The Miami-Florida State rivalry is known for its close games. Multiple games have been decided on missed field goals.

But that is not the expectation from outside observers this year. The No. 3 Hurricanes (5-0, 3-0 ACC) are 21.5-point favorites to beat the Seminoles (3-3, 1-2 ACC), but Miami does not expect Saturday night’s game at Hard Rock Stadium (7 p.m., ESPN) to be a cake walk.

“Overall, a talented group,” Hurricanes quarterback Darian Mensah said. “… They could have a few more wins on their record if they played right. So I think that they’re a talented squad.”

“For me, personally, it’s always been the greatest rivalry in sports,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “They’ve got a really talented football team, several NFL prospects, a lot of future draftees on their current roster, a lot of experience, very talented, very experienced. They play hard, they play physical. They’re explosive on both sides of the ball. They’re disruptive on defense and explosive on offense. Really good football team, some really good coaches and some really good and challenging schemes.”

Florida State has scared opponents this season. The Seminoles went on the road and took a 21-6 lead over Alabama, which is now the No. 6 team in the nation. But FSU’s defense collapsed, giving up 44 more points in an eventual 50-36 loss.

It was a similar story last week against Louisville. Florida State took a 14-0 lead early in the game and was driving to take a three-score lead. But a failed fourth-down conversion helped spark the Cardinals, and Louisville out-scored FSU 44-6 the rest of the way to win 44-20.

With speculation about the future of FSU coach Mike Norvell’s job running rampant, the down-and-out Seminoles might seem to be ripe for a blowout. But while the Hurricanes were off during their bye week last week, they saw an example of what can happen in a heated rivalry game.

Texas, then ranked No. 1 in the nation, faced unranked rival Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. The Longhorns were an 8.5-point favorite. But the Sooners pulled off an upset, winning 27-24.

“Since Game 1, (Cristobal) has always been saying that anything can happen. So we approach every game the same,” Miami safety Zechariah Poyser said. “But, yeah, that does go to show that anything can happen on any given night. So we prepare the same as we would for any team. That’s definitely something that was eye-opening.”

Said Mensah: “I think with rivalry games, no matter how high-ranked one team is and the disparity between the teams, it’s always going to be a dog fight. And we’ve prepared ourselves for that this week during practice. We know it’s going to be a war out there. … I’m super excited to be a part of the rivalry.”

FSU has struggled to move the ball through the air with quarterback Ashton Daniels, ranking 80th nationally in passing offense. But the Seminoles have had success on the ground. In its 38-7 win over Virginia, FSU ran for 281 yards and five touchdowns. Daniels ran for 136 yards, and running back Ousmane Kromah ran for 80.

“He’s gotten light-years better, if I’m being honest,” linebacker Mohamed Toure said of Kromah. “He looks like a totally different running back. When I watched him this season, he’s electric. He’s bouncing off of guys. He’s breaking tackles. He’s taking stuff to the house. So it’s definitely going to be a challenge, and … I’m looking forward to it.”

But FSU’s offensive strength matches up with Miami’s defensive strength. The Hurricanes have the No. 1 rush defense in the nation, allowing just 42.6 rushing yards per game. The Hurricanes’ defense will also get a boost this week, as defensive lineman Marquise Lightfoot and cornerback Xavier Lucas are expected to return to action. Lucas has been out since the season opener against Stanford; Lightfoot left the Clemson win with an injury and did not return to the game.

Miami will have extra incentive to go for the jugular against its rival on Saturday night. Dozens of top recruits, including seven five-star prospects from the 2028 class, will be in attendance. Putting on an impressive show for the prospects could help sway the players to UM.

But Cristobal said the focus is on the field, saying the best thing that the team can do for recruiting is play well.

“Our focus is on playing well, knowing that we have a really good football team that we’re playing against and that all of our focus has to be poured into play preparation and practicing the right way,” Cristobal said.