Led by Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor Miami was dominant defensively against a Florida offensive line that entered the game on Saturday as one of the best nationally. Bain received a 93.8 grade from Pro Football Focus and Mesidor 83.3 as the two highest graded Miami players against Florida.
Bain had a 92.4 pass rush grade, 10 pressures, seven tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss, 0.5 sack and one quarterback hit against Florida. Mesidor had nine pressures, 4.0 tackles, 0.5 TFLs, 0.5 sacks and two QB hits. The Miami DL has dominated Florida and Notre Dame who had top 10 offensive lines entering the 2025 season.
Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus said "this Miami defensive line is completely unblockable. I don't think there's a single offensive line in college football that has a chance (to block them)." Chadwick also mentioned Bain is the highest graded player by PFF nationally.
The constant pressure from Bain and Mesidor significantly helped the Miami secondary. Florida quarterback D.J. Lagway's longest completion against Miami was for 10 yards. Lagway had only one other completion of at least 10 yards against Miami.
"Miami made Florida had the worst pass blocking grade in the history of PFF by over 24 points. is the worst pass blocking grade by a team all season. It's the worst pass blocking grade by a team since 2020 when Kansas had a 0.0 against Oklahoma...Miami got a pressure on 79% of dropbacks in this game with a 93% pass rush win rate."Max Chadwick, Pro Football Focus
Chadwick and his co-host Dalton Wasserman on the PFF podcats continued to praise the Miami DL. Chadwick stated the Miami DL is the best unit nationally. Wasserman noted "Rueben Bain's leading the power four in pressures. Ahkeem Mesidor is tied for fourth. They've combined for 41 pressures in four games. They combined for 19 in this game."
Florida averaged 2.7 yards per play and had a negative 0.715 expected points added. Florida had a 39 PFF grade offensively and a 2.3 pass blocking grade. Florida entered the game against Miami with the third best pass blocking grade in college football per Chadwick.
"Rueben Bain is a monster...The way this guy is playing right now, 93.8 8 PFF grade (versus Florida), 10 pressures and a sack on 29 snaps, 45% pass rush win rate, two run defense stops and a tackle for loss...92.5 pass rush grade, 92.1 run grade, "Chadwick and Wasserman, PFF
Florida had only two runs of 10 or more yards. Both long runs came on the only scoring drive Florida had against Miami when the Gators cut the deficit to 13-7 in the third quarter. The 11-play 80 yard touchdown drive was more than half of the 141 yards Florida had against Miami.
Miami is 15th nationally allowing 11.5 points per game and with opponents averaging 244.5 yards per game, 13th permitting 76.25 rushing yards per game and 26th with the opposition gaining 168.3 passing yards per game. Miami has been dominant defensively through four games.
The Hurricanes defensive dominance has included ranked opponents Notre Dame and South Florida and Florida who is 12th in the 247Sports 2025 Team Talent Composite. After its game at Florida State on October 4, it is difficult to see many games that the Miami defense will be challenged.