This game was another chapter in the book of the Florida State Seminoles and University of Miami Hurricanes rivalry.
When you begin to read it, the easy conclusion is that the Seminoles have added another win with bragging rights ridding into next season. Not so fast my friend, the game took on a stunning twist.
In only his second start let alone the huge rivalry stage, N’Kosi Perry threw four touchdown passes, and No. 17 Miami pulled off its biggest comeback facing the Seminoles by rallying from 20 points down midway through the second half to defeat the Seminoles 28-27 on Saturday night.
Perry became the fourth consecutive QBs to win his initial FSU-Miami start, joining Miami’s Malik Rosier in 2017, Deondre Francois in 2016 and FSU’s Everett Golson in 2015.
“It has hasn’t hit me yet,” Perry said. “I’m glad to be a part of it, and I’m happy that people will talk about it down the road. As of right now, it’s just another game that we won. A big win for us.”
There were not huge playoff implications however the rivalry is far from dead. One play stood out in this chapter.
The Seminoles had a fourth-quarter touchdown off a double pass taken off the board when officials ruled that the first throw from Francois to D.J. Matthews was forward, and negated Matthews’ throw to Keith Gavin for a score that would have put Florida State up by two touchdowns and seal the win.
“He threw it in front of him, I thought it was good, Seminoles coach Willie Taggart said.
The Hurricanes (5-1, 2-0 ACC) accomplished back-to-back wins in the series for this first time since winning six consecutive meetings from 2000 through 2004, a streak that included regular season and Orange Bowl victories in the 2003 season. They also get their first win at home over the Seminoles since 2004.
The Hurricanes finished with six sacks and 12 tackles for loss and completely shut down the FSU offense.
“Tough loss for our football team. We didn’t finish the game in the second half,” Taggart said. “We did some things that we knew we shouldn’t do. We just turned the ball over. We stressed that all week, not giving up the turnover.”
FSU was outgained 145-45 in the second half.
Hurricanes were nearly two-touchdown favorites entering the game, however, the heat up to this point of the season has been on FSU’s head coach, Taggart.
Taggart is in his first season at Florida State and was catching some heat when the Seminoles (3-3, 1-3) lost to No. 24 Virginia Tech and Syracuse in two of their first three outings. They struggled against Samford as well, trailing the FCS team 26-21 early in the fourth quarter before staying alive with a 36-26 victory.
The Hurricanes rose one spot from No. 17 to 16 in the AP Top 25 Poll on Sunday. Miami will travel to Charlottesville, Virginia for a 7 p.m. Saturday kickoff against the Cavaliers (3-2, 1-1 ACC). Their next four of five games are on the road.
Perry remains the quarterback however his performance could have been better. The win is what matters, but Perry will be tested moving forward on the road. Malik Rosier, a fifth-year senior, who lost the starting job has played in four games this season, completing 38 of 73 passes for 611 yards and five touchdowns, with two interceptions. Rosier also has run for a team-high five touchdowns.
Seminoles continue to look for identity as they host Wake Forest October 20th.
