Florida State Seminoles Vs Miami Hurricanes: Battle of the Rivals
On Saturday, Oct. 17th, the Florida State Seminoles football team took the field at Hard Rock Stadium to face the Miami Hurricanes in their annual rivalry game. The game received a lot of attention and hype, with 66,790 fans in attendance, and they weren’t disappointed.
The game was exciting, with many exciting plays and awesome performances. Both quarterbacks, Ashton Daniels (Florida State) and Darien Mensah (Miami), threw for around 300 yards each. Daniels even threw five touchdowns while Mensah’s threw four.
History was also made at the game. Miami’s running back, Mark Fletcher Jr, scored his 32nd touchdown of his career, tying him in second place all time for the school along with Edgerrin James. If he scores four more rushing touchdowns, he’ll be on top, solidifying himself as one of the top rushers in the school’s history.
But what made the game the most interesting was how close it was. The game was down to the wire, needing two overtime periods in order to declare a winner, which ended up being Miami, who caught an interception after scoring a two-point conversion off of a touchdown to increase the lead to eight.
“Miami is just too good; FSU is always losing to them. But I will give it to them; they did put up a good fight. I didn’t expect the game to be that close,” said junior Hillary Alarcon.
This rivalry aspect of the game is also what made it so anticipated, especially in Florida. In the streets, news, and even schools, people are always talking about one of these two teams, and by nature, they’ll have to pick a side. So when these two teams collide, it brings these two sides together to bond and enjoy the game, with a little friendly banter throughout.
There is some rising controversy over the game, however, particularly from FSU fans who are displeased by the ending. They aren’t necessarily mad that they lost, but instead about how they lost. In other words, they feel like they were robbed.
For the last possession of the second overtime, Daniels had to throw a “Hail Mary” in order to keep the game alive. Miraculously, the pass landed in the hands of Micahi Danzy for a “touchdown”. However, this play was called back due to a holding penalty on lineman Xavier Chaplin.
This call triggered many fans, who think that the call was “soft” and in a crucial moment like that, the referees should’ve just let the game play out. However, Miami fans disagree, saying that if a penalty is present, the referee should always call it, no matter the situation.
But that wasn’t all; even the redo of the same play sparked controversy, specifically with Florida State Coach Mike Norvell. During the final play, another hail mary was thrown, and the ball was seemingly caught by both receiver Duce Robinson and defensive back Byce Fitzgerald. The final verdict was an interception, but the coach differed.
As he said in a post-game interview, “You’ve got two guys going up for a catch, and they both come to the ground, simultaneous possession, that has to be a part of the discussion…”
He also called the holding penalty an “absolute joke” of a call, claiming that the same type of physicality happened throughout the entire game for it to be called that one time.
But on a positive note, he did say, “I thought our guys battled, what this rivalry is about…I’m grateful for these guys in the locker room and the work they poured in.”
And this is one of the positive outcomes of the game. Entering the game, Florida State was an unranked team with a record of 3-3, and Miami was the 3rd-ranked team while also being undefeated with a record of 5-0, and they still managed to make the game close and battle until the end. So even though they lost, and their record is now 3-4, they proved to the nation that they aren’t a bad team, and they can compete with the best of the best.
“It was sad that we lost because we’ve been losing a lot recently. So as my roommate and I were tracking the score, we were hoping for a win only to lose again, which made us disappointed. But I’m still motivated to keep my spirits up for the rest of our season because it’s still Go Noles!” said Florida State freshman Gianna Michel.
As for Miami, their record improved to 6-0, and as a result, the NCAA Associated Press placed them at first place in their top 25 poll. This is the first time they were number one since 2002, ending a 24-year drought.
Ultimately, even though there was some controversy, fans still loved the game for how entertaining and exciting it was. Even if you weren’t a fan of either team, you still could appreciate the game as an engaging and enjoyable event.
