No. 3 Miami gets Florida State this week at Hard Rock Stadium, and the numbers say this one has every chance to get interesting fast.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. EST on ESPN, with Miami listed by FanDuel Sportsbook as a 21.5-point favorite over the Seminoles.
That kind of spread stands out in a rivalry that, more often than not, refuses to follow script. Since 2000, only six meetings have been decided by 22 points or more - Miami in 2001, Florida State in 2010, Florida State in 2013, Miami in 2020, Florida State in 2022, and Miami in 2024.
In that same stretch, 19 games between the programs have been settled by one score.
Miami enters at 5-0 overall and 3-0 in ACC play after its 41-13 win at Clemson in Week 5. Florida State is 3-3 and 1-2 after a 44-20 loss at Louisville on Friday night. The Seminoles still haven’t won a true road game since beating Florida to close the 2023 season.
The Hurricanes have taken the last two meetings, including a 28-22 win in 2025. Florida State coach Mike Norvell is 2-3 against top five teams during his time in Tallahassee, and his last win over one came in a 45-24 victory over LSU to open the 2023 season.
For Florida State, the spotlight starts at quarterback with Ashton Daniels. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound signal caller is in his third school in three years and gives the Seminoles a dual-threat element every defense has to account for.
Daniels has thrown for 1,320 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 59.5 percent of his passes. He has also rushed for 323 yards and leads the team with 10 rushing touchdowns, the second-most rushing scores by a quarterback this season.
The ground game runs through Ousmane Kromah, who has been Florida State’s most productive offensive player. At 6-foot-1 and 216 pounds, Kromah has 565 rushing yards and five touchdowns, plus 11 catches for 97 yards.
He has forced 38 missed tackles, tied for first in the ACC and fourth in the country, and he’s averaging 3.76 yards after contact per carry. He is also producing nearly three runs per game of at least 10 yards.
Out wide, Florida State leans on size and speed. Duce Robinson, at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, gives defenses a tough one-on-one matchup with his length, downfield speed and body control. He has 17 catches for 294 yards and two touchdowns, including 4-of-9 on deep-shot attempts for 113 yards and two scores.
Micahi Danzy brings another vertical threat. The 6-foot-1, 194-pound receiver has elite track speed and, in May of 2025, ran an ACC record 44.38 seconds in the 400-meter dash.
This season, Danzy has 19 receptions for 293 yards and two touchdowns, and he’s caught 3-of-5 deep shots for 133 yards. Florida State works to get him the ball all over the field.
Jayvan Boggs handles the slot role and adds a different kind of value. He isn’t the fastest receiver, but his savvy and compete level make him a key piece inside.
Boggs leads the Seminoles with 299 receiving yards on 16 catches and has one touchdown. Against Alabama, Virginia and Louisville, Florida State threw four interceptions on targets intended for Boggs.
The offensive line has been solid at times and exposed at others, especially against Alabama’s athletic front in Week 3. Paul Bowling, a Troy transfer, allowed five quarterback pressures in that game, while left tackle Xavier Chaplin, who came from Auburn and Virginia Tech, gave up four.
Bowling Green transfer Nate Pabst has been the right tackle and allowed six pressures at Louisville. Purdue transfer Bradyn Welch-Joiner is at center at 6-foot-2 and 327 pounds, while Andre Otto is the lone homegrown starter on the unit at left guard.
Otto, at 6-foot-5 and 318 pounds, has allowed just six pressures and one sack this season.
Defensively, Rylan Kennedy has been Florida State’s most dangerous edge threat. The 6-foot-3, 251-pound transfer from Texas A&M leads the team with 15 quarterback pressures and five sacks, and he’s been especially disruptive over the last two weeks with seven pressures and three sacks.
Mandrell Desir, a Miami native, gives the Seminoles a flexible piece along the defensive front. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound lineman has 14 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, and PFF credits him with 10 quarterback pressures.
Inside, Kevin Wynn provides the nose tackle presence this 3-3-5 defense needs. At 6-foot-2 and 317 pounds, Wynn has played more in recent weeks, logging 75 of his 125 defensive snaps on the year 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 has become a major factor at linebacker after arriving from Southern Miss, where he posted 135 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and an interception. He is second on Florida State with 37 tackles, four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, and he has added nine pressures as a blitzer. In coverage, he has been targeted 13 times and allowed 12 catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.
In the secondary, Ja'Bril Rawls is Florida State’s best coverage defender. The 6-foot-1, 178-pound corner has been targeted 30 times and allowed 19 receptions for 196 yards and two touchdowns, including a rough opener against New Mexico State in which he gave up 91 yards and a score.
CJ Richard, a transfer from Illinois State, works mostly in the box and leads the Seminoles with 38 tackles. In coverage, he has been targeted 11 times and allowed six catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
Ashlynd Barker brings the size to play near the line, at 6-foot-3 and 217 pounds. He has 25 tackles and one interception, but he has also been targeted 13 times and allowed 11 receptions for 124 yards. Missed tackling has shown up too, with six on the season.
In Other News...
Miami Defense Gets Timely Boost Before FSU With Bigger Questions Ahead
Miamis defense got a welcome lift this week, with Mario Cristobal confirming on the Joe Rose show that Xavier Lucas, Marquise Lightfoot, Ezekiel Marcelin Jr. and Damari Brown are all returning to play. With Florida State on deck, the timing matters for a unit that has spent the bye week trying to get healthier and stabilize its rotation after dealing with a run of injury setbacks.
Some of the players who were hurt before the break are trending in the right direction, while Max Buchanan and JaBoree Antoine remain sidelined. Even with reinforcements coming back, Miami still has to sort out how the depth chart holds up, though the staff has already identified backups who stepped in and helped keep things afloat when the injuries piled up. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Faces One Big O-Line Concern Before Florida State
Miami is getting healthier on defense at a good time, with Ezekiel Marcelin Jr., Marquise Lightfoot, Xavier Lucas and Damari Brown all back in the mix ahead of the Florida State rivalry game. That gives the Hurricanes some needed depth and flexibility on that side of the ball as they head into one of the biggest dates on the schedule.
The more immediate concern is up front, where starting right guard Max Buchanan had surgery for a left knee injury and is expected to miss some time. Miami has not given a firm return timeline, and the staff is sorting through options to replace him on the offensive line, a spot that could loom large with Florida State coming fast. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Basketball Just Got An Early National Reality Check
KenPoms preseason numbers are in, and they give Miami a pretty solid national starting point after last seasons NCAA tournament exit. The Hurricanes come in at No. 22 overall, with an offense rated 118.4 and a defense sitting at 94.9, a profile that suggests a team with enough balance to hang around the top 25 if it settles in quickly.
The first real test arrives right away on Nov. 2, when Miami opens against Florida, the No. 2 team in KenPoms preseason rankings. It is the kind of early measuring-stick game that can tell a staff plenty about where the Hurricanes stand before the long grind of ACC play really begins. [Read more 🡒]