FINAL: No. 6 Miami Hurricanes 36, Florida State Seminoles 14
The No. 6 Miami Hurricanes had to pivot from their customary ways of winning football games on Saturday.
But they still found a way to keep their perfect season alive with a 36-14 win over Florida State Seminoles at Hard Rock Stadium for their first win in the rivalry since the 2020 season.
Quarterback Cam Ward had a rare subpar outing, completing 22 of 34 passes for 2018 yards and no touchdowns while being sacked four times — although he did catch a 7-yard touchdown pass from Elijah Arroyo in the fourth quarter to put Miami up 29-7.
It was Ward’s first time this season not throwing for at least 300 yards and the first time without multiple touchdown passes, let alone going without finding the end zone at all.
Instead, Miami (8-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) relied on the run game to build its lead in the first half and its kicking game and defense to pull away from the Seminoles (1-7, 1-6 ACC).
Three field goals for Borregales
A season-high three field goals from Andres Borregales. The latest came from 45 yards to put Miami up 23-7 on the Seminoles with 39 seconds left in the third quarter.
Defense finally gets a couple sacks
It took until late in the third quarter, but the Hurricanes’ pass rush finally got to the Seminoles.
Simeon Barrow Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, the Hurricanes’ starting defensive tackles, each logged a sack within a span of four plays to force another FSU turnover on downs.
Another Hurricanes field goal
The Hurricanes took advantage of the short field, with Andres Borregales hitting a 42-yard field goal to put Miami up 20-7 on FSU with 5:59 left in the third quarter.
This is just the third time this season — and first time in ACC play — that Borregales has attempted and made multiple field goals in a game.
UM defense forces turnover on downs
FSU goes for it on fourth down twice on the opening drive of the second half.
The Seminoles converted the first, but didn’t on the second.
Hurricanes have the ball on their 46.
Hurricanes add field goal before halftime
An Andres Borregales 20-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter put the Hurricanes up 17-7 on FSU at halftime.
That capped an 18-play, 88-yard drive that took up the final 6:35 of the second quarter.
FSU gets the ball to start the second half.
FSU scores
FSU marched down to the Hurricanes’ 1-yard line, fueled primarily by some big runs from quarterback Luke Kormenhoek.
After the Hurricanes stuffed FSU on three consecutive plays, Seminoles running back Caziah Holmes found the end zone to cut Miami’s lead cut to 14-7 with 6:44 left in the second quarter.
Another rushing touchdown for the Hurricanes
Damien Martinez is finally looking like the Damien Martinez the Hurricanes were hoping to have when he transferred in from Oregon State. He had the big game vs. Louisville.
Now, an 18-yard rushing touchdown where he sheds tackles again to put the Hurricanes up 14-0 on FSU with 14:09 left in the second quarter.
He also had the 21-yard catch-and-run on the drive at the end of the first quarter.
UM up after one quarter
The Hurricanes lead FSU 7-0 at the end of the first quarter and are driving on offense. They converted a third and 20 on the final play of the opening frame on a Cam Ward pass to Damien Martinez, who gains 21 yards on the play.
Miami has first and 10 at the FSU 28 when the second quarter begins.
Ward so far has completed 7 of 10 passes for 77 yards. The one-two punch of Martinez and Mark Fletcher have a combined 63 rushing yards on 10 carries.
Hurricanes jump out to early lead
The Hurricanes marched 67 yards in seven plays to open the game with a touchdown, with running back Mark Fletcher Jr. capping the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
It’s 7-0 Miami over FSU with 12:22 left in the first quarter.
Season recap
▪ Miami 41, Florida 17: Cam Ward threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns, Mark Fletcher added two scores on the ground, the defense held its own despite one of its top players exiting the game early with injury, and the No. 19 Hurricanes made quick work of the Florida Gators with a season-opening win at Gainesville’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to kick off a critical Year 3 under Mario Cristobal.
▪ Miami 56, Florida A&M 9: That one went as expected. Cam Ward threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth before turning the game over to the second-string offense midway through the third quarter. The defense held the Rattlers to just three field goals.
