The rivalry is alive and well in Tallahassee with Florida State looking to score an upset against No. 13 Miami this afternoon. Defenses have set the tone with a good helping of three-and-outs and punts so far this afternoon, and Florida State is holding on to a narrow 3-0 lead at the half.
After the teams exchanged punt son the first four offensive series of the game, Florida State strung together the first drive of the game with a 10-play series traveling 71 yards. Despite getting the football all the way to the Miami 14-yard line for a first down inside the red zone, the Seminoles were held to just four yards and were forced to settle for a 27-yard field goal from Ricky Aguayo for a 3-0 lead.
Florida State seemed to have another drive getting close to putting points on the board in the low-=scoring game, but a pass over the middle by James Blackman was picked off by Michael Jackson with a little more than a minute left in the first half. Fortunately for Florida State, their defense has been just as good at causing problems for Miami and nearly forced a three-and-out but a roughing the passer penalty on a third-down stop extended Miami’s possession.
The two teams have combined for two third-down conversions out of 15 third-down situations. Miami has just 57 yards of offense, while Florida State has accumulated 165 yards of total offense.
Florida State did lose running back Jacques Patrick in the first half to an injury for a brief moment. He returned to the game after initially being evaluated by trainers. Patrick has rushed for 84 yards and is averaging 10.5 yards per rushing attempt.