No. 6 Miami Uses Ball Control Offense To Stuff Florida State 36-14
MIAMI GARDENS - The Miami Hurricanes used a slow-moving, ball controlled offense to defeat the Florida State Seminoles 36-14 at Hard Rock Stadium before a sold-out crowd of 66,200 Saturday night.
"It feels good because it's good for the team," Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. "We knew this was a monumental task when we got here. It's a great example of rebuilds if you believe in what you are rebuilding."
Instead of relying on the right arm of Cam Ward, the Hurricanes rode the back of Damien Martinez, who finished the night with 15 carries for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
"It's good to earn the title of state champions," Cristobal said. "It was a very hard fought game. It took us a while to put them away."
Ward Fails To Hit 300 Yards And Throw For A Touchdown
Ward had a turnover-free game, but he was very pedestrian in his statistics. He went 22-of-35 for 208 yards and no touchdowns. This was his first game at Miami without throwing for over 300 yards. It was also his first game failing to throw a touchdown.
"To beat this program sends a strong message to recruits, in state and out of state," Cristobal said. "You look at the trajectory of our program and the trajectory of other programs around the state."
Miami held the ball for over 35 minutes. They also had several drives which were at least 12 plays.
Ward Unhappy With Leaving Points On The Field
Ward was not happy Andy Borregales kicked three field goals to expand the offense's role Saturday night.
"We were not good on offense tonight. We don't settle for field goals," Ward said. "We settle for touchdowns. We should have put up more points."
Miami will face Duke next Saturday at the Hard Rock. FSU plays North Carolina at Doak Campbell Stadium. Times for both games will be announced early in the week.
Fourth Quarter:
Brock Glenn entered the game and threw a five-yard scoring strike to Malik Benson with :21 to play in the game. Miami 36, FSU 14.
Martinez scored again from 12 yards out to extend Miami's lead. The Hurricanes drove 83 yards in five plays in 1:51. Miami 36, FSU 7.
Ward was on the receiving end of an Elijah Arroyo pass from eight yards out. Ward handed the ball off to Martinez who then pitched to Arroyo on the reverse. Ward ran into the end zone and caught the ball with no coverage. Miami went for two and it was unsuccessful. Miami 29, FSU 7.
"The play was called 'Texas to Texas'"," Cristobal said. "Arroyo, from Texas, to Ward, who is from Texas."
Ward has not thrown for a touchdown yet and is under 300 yards passing. FSU's defense is playing this game like it is their national title game.
"Elijah threw more touchdowns tonight than I did," Ward said. "We can't have that. He threw a perfect spiral."
The Hurricanes offensive line is not tolerating the Seminoles pass rush well. Ward is constantly under pressure. He has now been sacked four times on the evening.
"It just came down to us not having an urgency and when that happens we have a bad play," Ward said. "We can't have busted assignments. We have to communicate better some times."
Third Quarter:
Borregales strikes again from 45 yards to extend Miami's lead with :39 left in the third quarter. Miami 23, FSU 7.
Miami takes over on downs to start the third quarter.
After coming up short on a 3rd and 7, Andy Borregales came in to attempt a 42-yard field goal, which was successful. Miami 20, FSU 7.
Second Quarter:
Right before the half, Miami goes 88 yards in 18 plays, chewing up 6:36 off the clock. Borregales nails a 22-yard field goal as time expires, Miami 17, FSU 7.
FSU changes quarterbacks in the second quarter. Brock Glenn exits the game. True freshman Luke Kromenhoek enters the game. He promptly gets a first down on a 14-yard run. Kromenhoek runs on a 42-yard scamper to set FSU up inside the Miami 15. He then rushed for 13 yards to get inside the Canes 2-yard line.
Casiah Holmes scored from just outside the goal line for Florida State to culminate the long Seminoles drive. FSU goes 78 yards in 12 plays covering 7:15. Miami 14, FSU 7.
Damien Martinez continues to run hard. He picks up 10 to bring Miami inside the FSU red zone. Martines then two plays later scores on an 18-yard run to give Miami a 14-0 lead with 14:09 left in the second quarter. Miami travels 95 yards on 12 plays. Miami 14, FSU 0.
First Quarter:
Miami starts the game going no huddle. They start at their own 33-yard line. The Hurricanes march 67 yards Cam Ward led the Canes down the field on precision passing to Isaiah Horton, Samuel Brown and Jacolby George.
Mark Fletcher, Jr. scored from the 1-yard line behind center, Miami 7, FSU 0, 12:25. Fletcher is playing with a heavy heart as his father passed away on Thursday.
"That's about as difficult as a thing I've seen," Cristobal said. "He has the best house looking after him. Mark wanted to be around his brothers and his team. This is what he wanted and this is what he deserved."
Florida State has already sacked Ward twice tonight. Miami's offensive line is not holding up well against FSU's pass rush. Ward has not been his magical self so far. Ward is 7-of-10 for 77 yards in the first quarter.
End of the first quarter, Miami 7, FSU 0.
The Game
Date: October 26, 2024
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Location: Hard Rock Stadium
Series: Miami leads 35-33 against Florida State
Last Matchup: The Seminoles defeated the Hurricanes in a close matchup 27-20 on Nov 11, 2023. This was one of the few times freshman Emory Williams started. Williams played a decent game before suffering a season-ending injury. Jacolby Geroge had a monster game catching two touchdowns on 153 yards in the loss.
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Scott Salomon joined On SI in April 2024 covering breaking news and analysis for the Miami Dolphins site, and has since contributed to the Miami Heat, Back in the Day NBA, Miami Hurricanes and San Antonio Spurs sites. Scott is based in South Florida and has been covering the local and national sports scene for 35 years. He's covered and has been credentialed for the Super Bowl, the NFL Combine, various Orange Bowls and college football championship games. Scott was also credentialed for the NBA All-Star game and covered the Miami Heat during their first six seasons for USA TODAY. Scott is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Communication and the St. Thomas University School of Law. Scott has two sons and his hobbies include watching sports on television and binge watching shows on various streaming services.