Noles Still Looking For Some Competition
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – After disposing of a pesky Georgia Tech offense Saturday, Miami Hurricanes fans are already looking forward to the first weekend of November and a trip to Tallahassee to play the Florida State Seminoles.
But, based on Florida State's victory on Saturday, a trip to Tallahassee may turn a dream season for Miami into a brutal nightmare.
Maryland was a Top 25 team when it went to Doak Campbell Stadium last Saturday. The Terrapins were undefeated and expected by most experts to at least make the Seminoles work pretty hard for a victory.
Nothing could have been further from the truth.
Florida State ran over, around, and through the Terrapins en route to a 63-0 blowout. While the score is overwhelming in and of itself, the stats the Seminoles put up were even more impressive.
The Noles' offense ran 82 plays and gained 614 yards in the game. Of those 431 yards, 439 came from the passing game and 183 came from running the football. The Noles had 33 first downs and didn't turn the ball over once during the game.
On the other side of the ball, FSU held Maryland to just 33 rushing yards and 201 yards through the air. So, FSU had as many first downs in the game as Maryland had rushing yards.
The Noles' offensive attack was keyed by the play of redshirt freshman quarterback Jameis Winston, who is quickly making a run at a serious Heisman Trophy campaign in his first year as a starter.
In the Maryland game, Winston was 23 for 32 for 393 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. For the season, Winston is 90 for 123 for 1,446 yards, 17 touchdowns, and just two interceptions on the season.
FSU's offense is averaging 53.6 points per game in 2013 and has not scored less than 40 points this season. FSU's scoring offense is ranked third in the nation and overall, FSU is averaging 549 yards of offense per game, good for 6th in the nation.
While the offensive numbers have been staggering, the Noles' defense has continued to make strides each week.
In scoring defense, the Noles rank third in the nation, allowing only 12 points per game. FSU could be leading the nation in scoring defense if not for a bad game against Boston College two weeks ago.
Overall, FSU is allowing a total of 276.8 yards per game, ranking them seventh in the nation in total defense.
Still, Miami fans have plenty of reason to be excited about the matchup with the Noles. FSU has two weeks to prepare for a huge game against the Clemson Tigers and face North Carolina State the week before the Miami game.
The Canes have two warm-up games against a bad North Carolina team and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons before heading to Tallahassee on November 2.
