I can’t speak for the rest of the country but as a Miami native, I know how important this game is in the city. These people bleed orange and green for the most part, but you don’t have to be from Miami to know about this rivalry, in fact whether you’re a fan of Miami football or Florida State, most of college football fans are at the least, familiar with this rivalry.
Miami-Florida State has been a game to watch dating all the way back to the 80’s.
Rivalry history
This game dates all the way to 1980 when Jim Kelly ran for a 1-yard touchdown to upset the unbeaten canes 10-9, and the 91 and 92 seasons where the game was decided by wide right field goals. But for me, watching the games in the early 2000s watching my favorite tight end Jeremy Shockey, or the 2005 game “the Miami Muff” where the Seminoles ended a six-game losing streak over the Canes due to a muffed kicked by Miami.
Even the earlier days watching guys I would see from my very own backyard compete against the Noles like Allen Hurns, Tracy Howard, Deon Bush and Duke Johnson. Arguably one of college football’s best games ever, this game opened up a gateway for college football and the state of Florida for many players getting recruited.
Both sides of the ball featured numbers of athletes from the state of Florida bringing something new to the table. Maybe something’s different than college football had seen yet before. No it wasn’t the trash talking, but that Florida speed. This game opened the eyes of coaches around the country to recruit kids from the state of Florida.
The 2020 matchup
Unlike the past, these two teams meeting aren’t the top ranked teams in college football, in fact Florida State isn’t ranked at all but nonetheless the talk of this game still gets blood boiling between fans and the tension is there on the field as well. These two team will meet this weekend; the series is in favor of the Hurricanes 34-30. Although the Seminoles aren’t a ranked team and coming off a loss to Georgia tech in their season opener, you can bet they’re coming to Miami with a chip on their shoulders looking to defeat the canes in Hard Rock stadium for their first time since 2016.
These two have seen each other 30 times with at least half of the meetings being decided by one possession or less. While the odds have been in favor of the Hurricanes, Florida state isn’t going to come with something to prove this Saturday with COVID-19 hitting especially close to home with their head coach Mike Norvell. It’s going to be interesting to see how they handle the pressure of this being a road game without their head man being there.
