EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, October 6^th, the (3-2) Florida State Seminoles will be on the road to take on the (4-1) Miami Hurricanes.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Miami 32.7 – Florida State 22.5 with an over/under of 55.2.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Miami 26 – Florida State 21.

Mark is predicting a final score of Miami 40 – Florida State 17.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Florida State 275.4 YPG > Miami 216.8 YPG

Rushing offense: Miami 213.4 YPG > Florida State 97.4 YPG

Scoring offense: Miami 44.2 PPG > Florida State 22.2 PPG

Scoring defense: Miami 16.8 PPG > Florida State 24.6 PPG

Passing defense: Miami 138.8 YPG > Florida State 284.4 PPG

Rushing defense: Florida State 101.1 YPG > Miami 106.0 PPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Miami +0.5 > Florida State -2.0

Summary:

Florida State is (3-2) to start the season with wins over Samford, Northern Illinois, and Louisville.  They were defeated by Syracuse and #20 Virginia Tech.  The Seminoles rank 110^th in points per game (22.2) and 62^nd scoring defense (24.6 PPG).  Quarterback Deondre Francois has made a triumphant return after suffering a season ending injury early in the 2017 campaign.  Francois is completing 62% of his passes for 1,377 yards with 9 touchdowns to 5 interceptions.  The Seminoles are having no success running the football ranking 121^st in rushing yards per game (97.4) and 126^th in yards per carry (2.5).  Cam Akers is the team’s leading rusher (316 yards, 1 touchdown) and Nyqwan Murray (345 yards, 2 touchdowns) is the leading receiver.  Florida State’s defense has been stout against the run but awful defending the pass.  The Seminoles rank 127^th out of 130 teams in turnover margin (-2.0).

Miami is (4-1) with victories over Savannah State, Toledo, Florida International, and North Carolina.  They were defeated by #25 LSU 33-17 in week one.  The Hurricanes rank 16^th in points per game (44.2) and 16^th in scoring defense (16.8 PPG).  Due to his accuracy issues, quarterback Malik Rosier was benched in favor of N’Kosi Perry.  Perry has completed 66% of his passes for 442 yards with 7 touchdowns to 3 interceptions.  Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas are a terrific running back tandem who have combined for 702 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Jeff Thomas leads the team in receiving with 320 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Miami leads the nation in defending the pass (138.8 YPG) and rank 22^nd in defending the run (106.0 YPG).

Bottom Line:

Florida State has put way too much on Deondre Francois’s shoulders because of their inability to run the football.  This spells trouble against a Miami defense that is the best in the country at defending the pass.  Add in the fact that Florida State can’t take care of the football and this has blowout written all over it.

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