their success in their first road game of the season.
Markel Bell has been holding his own at left tackle and presents significant problems for the opposing edge defenders. Samson Okunlola has done a good job alongside James Brockermeyer to solidify a great interior of this line.
The Hurricanes have been great at running the ball this season and have been imposing their will against good defenses. What the line did to the Gators in Week 4 was just a slow death as they constantly wore them out and continued to pound the rock.
Miami will need to do more of the same on Saturday to keep the atmosphere in Tallahassee under control and manage this game. I like this matchup for the Canes in the trenches.
CB Damari Brown/OJ Frederique Jr. vs. WR Duce Robinson
Yes, you are reading that right.
The two outside corners of Miami against the main receiving threat for Florida State.
The reason for this is that we don’t know if Corey Hetherman will want OJ Frederique Jr. or Damari Brown to follow their main receiver and shadow him the whole game. What we do know is that Brown and Frederique are Miami’s main outside corners, and they will be tasked against the 6’6 wide receiver.
Frederique has a few snaps in the slot, but he’ll have his fair share of reps against Duce Robinson. Brown strictly plays on the outside as a corner and will probably see more of the receiver on Saturday night.
Both corners have held their own this year. Frederique has allowed a 42.9% catch rate when targeted this season, and Brown has allowed 50% despite being targeted only four times this season.
Robinson will be the main passing target for Tommy Castellanos. He has a big catch radius and has nearly double the yards as the next receiver for Florida State. Robinson has 346 yards and three touchdowns for the Noles this season. He averages over 20 yards per catch and will look to be a big-play threat for this Florida State offense once again.
The most eye-popping stat is that the tall and lanky receiver hasn’t dropped a contested catch this season. He has seven contested catches on seven contested targets. Robinson’s big frame is a massive problem and needs to be contained in order for Miami to win the game.
The passing game of the Seminoles is not great as they are more of a running team (more on that next), but Miami doesn’t want to make one of their weaknesses a strength on Saturday.
Containing Robinson will be key for Miami’s secondary, specifically Frederique and/or Brown.
DC Corey Hetherman vs. OC Gus Malzahn
This is the number one matchup on Saturday.
Whoever has the better night between these two gentlemen will lead their team to victory.
Mike Norvell hit a grand slam with hiring Gus Malzahn to be his offensive coordinator and has resurrected the Seminoles after an embarrassing season last year.
Malzahn is not only one of the best offensive minds in the country, but he is also the best play designer/caller when it comes to run schemes.
It’s no surprise that the Seminoles are leading the country in rushing yards per game and almost every other statistic when it comes to pounding the rock. Malzahn’s offense is at its most dangerous when he has a running quarterback, and he does with Castellanos.
Castellanos has the most rushing attempts with 43 and has run for the second most yards for the Seminoles at 221 yards. He’s recorded four rushing touchdowns and has the most 10+ yard runs for FSU. He’s a quick, agile runner and will present problems for Miami.
The Noles’ main running back has been Gavin Sawchuk, who leads the offense with 233 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Ousmane Kromah is an impressive young running back as he bruises the opposing defense. He’s recorded 174 rushing yards and averages 6.2 yards per attempt.
FSU has already run for more than 1,300 yards and averages nearly seven yards per carry through four games. Malzahn’s offense starts and ends with his rushing attack, and this will be the fiercest attack they will face all season. Malzahn is a wizard with the run game, and how Hetherman schemes his defense against it will determine if Miami wins or loses this game.
Hetherman has done a tremendous job thus far with the Hurricanes, as this defense appears to be one of the best in the country. Rueben Bain Jr, Akheem Mesidor, Mohamed Toure, Wesley Bissainthe, and the others surrounding them need to have their best game yet.
Miami has done a great job in stopping the run this season. They are the fifth-best team in rushing yards allowed per game, having allowed only 71 yards per game. They’ve allowed only 2.5 yards per carry, which is a remarkable number and ranks near the top in allowed rushing yards per attempt.
Hetherman and his defensive staff had a bye week to prepare for Florida State’s complicated rushing attack. They had a perfect and ideal situation heading into this FSU game with extra time and preparation for Malzahn’s offense.
Hetherman should be more than prepared to face this rushing attack from the Seminoles. Miami has a golden opportunity on the road to give the Seminoles back-to-back losses and come out still unbeaten.
Nonetheless, if Miami wins on Saturday night on prime time, it’s because Hetherman and this Miami defense stopped this rushing onslaught of Florida State.
Hetherman has to win his matchup against Malzahn.
