The Miami football team needs to be able to stop a potent Florida State rushing offense and be able to run themselves when they play the Seminoles on Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium. Florida State is averaging 209.6 rushing yards per game in 2022 and Miami is averaging 132.4.
LSU was the only team to hold Florida State under four yards per carry this season. Florida State had 38 carries for 132 yards and one touchdown in a 24-23 victory over the Tigers in New Orleans on September 4. The Seminoles have run for at least 200 yards in each of its last three games, two of which were losses.
Florida State leads the ACC in rushing yards per game. Miami is second in the ACC allowing 112.25 rushing per game and 3.35 yards per carry. Florida State running back Treshaun Ward is fourth in the ACC averaging 81.33 rushing yards per game. Henry Parrish is fifth in the ACC averaging 77.43 rushing yards per game.
Trey Benson who played for Miami head coach Mario Cristobal at Oregon before transferring to Florida State is seventh in the ACC averaging 60.38 rushing yards per game. Third-team FSU RB Lawrance Toafili and quarterback Jordan Travis each have over 200 yards rushing this season.
We shall see how much Treshaun Ward plays vs. Miami, but when healthy him and Trey Benson are one of the most explosive RB duos in all of CFB #CFB #FSUTwitter pic.twitter.com/ceHCjm2yUC
— CFBNumbers (@CFBNumbers) November 2, 2022
A healthy and productive Parrish will be critical for the Miami football team. Florida State has far more depth at RB. Lucius Stanley passed Thad Franklin and Jaylan Knighton on the depth chart last week at Virginia. Cristobal said on Monday during his weekly appearance on WQAM that the “Jaylan Knighton touches are coming.”
Duke proved that a good rushing attack could run against the Miami football team with 42 carries for 200 yards. Duke QB Riley Leonard had 14 carries for 63 yards and three TDs against Miami. Virginia QB Brennan Armstong had 20 carries for 67 yards in the 14-12 Miami quadruple overtime win last week.
Miami has to be able to limit Travis on the ground and keep him in the pocket as much as possible. Travis had seven carries for 108 yards against North Carolina State and 14 for 64 and a TD against Clemson, both Florida State losses. Travis had 22 carries for 62 yards and a TD last season against Miami.
Florida State can be run on. The Seminoles are 11th in the ACC allowing 145.63 rushing yards per game and seventh giving up 3.78 yards per carry. Expect a lot of Parrish on Saturday after season-highs of 24 carries for 113 yards against Virginia. If Parrish can exceed those numbers Miami will be competitive versus Florida State.