The Miami Hurricanes are set to tee it up against the Florida State Seminoles this weekend and both the pundits and critics continue the rants that this doesn’t feel like the standard UM versus FSU weekend.
True, the stakes aren’t where they should be between these two long-time rivals—and there’s been more back and forth about Florida State University’s debt-related issues, or the future of head coach Mike Norvell than there has been about the actual match-up itself.
All that to say, they’re missing the point and another lens in which to view this match-up as Florida State’s issues aren’t the story.
No, the focus should be Miami’s golden opportunity and opportunity to seize power in a way that hasn’t been done in a minute regarding The Big Three in the Sunshine State.
The media has spent the first month of this new season railing on Miami’s schedule; as if it’s the Hurricanes fault program like Florida State, Clemson or Virginia Tech aren’t holding up their end of the bargain in making the Atlantic Coast Conference competitive.
By making the conversation about the competition, it’s created a way for the naysayers to take the focus off the product on the field, the overall talent level in Coral Gables and arguably one of more-interesting narratives unfolding six weeks into this season; Miami’s ability to go full-blown next-man-up after a rash of injuries since the season opener.
Two starting cornerbacks and future first rounders sidelined for a big chunk of the season at Stanford, a big time wide receiver and running back lost for the year at Wake Forest and another offensive lineman out for a minute just as that position was finally starting to jell at Clemson.
Upside; when guys are healthy come the postseason, Miami will have a lot of back-ups, or starters out of position, who logged significant minutes holding things down—the proverbial question remaining; can and will they actually do enough to keep the Hurricanes unscathed going into those final few games that determine playoffs seeding?
CANES PASSING THE EYE & SMELL TEST HALFWAY IN
No, the story this week isn’t a maligned head coach in Tallahassee, the Seminoles’ debt issues or where that program is headed in the short- and long-term.
All that chatter is out there to distract from the fact that the Hurricanes look like they’ve picked up where they left off last year, while possibly improving in some areas after a national title game run in 2025—not to mention this sweep-the-leg opportunity, where Miami can body-bag Florida State in a way that sets their struggling program back even further than it currently is.
Mario Cristobal might not admit this in his weekly pressers, or when talking about this week’s opponent—but don’t for a minute confuse that with what he’s thinking, or what is being discussed behind closed doors as a way to motivate against a three-loss rival who isn’t playing up to the standard.
It’ll be a steady barrage of “1-0 every week” chatter; back to work to prepare for a tough and talented opponent, as Cristobal shouts out a handful of guys on Florida State’s roster who look the part individually, even if the Seminoles as a team remain fractured—but don’t let that fool anyone.
Cristobal is a Miami native; a two-time national champion at the University of Miami—and part of bleeding orange and green means the flip side to that love is a sheer and utter hatred for the garnet and gold.
It also means that every moment of misery the Seminoles ever inflicted on the Hurricanes; it’s forever seared into your brain—and when get-right moments arrive, you know good and hell well you need to seize them.
Cristobal finished 3-1 against the Seminoles as a player; a loss in Tallahassee as a freshman in 1989 when his starting quarterback was sidelined that week, though Miami got the last laugh winning the 1989 national championship, regardless.
A year later No. 6 Miami got revenge knocking off No. 2 Florida State in the Orange Bowl—though the next two games in the series weren’t just burned into the brains of Sunshine State football fans; two missed kicks changed the series forever and Cristobal was a part of both.
No. 2 Miami took out No. 1 Florida State, 17-16 in Tallahassee when that first kick sailed wide right; proving the football gods have a twisted sense of humor—and that they don’t want legendary games to end in a tie—No. 2 Miami survived No. 3 Florida State, 19-16 thanks to another missed field goal when a different kicker sailed it wide again.
The Hurricanes won the national championship (again) in 1991 and played for it and lost in 1992—again underscoring that the road to a title always ran through the Orange Bowl or Doak Campbell Stadium—and while Cristobal went out on top as a player, he would see his alma mater and this rivalry bottom out in the coming years.
He would live through an era as a young alum where he saw Miami stripped of 31 scholarships over a three-year period, as the Hurricanes lost five in a row to the Seminoles between 1995 and 1999; returning the Coral Gables as a grad assistant in 1998 to do his part in helping stop the bleeding.
FLORIDA STATE HATE IS IN THE BLOOD
It was a time when Florida State did all they could to step over Miami to take the crown; all that dirty pool back in that era and shady recruiting while Bobby Bowden did the whole dad-gum thing and his defense assistant Chuck Amato was showing recruits crime scene photos of linebacker Marlin Barnes and his on-campus murder in 1995.
