Nation's Attention Will be on Miami-FSU Saturday Night
Oct. 8, 2010
By: Rob Dunning
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Randy Shannon knows this rivalry all too well. Saturday night will mark Shannon’s 23rd Miami-Florida State game as either a player or a coach. He has just about seen it all in his career, but surely there is more to come.
“You can throw everything out the window when you play Florida State,” Shannon said. “It’s two teams who are going to play hard and get after each other.”
Jimbo Fisher, Shannon’s counterpart on the FSU sideline, has far less experience in this game but that doesn’t mean he isn’t fully aware of this game’s importance.
“This game is always a big game,” Fisher said. “With the implications in-state and to be the state champion of Florida will put you into that national title talk.
“I’m excited to be a part of it,” Fisher added. “You go in your career and to get involved in some of the great traditional rivalries in college football you feel very blessed. When you’re a kid watching TV, growing up wishing you could be a part of that and this is one of them you talk about all the time.”
There is no doubt televisions worldwide will be tuned into ABC Saturday night. This game is traditionally one of, if not the highest-rated regular season college football game of the year. It’s a game that people take notice of and plan their day around. It’s a game that even the average sports fan can’t help but stop and watch, regardless of their affiliation or general interest in either team.
The game is about passion, athleticism, history and speed. From the Wide Right games to the thrillers in recent years, the `Canes and `Noles rarely disappoint the thousands of fans in the stands or the millions watching on TV.
“I can’t tell you what will happen, but it’s a game that you watch and there’s a reason the TV networks put it on primetime,” Shannon said.
That’s the great thing about this game. As uncertain as the outcome will be, one thing is for sure – people will watch, the teams will entertain and the rivalry will grow.
“This is what you come to Miami for,” UM senior cornerback and Tallahassee native Ryan Hill said.
Junior wide receiver/return specialist Travis Benjamin seems to take this game personally. In his first two career games against FSU, Benjamin has combined for 414 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns against the `Noles.
“This is one game we have to win,” Benjamin said. “Everybody will be all hyped up and ready to go. Whenever you go up against a rival, you have to find a way to win. No matter how it happens, or what you do, you just have to find a way to win.”
The 2010 edition of the Miami-Florida State game has a feel to it that it hasn’t had in a while. Both teams come in atop the ACC standings. Both teams are back in the national spotlight, ranked and moving up every week.
The game always means a lot, but this has a different feel to it. If it hasn’t sunk in by the time the game starts, it will when a sell-out crowd at Sun Life watches Benjamin go back for his first punt return.
THE MIAMI-FSU SERIES
– The `Canes hold a 31-23 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs.
– Last season, Miami won a thrilling 38-34 game in Tallahassee in both team’s season-opener on Labor Day night. The last time the two teams met in Miami, the Seminoles edged out the Hurricanes with a 41-39 victory in 2008.
– This year’s meeting will be the first without Bobby Bowden on FSU’s sideline in 35 years, as first-year head coach Jimbo Fisher will be the `Noles head coach for the first time in the Miami-FSU series. Bowden, who is in South Florida on a book tour, is not expected to be at Sun Life Stadium Saturday night.
A `CANES WIN OVER THE `NOLES WOULD…
– Give Miami a 4-1 record through five games for the second straight season.
– Give Miami a win over Florida State in three of the last four meetings between the two teams.
– Give Miami its fourth straight home win and its 10th in its last 11 games dating back to the 2008 season.
THE COACHES
– Randy Shannon is in his fourth season as Miami’s head coach and owns an overall record of 24-18. Jimbo Fisher is in his first season as FSU’s head coach and is 4-1.
MIAMI-FSU NOTES
– When Miami and Florida State play, the team that has scored first has won 17 of the last 19 meetings (the only two times it didn’t happen was 2004 and 2007) and 22 of the last 25.
– The last seven games in the Miami-Florida State rivalry have been decided by a total of 28 points, with one game going into overtime (a six-point Miami win in 2004). Last year’s game was a four-point win by Miami that came down to the final moments of the fourth quarter.
MIAMI-FSU SCORING MARGINS
– Of the 54 meetings between these two teams, 18 have been decided by five or fewer points (UM leads 12-6 in those games), 11 have been decided by 6-10 points (UM leads 8-3), and 25 have been decided by 11 or more points (FSU leads 14-11). Only 10 points separate these teams in all-time scoring in the series, with FSU holding a 1,110-1,100 edge.
