Darian Mensah kept Miami moving all night, and when the Hurricanes needed one more answer in double overtime, he found Malachi Toney.
Mensah threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns, including the 3-yard game-winner to Toney in the second OT, as No. 3 Miami survived Florida State 43-35 in a wild, back-and-forth rivalry game Saturday night in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Miami now has a real shot at the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 after No. 1 Georgia lost to Auburn and No.
2 Notre Dame fell to BYU on the same day.
“This is what great teams do, find a way to win,” Mensah said.
Toney was everywhere for the Hurricanes. He caught 11 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns, then added a 2-point conversion throw to Cooper Barkate after his overtime score. Javian Mallory ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns, including one in the first overtime, and Mark Fletcher Jr. also scored on the ground for Miami (6-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
The final sequence brought the biggest drama of all. Bryce Fitzgerald, who had exited early with an injury before returning, picked off an end-zone pass on the last play to seal it for Miami, despite Florida State’s belief that the ball should have counted as a touchdown.
“I thought it was a touchdown ... but we're not the ones out there calling the shots,” Florida State quarterback Ashton Daniels said. “We can't control the decisions and all that.
We don't understand it. It hurts, but there's nothing we can do about it.”
Daniels was sharp for the Seminoles, throwing for 298 yards and four touchdowns, but Florida State (3-4, 1-3) couldn’t finish the job. Duce Robinson delivered late touchdowns for the Seminoles, including a 75-yarder that tied the game with 2:49 left in regulation and a 20-yard score to open the first overtime.
“This rivalry is bigger than me,” Toney said. “I haven't been alive for half of it, but I'm still playing for the standard that the generations before me created.”
Miami and Florida State spent the night trading punches. The Hurricanes led 7-0 and 14-7, only for Florida State to answer both times.
The Seminoles moved ahead 21-14, Miami tied it, and the pattern kept going from there. Florida State scored first in overtime, and Miami answered again.
Florida State also had a shot to put itself in position late in regulation when Daniels connected on a fourth-and-21, 36-yard throw that would have cut the margin to 43-41, but the play came back because of holding. On the very next snap, Florida State went deep again into a crowd in the end zone, and the play was ruled an interception after review.
“Since the start of football, if it's a tie it goes to the receiver,” Norvell said. “I guess they had a different angle.”
Florida State coach Mike Norvell, whose team is now 10-22 in its last 32 games, also bristled at the earlier holding call.
“Go watch the film,” he said.
The loss came after Florida State also dropped top rusher Ousmane Kromah late in the first half with a left leg injury, and the Seminoles eventually ran out of answers.
On Miami’s side, Mensah’s interception-free start to his Hurricanes career ended in the third quarter when he tried to force a pass to Barkate in the end zone. Ashlynd Barker came away with the pick, preserving what was then a 14-14 game.
Miami has now won seven of its last 10 against Florida State. The Hurricanes host Pitt on Oct. 24, while Florida State visits Clemson on Oct. 31.
In Other News...
Mike Norvell Couldn't Hide His Anger Over How Miami Ended
Florida States overtime loss to Miami left Mike Norvell visibly frustrated with how the final sequence unfolded, and he did not try to soften his reaction afterward. The Seminoles had a touchdown from Micahi Danzy wiped away by a holding call on left tackle Xavier Chaplin, a play that changed the entire feel of the extra period and kept the game hanging in the balance.
Duce Robinson then appeared to make the next big catch for Florida State, only for the pass to be ruled an interception after review and end the game. Norvell blasted the holding flag as an absolute joke and pushed back on the turnover ruling as well, a postgame flashpoint that added another layer of heat to an already bitter ending against Miami. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Still Has A Narrow Path To Save This Season
Florida State came out of the double-overtime loss to Miami still searching for traction, and the margin for error is getting thinner by the week. At 3-4 with five games left, the Seminoles do not have much room left to waste, but the schedule still leaves open a path to salvage a respectable finish if they can start putting together the kind of complete performance that has been elusive since conference play tightened up.
The remaining stretch is complicated by a few familiar concerns, including a recent injury to running back Ousmane Kromah and the fact that road games have not been kind. Even so, the way the next opponents have been trending, plus Florida State's past results in some of those matchups, keeps a 7-5 finish in play if the Seminoles can clean up the small mistakes that have been costing them close games. [Read more 🡒]
Alex Steen Can Finally Help Florida State Sooner Than Expected
After spending the offseason in legal limbo, Florida State forward Alex Steen finally has a path back onto the court sooner than expected. A Leon County judge granted him an extra season of eligibility after his challenge to the NCAAs 5-in-5 rule, a ruling that clears up a situation that had kept him in waiting even as he stayed enrolled in classes and continued practicing with the Seminoles.
Now the question shifts from the courtroom to the hardwood, where Steen could make his first game appearance against LSU on Oct. 24. For Florida State, it is a notable boost to a frontcourt that has already had to deal with the uncertainty surrounding his status, and it gives the Seminoles a player they had been able to work with behind the scenes but not yet officially deploy in a game. [Read more 🡒]