Brad Crawford of 247 Sports ranked Florida State versus Miami football eighth among “College sports’ 11 most-heated rivalries, ranked.” Miami won the first meeting in the series 35-13 on October 5, 1951. The Hurricanes won the first five games versus Florida State and eight of the first nine in the series.
The first five games in the series and 14 of the first 16 games were played in Miami. Florida State ended the Miami dominance with a 24-0 upset win over the Hurricanes in the 1963 season opener. The win by FSU in 1963 was surprising after Hurricanes’ quarterback George Mira Sr. began the season on the Sports Illustrated cover.
That was the first of seven straight FSU wins over Miami. The Seminoles’ run evened the series at eight games each. Miami won 15 of the next 22 games versus Florida State. The Hurricanes won most of the biggest games in the series in the 1980s and early 1990s when both programs were competing for national championships.
The Miami football team won seven of the 10 games versus Florida State in the 1980s and the first three in the 1990s. The Hurricanes are 15-11 versus Florida State when both teams are ranked and 10-4 against Florida State with both teams in the top 10. The last meeting with both teams ranked was in 2016.
"8. FLORIDA STATE-MIAMI (FOOTBALL)“There’s going to be some debate here on the Sunshine State’s fiercest rivalry, but if you’re interested in watching a borderline brawl on the gridiron, Florida State-Miami always delivers.The ugliest rivalry down south among several big-name battles, the Seminoles and Hurricanes have a level of disdain for each other few games can match. Miami leads 35-31 all-time in one of the most competitive backyard wars out there.The Hurricanes won three-straight (Sic four) games in the series prior to Florida State’s blowouts wins during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Before that, Florida State won seven-straight in the series.Miami’s most dominant stretches in the rivalry came when it competed for national titles from the mid 1980s-90s and the early-2000s. Since the late 1980s, several times this game has been played with extremely high stakes among national contenders with many memorable finishes in the kicking game.The phrase “wide right” is still stomach-turning for Seminoles fans."
After four straight wins from 2017 through 2020, the Miami football team suffered a heartbreaking loss after rallying from behind in 2020 and lost 45-3 last year at home. Florida State will likely be a top-10 team entering the 2023 season. After a 5-7 2022 season, Miami has a lot to prove in the second year under Mario Cristobal.
Florida State is always the biggest game on the Miami football schedule. The elimination of divisions in 2023 in the ACC makes the game even more important. The top two teams in the ACC at the end of the regular season will earn berths in the conference championship game in December.