Miami football nearly matched Florida State big plays offensively

One of the biggest questions for the Miami football team entering the game at Florida State was whether they could generate big plays. Once it was known before kickoff that Emory Williams was starting at quarterback the expectation was that Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson would have a conservative game plan.

Williams and Jacolby George connected multiple times for the Miami football team to generate explosive plays in the passing game. George had five receptions for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Williams and George connected for a 43-yard completion in the first quarter and an 85 yard TD in the fourth quarter.

The 43-yard completion was to the Florida State 25-yard line. A sack pushed the Miami football team back to the Florida State 33, creating a 50-yard field goal attempt. A bad snap resulted in Andres Borregales missing badly wide right and kept the Florida State lead at 7-0 with 3:41 remaining in the first quarter.

The 85-yard TD was critical in keeping Miami in the game. Florida State extended the lead early in the fourth quarter following a Keon Coleman 57-yard punt return set up the Seminoles at the Miami 10 yardline. Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis connected with Coleman for a six-yard TD pass to extend the lead to 27-13.

After three consecutive three-and-outs on the three previous drives, Williams and George connected for the 85-yard TD pass with 8:22 remaining in the fourth quarter to cut the Miami deficit to 27-20. Miami had four pass plays of at least 15 yards, three of 25 or more yards and four runs of 10 or more, including three 20 plus.

Don Chaney Jr. powered Miami offensively on the first Hurricanes’ first scoring drive of the game. Chaney ripped off runs of 26 and 29 yards to get Miami to the Florida State five-yard line. Two plays later Williams threw a four-yard TD pass to George to cut the Miami deficit to 10-7 with 2:42 remaining in the second quarter.

Chaney later added an 18-yard run on the final drive of the first half to help set up a Miami field goal to tie the game at 10 at halftime. Chaney finished with 12 carries for 82 yards. Miami finished the game with four completions of 15 yards or more and four runs of 10 yards or more that cumulatively produced 261 yards.

Florida State produced eight pass plays of 15 more yards and two runs of 15 or more yards. Miami limited Florida State to only three pass plays of more than 20 yards and only one run of more than 20 yards. The eight Florida State explosive plays produced 247 total yards. The Coleman punt return was arguably the difference in the game.

Miami was unable to match the Coleman punt return. Brashard Smith had two kick returns for 37 yards and Ray Ray Joseph had one punt return for a respectable 16 yards. A Tyler Van Dyke interception on the final drive of the game was the only turnover by either team. Miami finished with a 335-322 advantage in total yards.