FSU football: 5 reasons win over Miami widens gap between programs
By Kelvin Hunt
Final Score Not Indicative Of Gap Closure
FSU defeated Miami 27-20, but the game wasn’t that close. FSU led 27-13 with eight minutes left in the game.
Miami had mounted ONE touchdown drive in the first half, and had a drive to start at the FSU 32 because of a solid punt return off an FSU punt from their end zone.
Miami got a field goal from that drive and a field goal from the drive where Mike Norvell attempted an onsides kick.
The fluke touchdown catch on a first and 15 throw from their 15-yard line with eight minutes remaining was the only time the Miami offense crossed midfield on their own power in the second half.
FSU was clearly the better team. While FSU benefitted from the incompetence of the ACC refs once on the non-safety call, Miami got several favorable calls that impacted the game. They missed a blatant hold with Miami in their end zone that should have been a safety for FSU.
They missed an interception that would have ended the drive where they eventually kicked a field goal in the first half.
They missed a blatant targeting call that would have given FSU another 15-yards and first down in the second half. Miami had a lot of things go their way and still should have lost by two touchdowns or more.
The other part of this is it’s incredibly narrow minded to use one game to determine if two programs are going in opposite directions. For instance, FSU hasn’t lost a game all season while playing a much tougher schedule.
Half of Miami’s wins have come against teams not in Power 5 conferences. Miami has gone life and death with Georgia Tech(loss), Virginia(double OT win), and NC State (loss). Those are teams FSU would be double-digit betting favorites against this season.
FSU went undefeated in conference play (8-0), with only one game against a non-Power 5 school. Miami is (2-4) in the ACC, with two more potential losses on the horizon. Uninformed Miami fans might buy the gap has closed, but anyone with common sense can be shown that’s not true in the least bit.