The No. 3 Miami Hurricanes beat No. 18 Florida State Seminoles, 28–22, and the college football world is on high alert. Miami had clean veteran quarterbacking, forced multiple turnovers, and had just enough late-game poise to quiet a rally from FSU. These are the top takeaways for the Miami Hurricanes win over FSU.
1. If Carson Beck plays like that... Miami can beat anybody in the country
Beck played like an NFL first rounder against FSU. He went 20-of-27, threw for 241 yards, 4 TD and didn't throw an INT. He hit 44 and 40 yard strikes to Malachi Toney, and also had two touchdowns to CJ Daniels. The protection held up (just one sack allowed), and the top duo did the rest: Toney (7-107-2), and Daniels (5-78-2). That level of efficiency and Miami's new look WR's make this team a real threat to any defense in the country. Beck was worth every penny Saturday and if he continues to play like he has so far this season, he will be a first round draft pick and Miami will be undefeated going into the CFP.
2. Takeaways give this Miami team the ability to win it all
Miami finished plus-3 in turnover margin (two interceptions and a lost FSU fumble) and turned the short fields into touchdowns. What began as a 7–3 grind became 28–3 in a hurry. The defense stifled FSU through the middle quarters (Seminoles scored 0 in the 2nd and 3rd) and limited the ground game to 3.5 yards per rush. That same FSU rushing attack averaged 336 rushing yards per game prior to facing Miami. Going into the season the defense was a major question mark after last year. Many didn't know what to expect from the remodeled group. It appears now that this defense is the real deal and if they can force turnovers — while the offense plays clean football — this Miami team can win the national championship (and that isn't up for debate).
3. Miami can't let teams claw back into the game
Miami's resume checks every box at this point. They have a top-20 road win, they're unbeaten and Miami is now "state champs" after wins over Florida, USF and now FSU. Not to mention they also beat Notre Dame to open the season. But the win over FSU wasn't perfect. Miami was flagged 13 times for 114 yards, got out-first-downed 29–14, and surrendered 19 fourth-quarter points as FSU trimmed it to a one-score game in the final 20 seconds. This game wasn't really in doubt for the Canes, but we have seen two instances now of letting the opposing team build momentum late and make the final score look closer than it actually was. The Notre Dame game had more to do with situational offense and play-calling, but FSU should have lost by more than six points — and as the season goes on some might forget that Miami dominated this game. Also, be careful, the next time this happens it could be fatal, especially if Miami is matched up with a team of true national championship ability.