The Atlantic Line
Miami's top-ranked offense meets a leaky Florida State defense
No. 3 Miami averages 554 yards and 49 points a game and hosts a Florida State defense that has allowed 94 points in two road losses.
Florida State's defense has fallen apart away from Tallahassee, and its next road trip is to face the best offense in the country. Roundtable Sports reports that the Seminoles have allowed 1,104 total yards, 644 rushing yards and 94 points in their two road losses this season. On Saturday they visit No. 3 Miami.
Roundtable's Tony Thomas points out that Florida State led by two scores in both of those road games before the defense gave way and the opponent pulled away. The most recent one came at Louisville. The Cardinals scored 44 points, ran for 397 yards and six touchdowns, and averaged 9.23 yards per carry. Running back Isaac Brown had 235 yards and two scores. Florida State managed one sack and four tackles for loss.
Miami is a tougher matchup still. The Hurricanes are 5-0 and average 554 yards and 49 points per game at 8.21 yards per play. Their closest game was a 33-20 win at Wake Forest. Quarterback Darian Mensah leads the ACC with 15 touchdown passes and has not thrown an interception. Receiver Malachi Toney leads the league at 120 receiving yards per game and has 39 catches for 604 yards and six touchdowns in five games.
The Seminoles don't match up well against that passing game. Roundtable reports that Florida State gives up 244 passing yards per game, has three interceptions all season and none in the last four weeks. Getting to Mensah won't be easy either, because Miami has allowed only five sacks. Miami can also run the ball. Mark Fletcher and Javian Mallory have combined for 596 yards and eight touchdowns, which is a bad sign for a defense coming off the Louisville game.
What's at stake
The Florida State at Miami game kicks off Saturday, October 17, at 7 p.m. EDT on ESPN. Miami is favored by 21.5 points and the total is 56.5. Miami is -1329 to win outright on Novig, one of the venues listing the game. Pinnacle has the Hurricanes at -1596, the top sportsbook price on Miami. Roundtable notes that FanDuel's early number also had Miami favored by 21.5.
The game matters most for Mike Norvell. Roundtable says Florida State has 11 true road losses over the past two and a half seasons under Norvell, who is in his seventh season. The outlet describes his seat as having been "reduced to ashes for some time now" and calls another loss in Miami one more nail in the coffin for his tenure.
Florida State is 3-3. A competitive game against an unbeaten in-state rival would give the program something to build on. If the defense plays like it did at Louisville, Miami should have little trouble keeping its unbeaten record going into the second half of the season, and the questions around Norvell will get louder.
