No. 3 Miami needed double overtime and a series of late defensive stops to survive Florida State 43-35 on Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium. The Hurricanes improved to 6-0 and 4-0 in the ACC, but the win came after they trailed in the second half, surrendered a 75-yard touchdown with under three minutes left and then held on through a chaotic final sequence.
CARDIAC CANES!!!! pic.twitter.com/jZA962hzWO
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) October 18, 2026
A different kind of night for Miami's defense
Miami entered the game as the nation's top-ranked scoring defense, allowing 9.8 points per game and just 49 total points through its first five matchups. Florida State finished with 443 yards, including 305 through the air.
Ashton Daniels completed 15 of 28 passes for 298 yards, four touchdowns and one interception while also running for a score. The Seminoles moved the ball throughout the game, most notably by way of a 75-yard strike to Duce Robinson that tied the game late.
Miami still outgained Florida State 583-443 and held the ball for more than 37 minutes, but the defense that had been dominant all season allowed 35 points.
The second-half swing
After a 14-14 tie at halftime, Florida State took a 21-14 lead in the third quarter on Daniels' 28-yard touchdown pass to Quintrevion Wisner.
Miami answered back with a Javian Mallory 3-yard touchdown run to even the score, then Darian Mensah hit Elijah Lofton for a 3-yard score to put the Hurricanes ahead 28-21 with just under three minutes remaining.
Four seconds of game clock later, Daniels found Robinson for a 75-yard touchdown that tied the game at 28. Robinson finished with five catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns. The play, which beat Xavier Lucas and got past a diving Omar Thornton, was Miami's clearest defensive breakdown of the night and forced overtime.
Mallory and the ground game
Mark Fletcher Jr. scored Miami's first touchdown on a 7-yard run, but Mallory became the late-game difference-maker. The freshman finished with 108 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. His 25-yard touchdown run on the first play of Miami's overtime possession answered Florida State's opening overtime score and sent the game to a second overtime. Miami rushed for 257 yards as a team on 44 carries.
Toney’s night and the second-overtime finish
Mensah found Malachi Toney a 3-yard touchdown, and Miami went for two under the second-overtime rules. Toney took the snap and threw the conversion to Cooper Barkate, making it 43-35. Toney finished with 11 catches for 154 yards and two receiving touchdowns. He had briefly entered the medical tent earlier after limping off on what appeared to be a non-contact lower-leg issue but returned and stayed involved for the rest of the night.
Florida State appeared to answer with a 36-yard Daniels-to-Micahi Danzy touchdown in the second overtime, but the play was wiped out by an offensive holding penalty on Xavier Chaplin. After Miami pushed the Seminoles backward, Daniels threw into the end zone and Bryce Fitzgerald intercepted him to end the game. Replay reviewed the interception and upheld it, but it wasn't initially obvious who came down with the football. Fitzgerald had left earlier with an upper-body injury.
Injuries and other notes
Zechariah Poyser was ejected for targeting in the first quarter after hitting Daniels, who briefly went to the injury tent but returned. Florida State running back Ousmane Kromah was carted off with an ankle injury in the second quarter and finished with 44 yards on 14 carries.
Mensah completed 23 of 34 passes for 326 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. The pick was his first of the season after he entered the night with 15 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The bigger picture for Miami
Miami escaped and remains unbeaten, but the performance was nothing like its first five games. The defense almost gave up more points than it had allowed in its previous five games combined, but the Hurricanes still generated 583 yards and found a way to win their first late-game pressure test of the season.
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