Miami Opens 2005 Campaign Against Florida State

Aug. 29, 2005

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(#9 AP/#8 USA Today) MIAMI HURRICANES
at (#14 AP/#12 USA Today) FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES
When: Monday, September 5, 2005, at 8:00 p.m. EDT
Where: Bobby Bowden Field at Doak S. Campbell Stadium (natural grass; 82,300) in Tallahassee, Fla.
TV: ABC will televise the game live with Brent Musburger (play by play), Gary Danielson (analysis) and Jack Arute (field reporter).
Local Radio: The Hurricanes Radio Network (WQAM 560 AM) will carry the game live with Joe Zagacki (play by play), Don Bailey Jr. (analysis) and Brian London (sideline reporter). Josh Darrow is the studio host.
National Radio: Westwood One will carry the game live with Dave Sims (play by play) and Fran Curci (analysis). Also, XM Satellite Radio will carry the game live.
Radio En Espanol: Radio C (WSUA 1260 AM) will broadcast the game in Spanish with Roly Martin (play by play) and Joe Martinez (analysis).
Tape Delay Telecast: On CSS at 12:00 noon and 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 7, with Frank Forte (play by play) and Gino Torretta (analysis).
Websites: Miami (www.hurricanesports.com) and Florida State (www.seminoles.com)

THIS WEEK’S GAME:
Does this game even need a preview? Labor Day Night. Monday Night Football. The only game being played in the country. College football’s two-winningest programs in the last 20 years continuing one of the nation’s fiercest rivalries: Miami vs. Florida State.

Miami opens its 80th season of college football with its 50th game against intrastate and Atlantic Coast Conference rival Florida State on Labor Day night. Miami and Florida State are meeting for the fourth time in less than 23 months, with the Hurricanes sporting a six-game winning streak in the series, dating back to a 27-24 win at the Orange Bowl in 2000. In the last meeting between the two teams, Miami came from behind to defeat FSU 16-10 in overtime on September 10, 2004 in a game delayed four days because of Hurricane Frances.

Miami has won nine straight games on opening day, the longest streak in school history. Miami is 54-24-1 in season-opening games and has not lost on opening day since a 31-8 loss at UCLA in 1995. The last time Miami lost a season opener at home was 1985, a 35-23 loss to Florida. The last loss in a home opener was Sept. 13, 1997, a 23-12 loss to Arizona State.

Overall, the two schools have faced each other nine times to open the season. FSU holds a 5-4 edge in those games, but Miami has won the last three season openers between the two teams. Five of those nine games have been shutouts: three by Miami and two by FSU.

MIAMI-FLORIDA STATE SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

This is the fourth time Miami has played Florida State in the last 21 games, the most two NCAA teams have faced each other in that time span.The Labor Day opener in Tallahassee with Florida State marks the 50th meeting in the 55-year-old series that dates back to 1951. Miami leads the series 29-20.Miami has won six straight games in the series: a 27-24 win in 2000 at the Orange Bowl, a 49-27 victory in Tallahassee in 2001, a 28-27 thriller at the Orange Bowl in 2002, in 2003 a 22-14 win in rainsoaked Doak Campbell Stadium, 16-14 win in the 2004 FedEx Orange Bowl Classic, and a 16-10 overtime thriller in Miami in 2004. There have been 10 combined win streaks in the series, seven by Miami and three by FSU. Prior to the last six meetings, FSU had won five straight against Miami (1995-99), which came following UM streaks of three (1990-92), four (1985-88) and two games (1980-81). The largest win streak in the series is FSU’s seven-game stretch from 1963-72. UM started the series with consecutive win streaks of five (1951-57) and three games (1959-62).Miami’s 49-27 victory in 2001 at Tallahassee ended FSU’s NCAA-leading decade-long 37-game home win streak and 54-game home-unbeaten streak dating back to a 17-16 loss to Miami on Nov. 16, 1991. Since then, the Seminoles are 16-4 at home.

IF IT’S FLORIDA STATE, THEN A HURRICANE MUST BE BREWING
For the second straight year, a hurricane disrupted Miami practices as the Hurricanes prepared for the season opener against Florida State.

In 2004, the University of Miami campus shut down for three days and the game was moved from Labor Day night on September 6 to four days later, eventually being played on September 10. Hurricane Frances came ashore north of West Palm Beach on September 5, and the Hurricanes missed two days of practice.

This year, Hurricane Katrina grew from a tropical storm into a hurricane in the middle of the team’s afternoon practice on August 25, and Katrina hit Miami just a few hours later. The team’s practice on Friday was cancelled, and classes on campus were cancelled through Monday.

MIAMI-FLORIDA STATE: A MADE FOR TV MATCHUP
The 2005 season opener with Florida State marks the 21st consecutive season and the 26th time in 50 meetings that the UM-FSU clash will be shown on network television. The Hurricanes are making their 78th appearance on ABC since 1961 and hold a 53-24 record on that network. This marks the 17th time that ABC has televised the UM-FSU game, with Miami holding a 10-6 lead in the previous ABC telecasts. Miami is 147-55 all-time on network television and 120-42 in nationally televised games.

HOLD ON TO YOUR HAT
If the Miami and Florida State final score is close, history has favored the Hurricanes are 10-0 against FSU in games decided by four points or fewer.

THE TEAM THAT SCORES FIRST…
When Miami and Florida State play, the team that has scored first has won 13 of the last 14 meetings (the only time it didn’t happen was last year) and 18 of the last 20. FSU scored first in 1992’s 19-16 Miami victory at the Orange Bowl and in Miami’s 2004 16-10 overtime win in the Orange Bowl.

SUCCESS AGAINST THE SEMINOLES
Twelve of Florida State’s last 34 losses, dating back to 1987, have been to the Hurricanes. The 12 UM wins are the most by any team in the nation vs. Florida State over the last 17 seasons. Miami is one of only three schools to defeat the Seminoles more than once since 1987 (six by Florida, three by North Carolina State). In addition, FSU has had eight one-loss seasons since 1987, with five of the losses coming at the hands of the Hurricanes.

CANES DOMINATE SUNSHINE STATE IN NEW MILLENIUM
Miami has won 11 straight games against teams from the state of Florida since 2000, including wins against Florida State and Florida during the 2004 season. UM opened the 2004 season with a 16-10 overtime win against FSU in the Orange Bowl and closed the season with a 27-10 win in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against Florida. The Hurricanes have won 24 of their last 32 games (.750) against Sunshine State opponents since the 1985 season. The last time the Hurricanes lost to a team from Florida was Oct. 9, 1999, a 31-21 loss at top-ranked FSU.