The Miami-Florida State rivalry is known for its close games. Multiple games have been decided on missed field goals.<\/p>\n
But that is not the expectation from outside observers this year. The No. 3 Hurricanes<\/a> (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\u2019s game at Hard Rock Stadium<\/a> (7 p.m., ESPN) to be a cake walk.<\/p>\n \u201cOverall, a talented group,\u201d Hurricanes quarterback Darian Mensah said. \u201c\u2026 They could have a few more wins on their record if they played right. So I think that they\u2019re a talented squad.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, personally, it\u2019s always been the greatest rivalry in sports,\u201d Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. \u201cThey\u2019ve 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\u2019re explosive on both sides of the ball. They\u2019re disruptive on defense and explosive on offense. Really good football team, some really good coaches and some really good and challenging schemes.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s defense collapsed, giving up 44 more points in an eventual 50-36 loss.<\/p>\n It was a similar story last week against Louisville.<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n With speculation about the future of FSU coach Mike Norvell\u2019s job<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cSince Game 1, (Cristobal) has always been saying that anything can happen. So we approach every game the same,\u201d Miami safety Zechariah Poyser said. \u201cBut, 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\u2019s definitely something that was eye-opening.\u201d<\/p>\n Said Mensah: \u201cI think with rivalry games, no matter how high-ranked one team is and the disparity between the teams, it\u2019s always going to be a dog fight. And we\u2019ve prepared ourselves for that this week during practice. We know it\u2019s going to be a war out there. \u2026 I\u2019m super excited to be a part of the rivalry.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s gotten light-years better, if I\u2019m being honest,\u201d linebacker Mohamed Toure said of Kromah. \u201cHe looks like a totally different running back. When I watched him this season, he\u2019s electric. He\u2019s bouncing off of guys. He\u2019s breaking tackles. He\u2019s taking stuff to the house. So it\u2019s definitely going to be a challenge, and \u2026 I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n But FSU\u2019s offensive strength matches up with Miami\u2019s defensive strength. The Hurricanes have the No. 1 rush defense in the nation, allowing just 42.6 rushing yards per game. The Hurricanes\u2019 defense will also get a boost this week, as defensive lineman Marquise Lightfoot and cornerback Xavier Lucas are expected to return to action<\/a>. Lucas has been out since the season opener against Stanford; Lightfoot left the Clemson win<\/a> with an injury and did not return to the game.<\/p>\n