FSU football: Noles could seize control of Miami rivalry with a win Saturday

FSU football will have a prime opportunity to shift the Miami rivalry back in favor of the Noles Saturday night.

These rivalry games take a life of their own, but there’s a clear gap between the two teams in 2022. The Noles snapped a four-game losing streak last year in a dramatic 31-28 victory that helped give Mike Norvell grace after a terrible start to the 2021 season.

FSU ran through Miami from 2010-2016 and gave them wins in 2017 and 2018 as Jimbo Fisher checked out and Willie Taggart transitioned on a bumpy road. FSU’s blowout loss against Miami in 2019 was the final nail in the coffin for Taggart, among other things.

Mike Norvell didn’t coach in another blowout loss in the 2020 FSU/Miami game. However, last year’s win showed Mike Norvell significantly close the gap Miami had built and now looks to form some separation of their own Saturday night as Miami’s first-year head coach Mario Cristobal takes on a full rebuild in Coral Gables.

The separation is already evident through the first eight games, but the Noles have the opportunity to show just how much of a gap there is between the two teams. Miami could defeat FSU if FSU beats itself like it has shown a propensity to do here and there.

However, the odds that FSU blows the doors off Miami are more probable than a Miami win. I spoke about how a win over Miami in Cristobal’s first year would take the luster off the hire, but that luster has already taken a massive hit with blowout losses to Middle Tennessee State and Duke.

What would a blowout loss against rival FSU football and Clemson later in the season do to a Miami program looking to rebuild since 2003? It would make it much easier for FSU and others to continue to go into south Florida for top recruits with proof that FSU football is far and away the better option to spend the next 3-4 years.

I’m sure some financial support would show cracks in the foundation, and some of the recruits who pledged to Miami earlier in the year may reconsider as others come calling for their services. All FSU has to do is play a clean game Saturday night and let the rest take care of itself with the superior team.