𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Erich Ladwig: I don’t know what a better feeling is… Knowing wholeheartedly that your team is going to walk into your biggest rivalry game and win convincingly or the excitement surrounding an unpredictable powderkeg of a game you know is going to be huge. That’s my predicament one year apart in the Miami/FSU rivalry.

Part of me wants to believe that Miami will walk into Doak Campbell Stadium and leave no doubt, akin to their wins over USF and Florida. But there is a part of me that agrees with Coach Cristobal, that FSU is physical and more talented than a year ago. The proof is there: Florida State has a much more capable offense than the Gators. And even Florida was able to make the game against UM interesting for a spell.

I think Florida State will score more often than Florida against Miami, as the QB play has been markedly more consistent. What happened in the third quarter to Miami’s defense, allowing the Gators back in the game until late, could happen more often this Saturday. FSU will put points on the board.

But if Virginia can hang 40+ on the Seminole defense, I don’t think Miami will have too much of a problem scoring points of their own. Miami has the ability to control the line of scrimmage and thus, control the clock and keep the Seminole offense on the sideline, which I think they will do as the game wears on.

Miami will wear down the respective fronts into the fourth quarter and seal the victory as Carson Beck will be solid, but hardly a Heisman contender. Mark Fletcher and CharMar Brown will be standouts as Miami wins, 31-23.