Florida State destroys Miami Hurricanes for Homecoming

Miami, FL –The Miami Hurricanes have officially hit rock bottom. Florida State crushed them 45-3 in front of a soldout crowd at the Hardrock.

FSU scored on its first drive, quickly imposing its will. The Noles were buoyed by a costly 15-yard pass interference call against UM on 3rd and 11. Jordan Travis converted on the opportunity with a deep 56-yard strike to Ontaria Wilson for the early 7-0 lead. They wouldn’t come close to relinquishing that advantage. Moreover, the Hurricanes failed to score a touchdown for the second consecutive game.

The beginning of the end of this game#GoCanes || #ItsAllAboutTheUpic.twitter.com/09pLWQEyGW

— Gabriel Garcia (@Gabewritesports) November 6, 2022

FSU produced 454 yards of total offense. First, Travis completed 10 of 12 passes for 202 yards including three TDs and an interception. Next, Trey Benson ran wild recording 128 yards on 15 carries and hitting the end zone twice. On the contrary, the Canes cycled through three quarterbacks for a combined 62 yards. That being said, Jaylan Knighton was the top performer within the RB corps pushing 60 yards on four carries.

An embarrassment at home

Miami responded with Tyler Van Dyke helping the team march down the field, which included a good 10-yard pass to Xavier Restrepo for the first down. The Canes settled for a 49-yard field goal by Andres Borregales, a season-high. This was their high-water mark.

Trey Benson has been on fire in the 1st half 🔥

94yds on 11 carries
2 TDs #NoleFamily | #KeepCLIMBing pic.twitter.com/g4gETL9rci

— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) November 6, 2022

FSU’s second drive was propelled by a strong 42-yard rush by Benson on the first play of the possession. Lawrance Toafili kept up the pressure with his own 16-yard rush. Eventually, the Seminoles found the endzone via a short 2-yard toss to DJ Lundy making it 14-3.

Florida State kept on attacking to bury the Canes.

Van Dyke tried to keep the team competitive but it was clear he wasn’t 100%. He completed four of eight passes for two dozen yards before getting subbed out for Jake Garcia. The backup was intercepted by Greedy Vance (great name for a CB), allowing the Noles to start their drive deep in Miami territory. Benson rushed thrice, eventually breaking through for his second rushing TD of the evening, putting FSU firmly in control 28-3. Jacurri Brown also took snaps but wasn’t much better.

JARED VERSE.

That's the tweet. #NoleFamily | #KeepCLIMBing pic.twitter.com/Npv3icIMbj

— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) November 6, 2022

FSU outpaced Miami on offense 304-76 in total yardage by halftime. Florida State averaged 8.4 yards a play to the Hurricanes’ 2.9. UM was 2-for-8 on third down and only recorded five first downs. Florida State, meanwhile, was a perfect 4-for-4 in the red zone. They’d finish 6-for-6 by night’s end. In the second half, the Seminoles scored twice in the fourth quarter to run up the score. Furthermore, The U was called for nine penalties costing them 72 yards.

Final Thoughts

This has to be the team’s low point. Getting blown out at home by your rival is pretty darn bad. Obviously, the Hurricanes stood no chance. I was excited to see Van Dyke start the game but this was a mirage. I severely question the move of sending out a thoroughly injured player after watching his performance. Saturday night’s game has been the most inept showing by the Canes this season. Without a doubt, this was worse than MTSU and worse than Duke. This debacle was due to poor play on both sides of the ball.

Breaking the rock at Hard Rock#NoleFamily | #KeepCLIMBing pic.twitter.com/4qThYrADue

— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) November 6, 2022

Anything close to an offensive attack was never established. The defense was terrible, giving up explosive plays in the air and on the ground. Penalties didn’t help either but this was the least of their problems. Clearly, the team looked demoralized and clearly lost the will to battle back by halftime.

Fans and pundits alike are left wondering how things could have gone so wrong for the Hurricanes in 2022. Lastly, after the embarrassing thrashing Florida State gave the Miami Hurricanes, the excuse of this being Mario Cristobal’s first year on the job can only go so far.

📸Credit: Kathleen Hitchcock