Florida State walks into Saturday’s trip to Miami carrying a defensive problem the Hurricanes are built to expose.
Through two road losses this season, the Seminoles have already surrendered 1,104 total yards, 644 rushing yards and 94 points. Now they head into another tough road environment against No. 3 Miami, a 5-0 team with the No. 1 offense in college football.
The Hurricanes have been piling up numbers all season. They average 554 yards of total offense per game, score 49 points a night and move the ball at 8.21 yards per play. Their closest call came on the road at Wake Forest, where Miami still handled business in a 33-20 win.
Darian Mensah has been steering that attack with ease. He leads the ACC with 15 touchdown passes and has yet to throw an interception.
Out wide, Malachi Toney has been just as dangerous, leading the ACC with 120 receiving yards per game. Through five games, he has 39 catches for 604 yards and six touchdowns.
That’s a brutal matchup for a Florida State defense that has struggled to hold up against the pass. The Seminoles are giving up 244 passing yards per game and have only three interceptions on the season. They haven’t picked off a pass in the last four weeks.
The protection in front of Mensah has been sturdy, too. Miami has allowed just five sacks all season, which makes Florida State’s job of getting after the quarterback even tougher.
And if Miami wants to lean on the ground game, it has plenty there as well. Mark Fletcher and Javian Mallory have combined for 596 rushing yards and eight touchdowns across the Hurricanes’ first five games.
Florida State’s issues on the road have already shown up in ugly fashion. Against Alabama and Louisville, the Seminoles built two-score leads before the defense let both games slip away.
The Louisville loss was especially rough: Florida State gave up 44 points, 397 rushing yards, six touchdowns and 9.23 yards per carry. The Seminoles managed only one sack and four tackles for loss, and Louisville running back Isaac Brown gashed them for 235 yards and two touchdowns.
The bigger picture on the road has been grim for Florida State under Mike Norvell. The Seminoles have 11 true road losses over the past two and a half seasons. Norvell, now in his seventh season, has six losing seasons at Florida State.
Early betting odds have Miami as a 21.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel.
The pressure around Norvell is already heavy, and another loss to Miami would only add to it.
In Other News...
Florida State Keeps Flashing Potential While The Season Starts Slipping Away
Florida States season has reached the point where every stumble feels bigger than the last, and the latest one came against a Louisville team that was dealing with injuries of its own. In the wider ACC picture, Miami has surged into the conference lead while the Seminoles keep trying to find traction, leaving their early flashes looking more like isolated moments than the start of something sustainable.
The loss only deepens the sense that Florida State is running out of room to prove it can still compete at the level its talent suggests. With the league standings tightening around the teams on top and the updated ACC hierarchy shifting beneath them, the Seminoles are left trying to show there is still a path back before the season slips too far away. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Has A Bigger Problem Than The Louisville Loss
Florida State came out with real purpose against Louisville and looked like it might carry over the defensive edge it showed a week earlier against Virginia. Instead, the game turned on a critical failed fourth-and-goal try, and from there the Seminoles never found a way to steady themselves, eventually falling 44-20 in a result that exposed how fragile the margin still is for this group.
Mike Norvell pointed to the teams response to adversity, and that is where the concern goes beyond one loss. The Seminoles have shown they can look organized and physical in stretches, but the next step is proving they can absorb a setback and keep playing with the same detail and urgency, something that did not happen after Louisville swung the game. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Norvells Job Security Feels More Fragile Than Ever At Florida State
Mike Norvells standing at Florida State has become a bigger talking point in the wake of the loss to Louisville, and the usual signs of support inside the athletic department have been harder to find. The program is heading toward a matchup with Miami under a cloud of uncertainty, and the conversation around the Seminoles is no longer just about the next game, but about what comes after it.
One notable shift is that Norvell has not been holding the weekly check-ins or performance reviews with interim athletic director Bruce Warwick or the administration that had been part of the routine before. That change has fueled speculation that the school is bracing for a possible coaching change, even though no official decision has been announced. For now, the silence around the situation may be the clearest sign that Florida States future plans are very much in play. [Read more 🡒]