In another wild, bizarre, rainy installment of the University of Miami-Florida State rivalry, the Seminoles hung on for a 41-39 victory Saturday at Dolphin Stadium.

This one might fill an entire chapter in a Ripley's Believe It or Not edition, and still leave you shaking your head.

Up 24-3 at halftime and dominating the Hurricanes in the trenches, the Seminoles imploded in the second half, and UM took advantage by converting three turnovers and a botched snap on a punt into 26 points. The Canes got as close as 34-32 after a 24-yard field goal by Matt Bosher with 8:30 left.

''Miami had it going at the end,'' said FSU coach Bobby Bowden, who has been on the losing end of those finishes so many times. ``I mean, they had it going. That's the best Florida State-Miami game I never want to see again.''

But the Hurricanes' defense, ranked 21st nationally and seventh against the rush, barely existed Saturday. The Seminoles hung 440 yards on Miami -- 281 on the ground and 159 through the air.

SMITH CARRIES FSU OFFENSE

After Bosher's 24-yarder, FSU came right back with a 20-yard touchdown run by Antone Smith, who grew up in Pahokee and stunned even his mother when he chose FSU over UM.

Smith, a senior, had four rushing touchdowns and ran for 92 yards on 27 carries. He now has seven touchdowns in his past two games.

''We took advantages of the opportunities they gave us,'' Smith said after capping the highest-scoring game in the history of the rivalry that dates to 1951.

Freshmen Robert Marve and Travis Benjamin did all they could to lead a UM second-half charge as 65,786 fans endured torrential rain. But UM's defense barely could respond. The Seminoles (4-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) scored on five of their last six possessions, the exception being Sean Spence's interception return for a touchdown to cut UM's deficit to 34-29 with 11:23 left.

UM's offense had 51 yards rushing against FSU's eighth-ranked rushing defense.

''We felt like we had everything rolling. We felt like the Canes were back and we were swinging and punching and connecting,'' said Marve, who completed 17 of 40 passes for 122 yards and had two interceptions. ``Overall, the team had a great, positive vibe on the sideline.

''[Offensive coordinator Patrick] Nix called a great game. I don't know what you could possibly say about him now,'' Marve said, aiming his words at those who have criticized Nix for being too conservative. ``We just didn't pull it out.''

The Seminoles were so dominant in the first half, they had the ball for 21 minutes, 8 seconds compared to 8:52 for UM.

FSU quarterback Christian Ponder, who had been criticized for his deficient passing skills, used his legs to embarrass UM. Ponder ran 19 times for 144 yards and was 14 of 31 for 159 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions.

Ponder's rushing total was the second highest by a quarterback in FSU history.

Benjamin used his legs, too, and his receiving skills. He scored on an 18-yard run on an end around and a 51-yard reception from tailback Graig Cooper. He caught three passes for 71 yards. He had 274 all-purpose yards for Miami (2-3, 0-2).

COOPER: SLOW START HURT

Said Cooper, who was held by a fierce defense to 32 yards after consecutive 100-yard rushing games: ``We finished [Saturday]. We just never got started. We didn't come out with the hype we always do. It was like we were saving something, but it wasn't enough.''

The Hurricanes threw three interceptions, one by backup Jacory Harris. Cornerback Tony Carter had two of them. One Marve interception by Carter led to FSU's first touchdown. An interception by Harris to Dekoda Watson led to a 53-yard field goal by Graham Gano that made it 24-0 with about a minute left in the first half.

''It hurts losing this game,'' Marve said. ``It hurts losing to Florida State. It's something we have to grow from -- I don't know how else to say it.''

The Seminoles have an off week before traveling to North Carolina State for a Thursday night game.

After back-to-back losses, the Hurricanes come back to Dolphin Stadium at 3:45 p.m. next Saturday to face Central Florida (2-4), which defeated Southern Methodist 31-17 on Saturday.

''Do we have a long way to go? Yeah, I think so,'' said UM coach Randy Shannon, ``because we've got to win the game. I'm not going to make excuses for it. We're going to coach these guys hard. We're going to get these guys back to where they need to be.''

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