Week 6: Florida State at Miami

Florida State and Miami combined for seven national championships from 1983-2001. So when the Hurricanes joined the ACC in 2004, it wasn’t difficult to imagine the Sunshine State rivals squaring off annually in the conference’s championship game. But that hasn’t happened yet, and with both teams already having suffered disappointing league defeats this season, it likely won’t happen in 2008.

Florida State-Miami isn’t what it once was because Florida State and Miami aren’t what they once were. The Seminoles, who turned over the ball seven times in a 12-3 loss to Wake Forest two weeks ago, rebounded last week with a 39-21 win over Colorado. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, blew a 14-0 lead at home against North Carolina and lost their ACC opener 28-24.

Unlike in many past meetings between Florida State and Miami, a national championship isn’t on the line this time. But with each team still seeking its first conference win, the stakes remain high. And with each team featuring a quarterback in his first year as a starter, points could be scarce.

The Seminoles took a big step forward with their running attack last week, when tailback Antone Smith rushed for 154 yards and three touchdowns, but Miami counters with a rush defense that leads the ACC and ranks seventh nationally (65.0 yards per game). The Hurricanes have a talented runner on their side — sophomore Graig Cooper has put together back-to-back 100-yard rushing days — but Florida State’s defense ranks eighth in the country against the run (67.3 ypg).

If neither team enjoys much success moving the ball on the ground, the burden will fall to the quarterbacks. Florida State sophomore Christian Ponder opened the season in fine fashion against two Southern Conference opponents, completing 24 of 39 passes with six touchdowns and no interceptions. But he has completed just 16 of 40 passes with no touchdowns and four interceptions over the last two weeks against big-time competition.

Miami’s Robert Marve is equally unproven. Marve, a redshirt freshman who threw a career-high three touchdown passes and two interceptions last week, must stand tall in the pocket against a Florida State defense that leads the ACC in sacks and ranks second nationally in tackles for loss.

Notes/Things to Watch:

Miami leads the all-time series 30-22, including wins in seven of the last nine meetings. But Florida State has won two of the last three games between the rivals.

For the second year in a row, Florida State and Miami are unranked at the time of their meeting. Before this two-year stretch, at least one of the teams had been ranked in every meeting since 1977.

First blood is huge in this rivalry. The team that scored first has won 20 of the last 23 meetings, including 15 of the last 17.

It’s a stretch to say that Florida State and Miami are rebuilding — many teams throughout the nation would love to go to bowl games during down years — but they are reloading. The Seminoles and Hurricanes played more true freshmen in their respective season openers than any other team in the country.

Emotions always run high in this game, so flags could fly all over the field. The Seminoles, who have committed 24 penalties for 249 yards in their last two games combined, must overcome their knack for beating themselves.

Key Player (Seminoles) — Graham Gano, K

A no-brainer, right? Florida State is famous for losing close games to Miami on kicks that sailed wide right, and this game shapes up as another that could be decided by a late field goal. Gano has made four consecutive field-goal tries, including a 52-yarder last week against Colorado.

Key Player (Hurricanes) — Robert Marve, QB

Marve has completed more than 65 percent of his passes this season, but most of his completions have been short. The Hurricanes must find a way to make plays down the field to stretch Florida State’s defense, which has not allowed a rushing touchdown all season.

Florida State by 3