Moments like those, or seeing quarterback Scott Covington body slammed into the base of the goal post during that 47-0 beat-down when No. 4 Florida State rolled unranked, three-loss Miami the first week of October 1997—days after a banner flew over that home loss to West Virginia at the Orange Bowl, thanking Butch Davis from turning the “champs” into “chumps”.
You don’t forget Miami losing seven in a row in the series between 2010 and 2016; the Hurricanes reinventing ways to lose to both good and average Seminoles teams, while pissing away upsets or potential comebacks in epic fashion, while an arch-rival reveled it in.
Everyone remembers those garnet and gold shirts about extending Al Golden back around 2013, the last time either program won a national championship—or even the less-impressive “4th-and-14” shirt line quarterback Jordan Travis rolled out in 2021 when the Seminoles win over a four-loss Canes team proved to be the moment that ended the Manny Diaz era; Cristobal hired weeks later.
Miami’s fifth-year head coach might’ve nine miles west over at Florida International, in the deep south at Alabama or across the country coaching in the Pacific Northwest—but a eye was always on the Hurricanes and an a special kind of attention paid to the Seminoles; that elation that comes with a win as well as the disgust that is felt after a loss.
Things took another personal turn in 2022 as Florida State delivered another 1997-like moment when rolling Cristobal and Miami, 45-3 in his inaugural season, while it was year three for Norvell, who appears to be turning a corner with the Seminoles.
A year later it was 27-20 in Tallahassee where Miami narrowed the gap, but came up short against No. 4 Florida State—second straight season the Hurricanes rolled a back-up quarterback into its most-spirited rivalry; something that would fast-change in the coming years as it was Cam Ward under center in 2024, Carson Beck last season and now Darian Mensah leading Miami into this year’s edition of this game.
THE U’s RISE MORE IMPORTANT THAN FSU’S DEMISE
This trip down memory lane is by design; to remind everyone from the casual observer to the biggest diehard just what this Miami and Florida State rivalry means to those involved—especially a 56-year old fifth-year head coach in Coral Gables who fully knows what is at stake this weekend.
Miami’s home slate is a snoozer in 2026; there isn’t a Notre Dame or Florida on the docket to juice up the fan base—and this weird scheduling has the Hurricanes reaching mid-October with four road trips and only two lesser home games in the books; routs over Florida A&M and Central Michigan.
So yeah, don’t let the pundits, critics, haters or rivals fool you when they say this week doesn’t look or feel right.
Maybe not from their jaded vantage point, but if you’re the No. 3 Miami Hurricanes looking at a primetime ESPN kickoff on a rainy Saturday night at HardRock, you know what is at stake and you relish the opportunity to (hopefully) turn the tables like Florida State as turned them on you in the past.
The weather won’t be tailor made for Mensah to air it out to Malachi Toney, Cooper Barkate and Elijah Lofton all night—but maybe that in itself plays into Cristobal’s choke-them-out desire and beating Florida State with his brand of trench-warfare and run-it-down-your-throat energy
The Seminoles have been susceptible to the run all year and a steady does of Mark Fletcher, Javion Mallory, Jordan Lyle and Gerald Pringle could be just what the doctor ordered, as nothing is more will-breaking—just ask Clemson about that put-out-to-pasture nine-play drive that was all on the ground in Death Valley two weeks ago.
Upwards over than 100 of the biggest recruits in the country are set to descend on HardRock tonight; guys committed for 2027, others still be being courted and a slew of kids from the 2028 class who are getting their first taste as what Miami is all about.
There will be kids through the 2031 class in the building, which is even more reason for the Hurricanes to not just put on a show—but to make a statement that the Seminoles are on the ropes—which is why Cristobal and staff want to deliver this knockout blow.
Florida looked decent for a hot minute early this season, but after getting dog-walked my Missouri and South Carolina and now having Texas and Georgia on deck; a program that was 17-20 the past three years arguably looking at a 7-5 season as the Jon Sumrall year one hype cools off.
NOLES ON THE ROPES; FINISH THEM
Florida State’s demise if even worse; a 10-21 program dating back to the end of the 2023 season—which is conversely the last road game they’ve won; at Florida on November 25th.
Then it was 2-10 in 2024 and 5-7 in 2025 and nine conference losses in a row, between September 2024 and November 2025.
The Seminoles got off to fast starts against Alabama and Louisville in recent weeks, before sheer and utter collapses after the sprinted out the gate and didn’t buckle in for the marathon—outscored 44-15 by the Crimson Tide after that early 21-6 lead, while a 14-0 lead evaporated against the Cardinals, who rolled 44-6 after trailing 14-0 early.
