Florida State is just days away from perhaps the biggest game on the schedule against ACC rivals No. 3 Miami. The Hurricanes have displayed arguably the best offense and the best defense in the country this season, while the Seminoles have struggled to play consistent football.
Florida State needs some luck on its side to take down Miami, but that might not happen with multiple players notably absent from the initial injury report. The Hurricanes had two starters in particular suffer injuries last time out against Clemson, but neither player was included in the injury report, which means the Seminoles will be getting the best version of Miami in Week 7.
Starting edge rusher and Miami's sack leader, Marquise Lightfoot, left the game against Clemson early, but the star defender was not included in the first Week 7 injury report. Additionally, starting right tackle Matthew McCoy was attended to by the training staff against the Tigers, but ultimately played the rest of the game. McCoy was also not included in the initial Week 7 injury report for Miami.
Miami Hurricanes injury report
- WR Joshua Moore (out)
- RB CharMar Brown (out)
- DB Ja'Boree Antoine (out)
- DB Romanas Frederique Jr. (out)
- OL Max Buchanan (out)
- TE Luka Gilbert (out)
Florida State injury report
- RB Samuel Singleton Jr. (out)
- WR Devin Carter (out)
- DB Karson Hobbs (out)
- DB Jamari Howard (out)
- LB Blake Nichelson (out)
- DB Jordan Crutchfield (out)
- LB Izayia Williams (out)
- LB Daylen Green (out)
- LB Noah LaVallee (questionable)
- DL Darryll Desir (probable)
- DB Zae Thomas (probable)
- OL Paul Bowling (probable)
Marquise Lightfoot, Matthew McCoy left off Miami's initial injury report for the Florida State game
No Lightfoot and no McCoy on the injury report likely means Florida State will be playing against a full-strength Miami team. The Hurricanes have a few players who have been ruled out for the game, but nothing serious has changed from last week. That could be an issue for the Seminoles, who already will face two serious mismatches in Week 7.
For Miami, getting Lightfoot back would be tremendous due to how quickly he can create an impact on the field. Lightfoot disrupts offenses, and Florida State's best chance at igniting the offense is by giving the football to dynamic running back Ousmane Kromah. The running back has been the one constant this season for the Seminoles' offense, but he may meet his match against Lightfoot.
Lightfoot currently has 20 total tackles and five sacks this season, with a sack in each of his last four games. The defender also recorded a sack and two tackles against Clemson before exiting, and while Miami has a lot of talent capable of filling the potential void, nobody creates quite as much chaos as Lightfoot does.
The Hurricanes' offense could also receive a boost if McCoy avoids having to sit out the Week 7 game against the Seminoles. There is no two ways about it, Florida State has struggled to generate consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks this season. The performance against Virginia in Week 5 was exceptional, but it should be viewed as the outlier at this point, with more disappointing performances than positive ones on defense.
It is going to be very hard for Florida State, a team that already struggles with generating pressure, to do so against a team like Miami, who have only allowed five total sacks this season. The Seminoles cannot win this game if quarterback Darian Mensah is given a clean pocket consistently, and McCoy could help do so for the Hurricanes.
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