UM at Florida State: Matchups to Watch
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – All eyes will be on Tallahassee, Fla., as the 62nd meeting of the annual Miami-Florida State rivalry is set for Saturday afternoon.
Miami (3-0, 1-0 ACC) holds a 31-30 lead in the all-time series over Florida State (1-2, 1-1 ACC), including a 14-10 advantage in games played in Tallahassee, but the Seminoles have won the last seven matchups overall.
The game features two of the top head coaches in college football, as Mark Richt will lead his No. 13/12 Hurricanes into Doak Campbell Stadium to face Jimbo Fisher’s Seminoles. Richt has known both sides of the rivalry after playing for Miami from 1978-82 and then coaching for 14 years at Florida State, while Fisher has spent the last seven years leading the Seminoles.
Here are three matchups to watch in Saturday’s game.
Miami vs. Florida State at the line of scrimmage
The Hurricanes feature a talented and deep defensive front that will look to wreak havoc on an opponent’s offensive line. Miami’s starting defensive line is led by senior Chad Thomas and features an outstanding defensive tackle duo of Kendrick Norton and RJ McIntosh as well as 2016 freshman All-American defensive end Joe Jackson. Add in veterans like Trent Harris, Demetrius Jackson and Anthony Moten, as well as sophomore Pat Bethel and standout freshmen Jonathan Garvin and DJ Johnson, and you have a group that can rotate and stay fresh while running Manny Diaz’s aggressive defense.
Miami is fifth in the country in sacks and tackles for loss. Those numbers bode well for the Hurricanes, especially against an FSU offensive line that ranks last in tackles for loss allowed per game and is 127th in sacks allowed per game.
“They’re going to do a lot of different protections and that kind of stuff to protect their quarterback,” Norton said. “Jimbo is very offensive-minded, so I’m sure he’ll have something up his sleeve.”
Interestingly, Florida State freshman quarterback James Blackman has performed better against the blitz through two games. According to ESPN’s David Hale, Blackman has a 66.7% completion rate in 12 dropbacks against the blitz, compared to completing 54.5% of his 55 dropbacks without a blitz. Against the blitz, Blackman is average 13.5 yards per dropback, while plays without a blitz are going for an average of 3.82 yards per play. The most unique number may be sacks allowed, as all nine sacks Blackman has taken this season have come without a blitz.
“It’s very important to get a young quarterback off his spot, off his first read, and to start making him do stuff that he’s not comfortable with,” Norton said.
While the Hurricanes’ defensive front is outstanding, so is Florida State’s. The starting front four for the Seminoles is made up of four names you are certain to hear often on the telecast on Saturday, as defensive ends Josh Sweat and Brian Burns and defensive tackles Derrick Nnadi and Demarcus Christmas will look to slow Miami’s running game and pressure quarterback Malik Rosier. The Hurricanes have allowed just five sacks through three games, but they have not faced a front four as talented as Florida State’s.
“Defensively, you have to start with their big men – [Derrick] Nnadi, [Demarcus] Christmas, [Josh] Sweat, [Brian] Burns,” Miami head coach Mark Richt said. “There’s more in there. They roll them around pretty good. Nnadi and Christmas have both played over 30 games in their career. Nnadi is at almost 40 games. They’re just big, physical, strong guys. They’ve got the great edge rushers in Sweat and Burns.”
Miami wide receiver Ahmmon Richards vs. Florida State cornerback Tarvarus McFadden
Richards vs. McFadden is sure to be an exciting matchup to watch on Saturday, as both are elite talents that look primed to be stars in the NFL once their college careers come to a close.
A freshman All-American a year ago, Richards broke Miami’s freshman receiving yards record that was previously held by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin. After missing the first two games of the season due to injury, the sophomore made his season debut a week ago at Duke and wasted little time showing he is still a dominant force. Richards recorded his fifth-career 100-yard receiving game, finishing with three catches for 106 yards and a touchdown, and eclipsed 1,000 career-receiving yards.
McFadden is considered a potential first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, should he choose to declare. The 6-foot-2 junior possesses prototypical size, speed and length for the position and has proven to be an outstanding cover corner in his time with the Seminoles. A ball-hawking corner, McFadden led the nation in interceptions a year ago with eight and has three pass breakups already this season. McFadden is joined in the Florida State secondary by All-American safety Derwin James, giving the Seminoles two outstanding defensive backs that can work together to try and slow Richards.
“You can’t hardly go through the defense without talk about Derwin James,” Richt said. “Two years ago, he had 91 tackles and was an All-American and of course didn’t play a whole lot last year. This year he already has 18 tackles and two pass breakups. He’s playing well. [Tavarus] McFadden, a great cover guy. Last year, [he had] eight interceptions and he’s the guy that they’ll probably put on who they think is our best receiver.”
Miami’s linebackers vs. Florida State’s running backs
Want to talk about young talent? Check out the five players primarily associated with this matchup. Miami’s trio of sophomore linebackers Shaquille Quarterman, Michael Pinckney and Zach McCloud will play a key role in slowing Florida State’s running back tandem of junior Jacques Patrick and freshman Cam Akers.
The Hurricane trio is proving their outstanding freshman season was not a fluke. Quarterman and Pinckney, who were both freshmen All-Americans a year ago, rank first and second, respectively, in tackles so far in 2017. Quarterman leads the Canes in both total tackles (21) and solo stops (13), while Pinckney is second on the squad with 17 tackles (2.5 tackles for loss). McCloud only has seven stops on the year, but his size, strength and athleticism at 6-foot-2 and 230 lbs., make him an ideal player to stop the Noles’ thunder and lightning ground attack.
At 6-foot-3, Patrick is a punishing runner with plenty of game experience, while Akers was considered the top running back recruit in his class by many experts. Their production so far in 2017 has not matched their talent, as the Seminoles are averaging just 3.05 yards per carry on the season. But the Hurricanes know what the talented tandem is capable of and they will enter the game looking to keep Patrick and Akers in check.
“They run behind the fullback and really run the ball downhill,” Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. Patrick is a big back, who runs hard, falls forward on contact, and in Akers you see why the recruiting hype with him was so big. Quick feet and can run out of a tackle and all those types of things. And again, they’re going to check you out over and over again, so we have to make sure that you are in your gap and fit all the responsibilities in their runs.”
Kickoff against the Seminoles is set for 3:30 p.m., from Doak Campbell Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
