The Miami-Florida State rivalry gets another spotlight this week, and the Seminoles are bringing a roster with plenty of names worth tracking.
No. 3 Miami will host Florida State at hard Rock Stadium with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
EST on ESPN. The Hurricanes are 21.5-point favorites according to FanDuel Sportsbook, but this series has a habit of making those numbers look shaky.
Since 2000, only six meetings have been decided by 22 points or more, while 19 have come down to a single score.
Miami enters at 5-0, 3-0 after a 41-13 win at Clemson and is coming off a bye week. Florida State is 3-3, 1-2 after a 44-20 loss at Louisville on Friday night.
The Seminoles have not won a true road game since beating Florida at the end of the 2023 season. Miami has taken the last two meetings, including the 2025 matchup, 28-22.
Florida State coach Mike Norvell is 2-3 against top five teams during his tenure, and his most recent win over one came in the 45-24 upset of LSU to open the 2023 season.
On this year’s Seminoles team, the headliners start at quarterback with Ashton Daniels. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Daniels is in his third school in three years and gives Florida State a dual-threat option.
He has thrown for 1,320 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 59.5 percent of his passes. He has added 323 rushing yards and a team-high ten rushing touchdowns, which ranks as the second most by a quarterback this season.
The ground game runs through Ousmane Kromah, who at 6-foot-1 and 216 pounds brings size, quick feet and contact balance. Kromah leads the Seminoles with 565 rushing yards and five scores, and he has also chipped in 11 catches for 97 yards.
He has forced 38 missed tackles, tied for first in the ACC and fourth nationally, while averaging 3.76 yards after contact per carry. Nearly three of his runs per game are going for at least ten yards.
Florida State also has multiple passing-game threats with very different profiles. Duce Robinson, listed at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, is the big-bodied mismatch on the perimeter. He has 17 catches for 294 yards and two touchdowns, and he has hauled in 4-of-9 deep-shot opportunities for 113 yards and both scores.
Micahi Danzy gives the Seminoles a different kind of stress test. The 6-foot-1, 194-pound receiver brings elite speed from his track background, and in May of 2025 he set an ACC record with a 44.38 in the 400-meter dash.
Danzy has 19 receptions for 293 yards and two touchdowns, including 3-of-5 deep shots for 133 yards. Florida State works to get him the ball all over the field.
Jayvan Boggs, at 6-foot-1 and 209 pounds, is the slot presence to know. He may not have Danzy’s speed, but the Seminoles trust his feel and compete level.
Boggs leads the team with 299 receiving yards and has 16 catches and one touchdown. On targets intended for Boggs, Florida State has thrown four interceptions against Alabama, Virginia and Louisville.
The offensive line has been uneven. It handled some games at an average level, but it had real issues against the athletes Alabama put on the field in week three.
Troy transfer Paul Bowling gave up five quarterback pressures in that game, while left tackle Xavier Chaplin, a former Auburn and Virginia Tech player, allowed four. Bowling Green transfer Nate Pabst has been at right tackle and surrendered six pressures at Louisville.
Purdue transfer Bradyn Welch-Joiner is the center at 6-foot-2 and 327 pounds, and 6-foot-5, 318-pound Andre Otto is the lone homegrown starter on the line at left guard. Otto has allowed just six pressures and one sack this season.
Up front on defense, Rylan Kennedy has been the main disruptor. The 6-foot-3, 251-pound edge rusher transferred from Texas A&M and leads Florida State with 15 quarterback pressures and five sacks. He has turned it up over the last two weeks, producing seven pressures and three sacks.
Mandrell Desir, a Miami native, has been useful all over the defensive line. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound defender has 14 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, and PFF credits him with ten quarterback pressures.
The Seminoles’ 3-3-5 structure includes a true nose tackle presence in Kevin Wynn. At 6-foot-2 and 317 pounds, Wynn has seen a bigger role lately, logging 75 of his 125 defensive snaps against Virginia and Louisville. He has 10 tackles and one sack, along with a 77.4 run defense grade and a 75.9 tackling grade from PFF.
Chris Jones brings production at linebacker after transferring from Southern Miss, where he posted 135 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and an interception. This year, the 6-foot-1, 231-pound Jones is second on the team with 37 tackles, four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
He also has nine pressures as a blitzer. In coverage, he has been targeted 13 times and allowed 12 catches for 114 yards and one touchdown.
In the secondary, Ja'Bril Rawls stands out as Florida State’s best coverage player in 2026. The 6-foot-1, 178-pound corner has been targeted 30 times and given up 19 receptions for 196 yards and two touchdowns. His toughest outing came in the opener against New Mexico State, when he allowed 91 yards and a touchdown.
CJ Richard, a transfer from Illinois State, is a box defender who leads the team with 38 tackles. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound DB has also allowed six catches on 11 targets for 100 yards and two touchdowns in coverage.
Ashlynd Barker rounds out the group at 6-foot-3 and 217 pounds. He has the size to work near the line, has recorded 25 tackles and one interception, and has given up 11 completions on 13 targets for 124 yards. Tackling has been an issue at times for Barker, who has six missed tackles.
In Other News...
Mike Norvell's Soft ACC Finish Feels Like A Defining FSU Stretch
Florida States season has reached the point where every game feels bigger than the record itself. With six left on the schedule, the Seminoles still have a path to a winning finish, and that matters because the programs next steps are being weighed with more than just on-field results in mind. Mike Norvell is coaching through a stretch where a soft ACC slate offers a chance to steady things, even as frustration from the fan base continues to build.
The larger conversation around Norvell is no longer only about this fall. University leadership has to account for the cost of any major move, including his buyout and any potential staff changes, while also judging whether the program is showing enough progress to justify patience. In a league that has given Florida State room to finish strong, these last six games may end up shaping not just the season, but the tone of everything that follows. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Fans Want More Than Words From Mike Norvell Right Now
Mike Norvell spent part of the week cleaning up his language after a heated postgame press conference following Florida States loss to Louisville, but the apology landed against a much larger backdrop of disappointment. The Seminoles have been dealing with real issues on the field, especially a defense that has given up more than 500 yards of total offense in multiple games this season, along with an offense that has not found much consistency.
For fans, the frustration is not about one emotional quote so much as the feeling that the same problems keep resurfacing. The rushing defense has been a particular sore spot, and the bigger concern is whether words in the aftermath of a loss can matter much when the on-field product keeps asking for answers the staff has not yet supplied. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Cut Ties With A Freshman Defender Under Troubling Circumstances
Florida State moved quickly to cut ties with freshman cornerback Chuck Kennon after his arrest on charges that included false imprisonment and aggravated fleeing to elude. Mike Norvell confirmed the dismissal, and the university said the decision was tied to conduct detrimental to the team, a standard the Seminoles have used before when off-field issues threaten the programs image and stability.
Kennon appeared in court, where bonds were set and restrictions were imposed after the incident that began with a police pursuit and ended with him fleeing on foot before later turning himself in. For Florida State, the episode leaves another roster spot open and another reminder that accountability off the field can arrive as abruptly as any depth chart change. [Read more 🡒]