Miami Hurricanes. Florida State Seminoles.
Need we say more?
The third-ranked Hurricanes (5-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) host the Seminoles (3-3, 1-2 ACC) in a pivotal rivalry game at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. with the game broadcast on ESPN.
Follow along throughout the game for score updates, thoughts, commentary and analysis.
Poyser ejected, Fitzgerald hurt … defense still gets a stop
Miami’s secondary was hit with a double-dose of bad news.
First, Bryce Fitzgerald went to the locker room with an upper-body injury. Then, safety Zechariah Poyser was ejected for targeting on FSU quarterback Ashton Daniels.
Despite the absences of two key members of Miami’s secondary, the defense still forced a turnover on downs by stuffing FSU on a fourth and goal attempt from the 2-yard line to maintain the 7-0 lead.
Fletcher touchdown
Birthday boy Mark Fletcher Jr. with a 7-yard rushing touchdown to cap an 11-play, 86-yard touchdown drive.
Miami up 7-0 on FSU with 7:32 left in the first quarter.
Two of Darian Mensah’s bigger throws on the drive to set up the score: An 18-yard catch-and-run with Cooper Barkate on third down to get Miami to near midfield and a 30-yard contested catch up the middle by Malachi Toney to get the Hurricanes just outside the red zone — both on third down. Miami went 3 for 3 on third down.
Canes defense opens with a stop
The Seminoles got to near midfield on their opening drive, but Miami’s defense held for a stop to force an FSU punt.
No major news on final availability report
The Atlantic Coast Conference’s final availability report for the game, released at 5 p.m., provided no major surprises for the Hurricanes.
Six UM players are listed as out for Saturday: Cornerbacks OJ Frederique and Ja’Boree Antoine, wide receiver Josh Moore, running back CharMar “Marty” Brown, offensive lineman Max Buchanan and tight end Luka Gilbert.
All six were already ruled out before the game.
Miami Hurricanes schedule
Week 1 — Miami 45, Stanford 6: Darian Mensah threw for more than 400 yards and five touchdowns, Malachi Toney caught three of those touchdowns and had a school-record 234 receiving yards, and the defense held the Cardinal out of the end zone for a season-opening rout.
Week 2 — Miami 77, Florida A&M 7: The Hurricanes scored early and often in a record-setting win against the FCS-level Rattlers.
Week 3 — Miami 33, Wake Forest 20: Darian Mensah completed his first 24 passes to help Miami build a commanding lead that withstood a late Demon Deacons rally attempt to improve to 3-0 and 2-0 in conference play.
Week 4 — Miami 52, Central Michigan 3: Darian Mensah was nearly perfect again, the starting offense scored on six of seven drives and Miami rolled to a win over the Chippewas.
Week 5 — Miami 41, Clemson 13: Darian Mensah threw for a touchdown and ran for another in the first half, Mark Fletcher Jr. ran for two of his own in the second half, and the Hurricanes’ defense came up with big plays all night as Miami easily handled Clemson.
Week 6: Bye
Week 7: Tonight
Week 8: Pittsburgh, Oct. 24, Hard Rock Stadium, noon, ESPN or ABC
Week 9; at North Carolina, Oct. 31, Kenan Memorial Stadium, time and TV TBA
Week 10: at Notre Dame, Nov. 7, Notre Dame Stadium, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Week 11: Duke, Nov. 14, Hard Rock Stadium, time and TV TBA
Week 12: Virginia Tech, Nov. 21, Hard Rock Stadium, time and TV TBA
Week 13: Boston College, Nov. 28, Hard Rock Stadium, time and TV TBA
Pregame Miami Hurricanes reading
Need to catch up before kickoff? Here are the highlights of the Miami Herald’s coverage over the past few days.
Ryan Rodriguez ‘never gave up.’ Now, he’s integral for the Miami Hurricanes
As Miami Hurricanes prepare for FSU, the goal is to ‘go out there and represent’
FSU has a key weakness in losses. The Hurricanes have playmakers to expose it
As players return, Miami Hurricanes’ defensive versatility will be on full display
Freshman Ben Congdon making his family proud as he pushes for bigger Hurricanes role
This story was originally published October 17, 2026 at 5:30 PM.
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Miami Herald
Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.