Turnovers Were The Difference
The FSU defense played well enough to win the game if the offense had avoided the turnovers. They were 7 of 16 on third down and 3 of 4 on fourth down. They had more rushing yards than Miami and more total yards in the game.
Some may say Miami took its foot off the gas in the fourth quarter, but FSU had more total offense in the first half than Miami as well. They were 4 of 9 on offense and had 181 total yards.
The difference was the turnovers in the second quarter, Miami scoring a touchdown on its first offensive possession in the third quarter, and FSU turning it over on their next possession for a 14-point swing.
FSU fans wanted to fire Mike Norvell before the game was over, but the turnovers were the difference, really. FSU didn’t lose the game in the trenches. FSU had one sack and five tackles for a loss. Miami had two sacks and five tackles for a loss.
There were tons of plays left on the field by the FSU offense. It was a matter of execution, or lack thereof. It's nearly impossible to beat a solid team with a -3 turnover margin.