Hard Rock Stadium – Miami Gardens, FL
Kickoff: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: Miami -3.0, Total: 64.5

#10 Miami will be hoping to earn a monumental home victory over #23 Florida State on Saturday.

The Seminoles have not had the season they are hoping for and they actually coming into this one after having lost two of their past three games. Florida State most recently hosted North Carolina and lost that one 37-35 as a 10.5-point favorite. The team may not have a shot to play in the national championship anymore, but it would certainly love to knock off Miami in this one. The Hurricanes have looked great in head coach Mark Richt’s first year with the team, as they have won-and-covered in all four of their games. The team has been excellent on both sides of the ball, as Miami is averaging 47.0 PPG and allowing just 11.0 PPG. If the Hurricanes can come with that type of balanced effort on Saturday then they might just snap a six-game losing streak against the Seminoles. Favoring Florida State in this game is the fact that Miami is 1-10 ATS after gaining 6.25 or more yards per play in four straight games since 1992. The Hurricanes are, however, an impressive 6-0 ATS after being outrushed by 150 or more yards in their previous game over the past three seasons.

Florida State is one of the more talented teams in the nation, but the team still has two losses this season. The Seminoles are coming off of a disappointing loss to the Tar Heels last week, but that might be bad news for Miami. Florida State can’t possibly be satisfied with the way things have gone lately and the team will be looking to embarrass the Hurricanes in this one. If the Seminoles are going to do that then RB Dalvin Cook (635 yards, 7 TD) will need to have a big game for FSU. Cook has been on a tear over the past two games, rushing for 407 yards and five touchdowns. He also caught six passes for 106 yards in the loss to North Carolina last week. Cook is Florida State’s best playmaker and he’ll need to see the ball a ton on Saturday. His ability to run up the middle will open things up in the passing game and can also wear down the Miami defense as well. Through the air, QB Deondre Francois (1,323 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT) will need to be on his game in this one. Francois threw for 372 yards against North Carolina, but he did not have a touchdown in that game. That can’t be the case against Miami or the Seminoles will be leaving Hard Rock Stadium at 3-3.

If Miami is going to end its losing streak against Florida State then the team is going to need to run the ball well. The Hurricanes have shown a commitment to the run this season and both RBs Mark Walton (445 yards, 8 TD) and Joseph Yearby (321 yards, 5 TD) have been excellent. If the two of them can find some room against Florida State then Miami would be in great shape in this one. QB Brad Kaaya (935 yards, 8 TD, 3 INT) will also need to play well on Saturady, and he should have no problem doing so if the running game is working. Kaaya has been as good as advertised this season and threw for 368 yards with three touchdowns in Miami’s win over Appalachian State two weeks ago. That was a hostile environment and Kaaya was as poised as could be, and he should be able to handle this pressure on Saturday night. Defensively, as long as Miami can somewhat contain Cook then the team should be able to get enough stops to win this one and improve to 5-0.