FSU coach Jimbo Fisher
looks to continue his winning streak vs. Miami.
TALLAHASSEE — Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher has never lost to Miami.
Fisher’s Seminoles, re-energized with confidence after earning their first win of the season at Wake Forest last week, aspire to continue a streak that began in 2010.
FSU (1-2) is pushing for its eighth consecutive victory against the No. 13 Miami Hurricanes (3-0) today at 3:30 p.m. in Doak Campbell Stadium.
“They’re pretty amped up about it, and you can tell,” said FSU linebacker and North Carolina native Josh Brown of his teammates, especially those who grew up in Florida. “Even if they’re not saying anything, you can feel the tension just walking into practice. You can really feel everybody is ready to go.”
Both teams will finally renew their heated rivalry after Hurricane Irma postponed their matchup originally scheduled for Sept. 16. Devel-
oping Tropical Storm Nate caused both teams to be on high alert this week, but the the schools ultimately didn’t have to alter today’s game time.
FSU, ranked No. 3 in the preseason polls, has struggled after losing quarterback Deondre Francois to a season-ending injury suffered in the opener. The Seminoles have turned into a “work in progress” behind true freshman replacement quarterback James Blackman and FSU’s faulty defensive line.
A win could help the Seminoles stay on track and would give them the longest win streak in the rivalry series at eight games, surpassing this current streak and a sevengame run the Seminoles had over the Hurricanes from 1963-72.
“You always want to keep that going because you understand the importance of the rivalry,” Fisher said earlier this week. “It’s one of the reasons you play at Florida State. It’s one of the great rivalries in college football.”
Added Mark Richt, who is in his second season as Miami coach: “I’ve been here a year of it and our players have been here, one, two or three years of it. So it’s time to make this a true rivalry.”
While the current group of Seminoles do not want to be the players who end the streak, the Hurricanes hope they can avenge a pile of losses to FSU, which won the rivalry showdown last season thanks to standout defensive end Demarcus Walker’s effort to block a UM extra point attempt.
Miami quarterback Malik Rosier says FSU’s win streak is “bothersome,” while receiver Braxton Berrios is slightly more than bothered.
“It’s inexcusable to have lost to them seven straight times and especially the ways we’ve lost and how close most of the games have been,” Berrios said. “At least when I was here, we’ve led in every single fourth quarter and so in one word, it’s inexcusable.”
Miami enters the game as the only ranked team for the first time since 1983 and FSU is off to a 1-2 start for the first time since 1989. But the Hurricanes are not taking the Seminoles lightly due to their slow start.
“FSU is never a ‘down’ team,” UM offensive lineman Kc McDermott said. “They may have a bad game here and there and they may have unfortunate issues that arise, but they are always going to — especially with us — come out playing tough. They are going to give us their very best and we have to be prepared for it.”
FSU, which dropped from the Associated Press Top 25 rankings after losses to Alabama and NC State, will field one of its weakest offenses in the Fisher era against a Hurricanes team looking to contend for the school’s first Coastal Division title since joining the ACC in 2004.
While the Seminoles believe their Wake Forest win can be a catalyst for the rest of the season, beating their long-time rival for the eighth consecutive time could be a better litmus test for the team’s potential to improve.
“It just made us come more together and have a tighter bond with each other,” defensive tackle Fred Jones said of FSU’s slow start. “Now we have to bring ourselves together as one team, and fight against the world.”
“It’s one of the reasons you play at Florida State. It’s one of the great rivalries in college football.” FSU coach Jimbo Fisher