The Atlantic Line
Miami survives two last-gasp heaves to beat Florida State 43-35 in double overtime
No. 3 Miami held off Florida State 43-35 in double overtime when Bryce Fitzgerald's end-zone interception ended the game. The Hurricanes are 6-0.
Miami is still unbeaten, but only after Florida State's last two throws went toward the end zone. The No. 3 Hurricanes beat the Seminoles 43-35 in double overtime Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium. Bryce Fitzgerald ended it on the final snap, coming down with a fourth-and-31 heave that was ruled an interception and upheld on review, according to The Associated Press.
The snap before that should have been the tying score. Facing fourth-and-21, Ashton Daniels hit a 36-yard lob to Micah Danzy that would have made it 43-41 with a two-point try to come, but holding wiped it out, State of The U reported. Florida State argued that Fitzgerald's catch should have been ruled a touchdown, but the call stood.
Miami went ahead in the second overtime when Darian Mensah found Malachi Toney from 3 yards out. Toney then threw the two-point conversion to Cooper Barkate. He finished with 11 catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Mensah went 23 of 34 for 326 yards and three scores. His third-quarter interception ended a run of 153 passes without one to start his Miami career. Javian Mallory ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. "This is what great teams do, find a way to win," Mensah said, per the AP.
Florida State had chances. Daniels threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns. Duce Robinson caught a 75-yard score to tie the game with 2:49 left in regulation, then a 20-yarder to open overtime. But the Seminoles came away with nothing on two fourth downs inside the Miami 5. That was the same kind of goal-line stop that cost them at Louisville a week earlier. They also lost leading rusher Ousmane Kromah to a left leg injury late in the first half. The AP noted that Florida State has now lost 14 straight games away from Tallahassee and is 0-13 in true road games against ranked teams since 2016.
The result reaches beyond the rivalry. The two highest-ranked teams in the country lost Saturday, so CBS Sports and NBC Sports both see a path for Miami to its first AP No. 1 ranking since 2002. Miami has also won seven of the last 10 meetings with Florida State.
What it means for Pittsburgh
Miami is 6-0 and 4-0 in the ACC, and before Saturday it had been winning comfortably. The Hurricanes beat Clemson 41-13 on the road and Central Michigan 52-3, and they outscored their first five opponents by a combined 250-56. Florida State was the first team to take them past the fourth quarter. Next up is Pittsburgh at home on Saturday, October 24.
The board for that game has Miami as a heavy favorite, -1567 on the moneyline at Novig, one of three venues listed. DraftKings has the Hurricanes favored by 24.5 points with the total at 53.5. The widest gap between venues is on Pittsburgh's moneyline: +1150 at Novig against a best-available +1500 at DraftKings, a difference of 350. Sportsbook hold runs 3.0 to 3.5 percent on the moneyline and 4.8 percent on the spread and total.
Florida State falls to 3-4 and 1-3 in the league with three straight conference losses in close or lopsided games. It has a week off before hosting Clemson on October 31, and Kromah's status is the main thing to watch.
