The Miami Hurricanes didn’t just lean on the run game against Florida State - they used it to set the tone, control the pace and open everything else up.
Miami built a 14-3 halftime lead and wore down the Seminoles with 32 carries at 3 yards per rush. Mark Fletcher Jr., Marty Brown and Jordan Lyle all did their part, finishing at 3.3, 2.4 and 2.6 yards per carry against the FSU defense. That ground game, built mostly on Duo and Wide Zone, gave Carson Beck the runway to throw four touchdowns without a turnover while averaging 8.9 yards per pass attempt.
The big-play targets showed up too. Malachi Toney and CJ Daniels each caught two touchdowns, and both finished with double-digit yards per catch.
Up front, Miami kept Beck clean enough to keep the offense on schedule. The Hurricanes allowed only one sack and five tackles for loss against the Florida State front.
Duo has already been broken down in the Storm Cellar, and Wide Zone is the other run concept Miami keeps coming back to. It’s a play that asks a lot from the offensive line and even more from the backs.
The running back’s path can go three ways: the bang hits the play-side B-gap, the bend cuts back into the play-side A-gap, and the bounce stretches to the play-side C-gap. In Duo, those gaps shift one spot to the right.
The line’s job is just as demanding. The blockers move laterally, working to the outside shoulder of the defender to the play side. The second lineman in the combo tries to pick up the defender in the middle of the man, letting the first lineman climb to the second level and hunt a linebacker.
That kind of work has to happen quickly, with constant communication. That’s why a veteran center next to guards who know the system matters so much.
On one snap, 52 takes over while 63 works all the way to the third level, and that’s what lets the linebacker slip free. Fletcher still beats him, but the pursuit slows the run down.
On another play, Marty Brown hits the bang and only has to beat one defender to spring a big gain. Later, Brown bends it back, and Florida State over-runs the play, leaving a huge lane if he can get past that one defender.
That’s the tradeoff with Wide Zone: it can punish a defense, but only if the back has the feel, vision and patience to make it work. Miami doesn’t try to be everything at once.
The Hurricanes usually lean hard on two run concepts, then mix in one or two more depending on the opponent. Sometimes that means counter.
Sometimes it’s power or guard wrap. Other times it looks more like an outside zone or stretch play.
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