10 Takeaways from Miami's Win over FSU
By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
HurricaneSports.com
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – One by one, they sprinted off the field.
But instead of heading into their locker room during a raucous celebration at Florida State’s Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday evening, the Hurricanes ran straight to the corner of the field where hundreds of fans dressed in orange and green eagerly waited.
Defensive tackle Nesta Silvera, safety Amari Carter and running backs DeeJay Dallas, Cam Harris and Jimmy Murphy all scaled the brick wall lining the field and dove into the happy crowd. Nearby, linebacker Shaquille Quarterman posed for pictures. And head coach Manny Diaz was there too, his arms outstretched, exchanging high-fives with nearly everyone he saw.
For both Miami’s first-year coach and his players, this 27-10 win over the rival Seminoles was one to celebrate, especially given all of the ups and downs the Hurricanes endured through the first seven games of the season.
On this day, though, none of the earlier struggles seemed to matter.
There was only the joy of knowing that for the third straight year, they’d beaten their biggest rival.
“Winning on the road in the league is always special. We saw that last week [against Pittsburgh]. But winning on the road against your rival, that’s one of the most special nights you have,” Diaz said. “You don’t get too many opportunities to do it and for our guys to come here and play the way they did from start to finish … I thought it was great team ball. Offense, defense, special teams, we’re becoming what we thought we could become as a team and to do it at Doak Campbell Stadium, like I said, I couldn’t be more proud.”
Here, before Miami turns its focus to Saturday’s home finale against Louisville, a look at what the Hurricanes can take from their win over Florida State.
1. A new streak grows
After he finished his post-game news conference with reporters in Tallahassee, Dallas smiled and said, “Man, am I having fun” just before returning to the Hurricanes’ jubilant locker room.
And why shouldn’t he and the rest of the Hurricanes – particularly the upperclassmen – enjoy their success against the rival Seminoles?
Miami has now won three straight against Florida State, with two of those victories coming at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Before kicking off its current win streak against FSU with a 24-20 victory over the Seminoles in 2017, the Hurricanes had lost seven straight to their instate rivals, a maddening stretch that frustrated players, coaches and fans alike.
Things have changed and right now, Miami – which owns a 34-30 record in the all-time series against FSU – has the upper hand in the rivalry. That means seniors like Quarterman and fellow linebacker Michael Pinckney will leave Coral Gables with a 3-1 record over the Seminoles. Juniors, like Dallas, have never experienced a loss to Florida State.
Given where the Hurricanes stood just a few years ago, that success can’t be taken for granted.
“It’s really special to be able to finish with a win, me and my senior class,” Quarterman said. “I think it’s really special to all of us.”
2. The Canes have come together
In recent weeks, more than a few Hurricanes have credited a closed-door, players-only meeting after their Oct. 19 loss to Georgia Tech with helping Miami come together.
In that meeting, players stepped up and took accountability for the Hurricanes’ lackluster start to the season and, Dallas noted on Saturday, it helped bring players together.
That has, in turn, led to success on the field.
Miami has won two straight since that meeting, rallying for a late score in a 16-12 victory over Pittsburgh and then putting together a complete effort in the win over Florida State — a win that didn’t need a last-minute drive to happen.
With three games left on the schedule, the Hurricanes still haven’t secured bowl eligibility, but momentum is on their side.
They say they believe in each other — and that belief could help them finish the season strong.
“Really, we’ve jelled as a team and come together and proven to the outside world that we can win and we can keep it going,” Dallas said.
3. The defense is hitting its stride
Against Pittsburgh, Miami’s defense — particularly in the red zone — was impressive.
The Panthers were kept out of the end zone, quarterback Kenny Pickett was consistently harassed and Pitt was just 9-of-20 on third-down conversion opportunities.
The defense was even better against Florida State.
The Hurricanes made history Saturday, becoming the first team ever to total nine sacks against Florida State, and registering 16 tackles for loss total. Both numbers were season highs.
Additionally, Miami held the Seminoles to just 203 total yards, including a meager 31 rushing yards. And FSU was just 5-of-17 on third-down conversions and 0-of-2 on fourth-down attempts.
Hurricanes defensive coordinator Blake Baker said he knew his group was focused when he watched them go through pre-game warmups.
Not long after, the defense delivered one of its most dominant performances of the year.
“There’s no substitution for experience and I really think the trust and the confidence in each other is starting to develop,” Baker said. “We have a special group of seniors and they, in my opinion, really look at the big picture and all of that is coming to a head. And I think we can still be even better, believe it or not.”
4. Greg Rousseau is a force
A season-ending ankle injury early in 2018 forced defensive end Greg Rousseau to spend most of last year on the sideline.
The former Champagnat Catholic standout has rebounded in a big way.
Rousseau has been an absolute force for the Hurricanes’ defensive front, notching a team-high 12 sacks. No player in the ACC has more and only Ohio State’s Chase Young (13.5 sacks) has more nationally.
Rousseau picked up four of those sacks Saturday against the Seminoles. He also managed eight tackles and five tackles for loss in his first appearance in the storied rivalry.
