Florida State and Miami came into their annual rivalry game with identical 4-4 records, the first time since 1975 that neither team had a record of above .500. Exiting it, was The U making a little bit of history that’s a little more recent.
With Jarren Williams back under center for the first time in three games, the redshirt freshman quarterback passed for 313 yards and a pair of touchdowns in leading the Hurricanes to an impressive 27-10 win over the Seminoles. The yards are a career-high for Williams, surpassing the 309 he put up in a Week 2 loss to North Carolina.
The 17-point win is Miami’s largest in the series since a 22-point triumph in 2001, which was also played in Tallahassee. The U has also won three straight against FSU, its longest streak in the rivalry since winning six in a row from 2000-04.
Williams opened the scoring with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Thomas halfway through the first quarter. He also put the game out of reach with his second scoring toss of the game, a 56-yarder early in the fourth quarter that proved to much for the ‘Noles to overcome.
Outside of 0-0 at kickoff, the closest the Seminoles would get in this game was at 7-3 early in the second quarter.
Despite being just 3-3 in ACC play, the win keeps the Hurricanes in the thick of wild Coastal Division race. UM is just a half-game out of first place, with Pitt, Virginia and North Carolina sitting atop the division at 3-2 (UVa. and UNC play tonight, Pitt has already won). Virginia Tech sits at 2-2 while Duke is at 2-3.
The U, though, has just two league games left -- home against Louisville (11/9) and on the road at Duke (11/30). They have already lost to North Carolina and Virginia Tech -- and 1-4-in-ACC-play Georgia Tech; still don’t understand how the hell that one happened -- but have beaten Virginia and Pitt.
For FSU, they’ll need to win at least two of their final three games -- a Boston College, FCS Alabama State, at Florida -- to become bowl-eligible. If they don’t get those two wins, it’ll be the first time since the mid-seventies that the Seminoles have gone bowl-less in back-to-back seasons.