MIAMI – There is no championship at stake Saturday when instate rivals Florida State and Miami bang heads in South Florida, but there will still be plenty on the line, beginning with bragging rights for the fierce foes. The Seminoles desperately need a statement win after the Willie Taggert era got off to a disappointing start with two ACC losses in the first three weeks, while the 17th-ranked Hurricanes are aiming for their first home victory over the Seminoles since 2004.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC. LINE: Miami -13.5.
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"That's not very good," Miami coach Mark Richt told reporters of the six-game home losing streak versus Florida State. "About as bad as seven losses in a row that we were dealing with going into last year's game. That's a meaningful history we need to change the course of." The Hurricanes dispatched with that seven-game overall skid last season, pulling out a 24-20 triumph in Tallahassee with six seconds left on Darrell Langham's touchdown grab and now Miami, fresh off last Thursday's rout of North Carolina, are in position to earn back-to-back victories over Florida State for the first time since it won six in a row from 2000-04. But while the surging Hurricanes may have the recently rare upperhand as the Seminoles come down to South Florida unranked for the first time since 2008, these rivals have a history of always playing each other tough and Florida State appears to be coming together at the right time after Saturday's 28-24 last-minute come-from-behind win over Louisville. "Big week, big rivalry week," Taggart said. "I'm excited for the guys. Excited for the opportunity this week and looking to continue to build off our success from last week."
ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (3-2, 1-2 ACC)
Quarterback Deondre Francois missed last year's meeting with Miami due to injury but he is hoping to be the difference-maker this time around and he has shown improvement over the last few weeks both on the ground and through the air, leading the ACC in passing yardage (1,377) and ranking second in yards per game (275.4). Francois will be aided by an offensive line that started a different combination in each of its first five games but appeared to gel last week, not giving up a sack for the first time since 2014 after surrendering 12 in the first four games. With the Hurricanes having so much success with their turnover chain, the Seminoles unveiled their turnover backpack at the beginning of the season, and they produced three of their six takeaways in the win over Louisville last week.
ABOUT MIAMI (4-1, 1-0)
Richt made the decision to go with redshirt freshman N'Kosi Perry last week and he quietly got the job done in his first career start, completing 66.7 percent of his passes for 125 yards and one touchdown with one interception but the team didn't need him to come up big. That job was done by a swarming Miami defense that broke out the turnover chain six times against North Carolina (three INTs, three fumbles) -- their most since also registering six takeaways vs. North Carolina State in 2012 -- and three were returned for touchdowns to tie the school record. The unit figures to be even more dominant this week as star safety Jaquan Johnson returns after sitting out the last two games because of a knee injury and he had 12 tackles and broke up a pass in Miami's win over the Seminoles last year.
EXTRA POINTS
1. The Hurricanes own a 32-30 edge in this series, but Florida State has a 20-16 advantage in games played in Miami.
2. The Seminoles' comeback win at Louisville was their largest second-half comeback since erasing a 15-point halftime deficit in the 2016 opener versus Ole Miss.
3. Miami is ranked second in the nation in total defense (244.8 yards per game) and ranked fourth in takeaways (12).
PREDICTION: Miami 30, Florida State 24