It’s a performance he, his teammates, coaches and Miami’s fans won’t forget any time soon.
“Greg is just so relentless. He’s got great length, which is very difficult to put your hands on as an offensive lineman because his arms are just longer than your arms,” Diaz said. “But the biggest thing I’m proud of with Greg is just the motor that he plays with. He just plays so hard. He’s so relentless. I think that’s why he’s had the success he’s had.”
5. Jarren Williams had a day
After dealing with a shoulder injury in recent weeks, quarterback Jarren Williams returned to the starting lineup and delivered the best performance of his young career to date.
The redshirt freshman was 21-of-37 for a career-high 313 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He delivered the ball to seven different receivers against Florida State and showed he could get the ball downfield, connecting on passes of 56, 39 and 32 yards against the Seminoles. Another of his biggest plays came when he connected with Dallas on a screen pass that went 42 yards.
Williams wasted little time in showing he was feeling better, connecting on a 39-yard deep pass to Jeff Thomas that gave the Hurricanes a 7-0 lead after their second offensive possession.
If there were questions about the quarterback’s arm strength, Diaz felt Williams answered them Saturday against Florida State.
“The fact we could hit some shots down the field is outstanding,” Diaz said. “We knew Jarren could always hit shots down the field. There’d been a myth that he was not capable and he definitely dispelled that today.”
6. The offensive line is maturing
One of the position groups that has faced the most questions this season has been Miami’s young offensive line, which has endured its share of ups and downs.
The line’s starting group has gotten even younger in recent weeks, with freshman Jakai Clark joining a rotation that already featured freshman Zion Nelson at left tackle, junior Navaughn Donaldson at left guard, redshirt sophomore Corey Gaynor at center and sophomore DJ Scaife at right tackle.
But Miami’s two most recent opponents – Pittsburgh and Florida State – each managed just two sacks against the Hurricanes, a marked improvement from the 10 sacks Miami allowed in its season-opening loss to Florida. And Saturday in Tallahassee, Miami’s line did an impressive job giving Williams plenty of time to throw and a clean pocket in which to work.
“I think it’s really experience. We’re young, but it’s Week Nine. They’ve got a lot of games under their belts now and they have a great feeling for the game,” Williams said of the offensive line. “They kind of understand different situations and different things the defense does to throw us off. But each game, they’re getting better and better and better.”
7. DeeJay Dallas remains a spark
More than once this year, Dallas has proven to be Miami’s heart and soul, on and off the field.
It seemed only fitting that the lifelong Hurricanes fan had a big game against Florida State.
After missing last week’s game at Pittsburgh because of an injury, Dallas returned to action Saturday and his six-yard scoring run put the Hurricanes up 14-3 with 3:58 left before the half.
Dallas finished with a game-high 105 all-purpose yards, rushing 18 times for 61 yards and catching two passes for 44 yards.
Along with his performance on the field, Dallas made it a point to encourage his teammates and was one of the first players to come off the sideline and congratulate Miami’s defense after it made one of two key fourth-down stops against Florida State.
“DeeJay, as everyone knows, is the heart and soul of our team,” Diaz said. “His ability to just finish runs and make big plays. … that big screen on the first drive got us down the field. How many times has he done that this year?”
8. The Canes have shown they can win on the road
After posting a 3-2 mark during a five-game homestand that spanned much of September and October, many wondered how the young Hurricanes would respond once their schedule had them leaving the comforts of Hard Rock Stadium.
The answer? Miami picked up wins at both Pittsburgh and Florida State.
That’s an encouraging omen for the Hurricanes, who still have to secure bowl eligibility and still have two road games left on the schedule, although one of those will be played just down the road at Marlins Park against FIU.
9. Miami’s receivers stepped up
One of the memorable moments from Saturday’s win came early in the fourth quarter when sophomore Dee Wiggins fell to his knees in the end zone after scoring the first touchdown of his Miami career on a 56-yard pass from Williams.
That was one of several big plays made by the Hurricanes’ receiving corps against FSU.
Seven different players caught passes from Williams against Florida State, with Jeff Thomas leading the way with a game-high 84 yards and Wiggins snagging four catches for 74 yards.
“First touchdown, big game, I mean, I was very excited,” Wiggins said of his touchdown. “I’ve been waiting for that moment my whole life, to score a touchdown in a big game in college.”
10. There’s momentum going into the home finale
With their win against Florida State behind them, the Hurricanes – particularly the seniors – face a harsh reality: there’s just one home game left on the schedule.
Saturday’s regular-season home finale against Louisville will undoubtedly be emotional, with the game serving as not only Senior Day, but Homecoming, too.
But the Hurricanes will walk into Hard Rock Stadium with momentum, something they didn’t quite have when they left their two weeks ago after facing Georgia Tech.
And as he has so often, Dallas – Miami’s unofficial ambassador – made sure fans heard their presence at next week’s game would matter.
“We’ve got Louisville next,” he said simply. “Hope to see you all there.”