Even more embarrassing; Florida State’s defense gave up 397 rushing yards to Louisville and 247 to Alabama—the kind of numbers that show just how weak-willed and checked out this Seminoles squad gets when things go south.
Yes, this is still a heated rivalry—one that deserves respect—and even in lopsided years, Miami or Florida State earns that puncher’s chance, as anything can truly happen … but it’s hard to not see the writing on the wall here with the current stakes what they are.
The Hurricanes also enter this weekend with vivid memories of the past two years against the Seminoles; games they won, albeit not in dominant fashion that moved the needed as hoped.
Norvell’s last trip to HardRock saw Florida State playing not to lose and rolling out a game plan where they not only weren’t going to let Ward beat them—safeties playing in the parking lot, as the goal was also to slow things down and limit possessions.
Ward got his 208 yards, while throwing for no touchdowns—but catching one on a trick play—while Fletcher and Damian Martinez combined for 30 carries, 219 total yards and three scores on the ground, in a 36-14 rout.
Fresher in everyone’s mind; last year’s edition in Tallahassee, where Florida State stacked the box to stop the run—daring Beck to beat them with his arm—and the Georgia transfer quarterback did just that; Miami sitting on a 28-3 lead with four passing touchdowns by the end of the third quarter.
A game that easily could’ve been put away with some better execution in the fourth; the Canes punted twice and had a turnover on down while the Seminoles went full gimmicky offense with Tommy Castellanos running around like a gnat—an in explicable 19-0 run that saw Florida State lining up for an onside kick with :20 remaining, before Miami recovered and put things to bed.
A win that didn’t really feel like a win; that energy carried over into as second bye (in a three-week span), before Miami lost at home against Louisville, had a lackluster first half against Stanford and went on the road to lose at SMU a week later, falling to 6-2 on the season—everything seemingly getting away from this Hurricanes team, which started in that fourth quarter at Doak Campbell early October.
The rest was history; a four-game win-streak to close the regular season, followed by College Football Playoff wins over No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Ole Miss, before reaching the national championship and coming up a drive short of upsetting No. 1 Indiana at a 10-seed.
It’s not something Cristobal or this staff would ever articulate anywhere other than behind closed doors, but one has to believe the last time Miami held court against Florida State, or somewhat taking that foot off the gas in Tallahassee last year—those game endings weren’t indicative of the chasm that exists between these two programs, and on that alone there feels like a “finish them” energy surrounding a reeling Seminoles program this weekend.
MIAMI BUILT TO SEIZE THE MOMENT
Revenge or an over-focus on righting past wrongs; it can’t be the ultimate motivator, of course. Miami needs to execute a proper game-plan and to treat Florida State like any other foe on the roster—even if there is a little extra juice when hearing that fight song, or seeing that nauseating spear on those stupid gold helmets.
In the end, this game really is less about putting Florida State out to pasture and is all about Miami executing the game plan—coming out of the bye ready to hit the ground running as month two of this season keeps rolling and incremental steps forward are taken as the Hurricanes make another run at the 12-team postseason.
Xavier Lucas back at corner—out since Stanford—it will help shore up a secondary that has seen a lot of patchwork and guys playing out of position, while early fears that Marquise Lightfoot could’ve been a situation; the defensive lineman is back from a concussion and will anchor a unit ready to bring the heat against an undersized, under talented Florida State offensive line.
That said, drown out the noise and just play ball, knowing a rout of Florida State will be met with indifference and the notion the Seminoles are a bad football team, while anything lesser than a proper beatdown will result in more digs that Miami isn’t “all that”—so keep the focus on Hurricanes football and this “1-0 every week mentality” as there are six to play after today.
Not sure this one will be a 2003-level rainstorm, but it’s going to get wet at HardRock, and that’s going to impact high-flying Mensah throwing it all over the yard, but here’s trusting the Miami Ground Machine and the Hurricanes breaking the Seminoles will as the evening rolls out.
Probably not the rout-rout fans are clamoring for, but impactful enough to drive home that the State of Miami is back and The Big Three is officially The Big One until further notice.
The Call: Miami 45, Florida State 16
Christian Bello has been covering University of Miami athletics since the mid-nineties. Getting his start with CanesTime, he eventually launched allCanesBlog—which led to a featured columnist stint with BleacherReport. He’s since rolled out the unfiltered, ItsAUThing.com where he’ll use his spare time to put decades of U-related knowledge to use for those who care to read. Hit him on Twitter for all things U-related @ItsAUThingBLOG.