▪ Miami 62, Ball State 0: The No. 10 Miami Hurricanes had to wait through nearly two-and-a-half hours of lightning delays before kicking off their home game against Ball State on Saturday.
Once the game finally began, they wasted little time asserting their dominance, as was expected in this non-conference matchup.
The final score from a soggy Hard Rock Stadium: Hurricanes 62, Ball State 0.
It’s the most points Miami has scored in a shutout of a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent in program history.
▪ Miami 50, USF Bulls 15: The Miami Hurricanes and USF Bulls played a hectic, lengthy, back-and-forth first half on Saturday.
But once the teams returned from their locker rooms, the Hurricanes took over and played like the team that has dominated through the first three weeks of the season.
Fueled by three total rushing touchdowns by Damien Martinez, including two in the second half, and another stellar performance from quarterback Cam Ward, No. 8 Miami pulled away from USF and left Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium with a 50-15 road win.
▪ Miami 38, Virginia Tech 34: The No. 7 Hurricanes overcame a pair of 10-point second-half deficits to hold off Virginia Tech at Hard Rock Stadium to improve to 5-0 and 1-0 in ACC play.
Cam Ward led touchdown drives of 89, 70 and 57 yards in the second half, and Miami survived a final-play Hail Mary attempt from Virgnia Tech that was ultimately ruled incomplete after a lengthy review.
▪ Miami 39, Cal 38: The No. 8 Hurricanes erased a 25-point second-half deficit for a 39-38 win over the Cal Golden Bears on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 52,428 at California Memorial Stadium on the day ESPN’s College GameDay came to Berkeley for the first-time in the show’s history.
Miami trailed Cal 35-10 with 8:06 left in the third quarter before it ripped off four consecutive touchdown drives while holding the Golden Bears to just a field goal to secure the win.
The game-winning play: A 5-yard touchdown pass from Cam Ward to Elijah Arroyo on a drive that included a 77-yard catch-and-run from Xavier Restrepo to get Miami into the red zone and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that forced them back 15 yards with less than a minute left to play and a 22-yard catch-and-run from Damien Martinez on third and 20 to get Miami back to the Cal 3.
Miami linebacker Francisco Mauigoa intercepted a Fernando Mendoza fourth-down pass with 11 seconds left to seal the game.
▪ Miami 52, Louisville 45: The Miami Hurricanes — once again — had to hold their breath and wait to see if a late call would fall in their favor.
Cam Ward was hit as he threw in the fourth quarter Saturday with Miami holding a one-score lead over the Louisville Cardinals. The ball wobbled out of his hand, a Louisville defender charged for it and ran the length of the field for what was initially ruled a game-tying fumble return for a touchdown.
After the review was completed, the Hurricanes were able to exhale. Forward pass. Incomplete pass. Miami maintains possession and the lead.
The sixth-ranked Hurricanes scored two plays later on a Damien Martinez 30-yard rushing touchdown to pull away for a 52-45 win over Louisville on Saturday at L&N Financial Credit Union Stadium to keep their perfect record intact.
▪ Miami vs. Florida State (Tonight)
▪ Miami vs. Duke (Nov. 2, time TBD)
▪ Miami at Georgia Tech (Nov. 9, time TBD)
▪ Miami vs. Wake Forest (Nov. 23, time TBD)
▪ Miami at Syracuse (Nov. 30, time TBD)
Pregame Hurricanes reading
Need to catch up before kickoff? Here are the highlights of the Miami Herald’s coverage over the past few days.
▪ Hurricanes newcomers talk FSU rivalry. Plus a look at a big recruiting weekend
▪ Undefeated Hurricanes not overlooking one-win FSU as rivalry renews
▪ Akheem Mesidor’s ‘flow of emotions,’ OJ Frederique’s confidence and more Hurricanes notes
▪ Cam Ward on pace to shatter Hurricanes records — and using NIL to take care of teammates
▪ Bain evaluates first two games back as Hurricanes’ defensive line returns to full strength
▪ Sam Brown finally had his breakout game as Hurricanes receivers form ‘four-headed monster’
This story was originally published October 26, 2024 at 6:30 PM.
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