POSTED OCT. 21 AT 1:43 A.M.
Down by five with 2:44 to play, the Hurricanes finally broke out of their rut in a big way. Freshman running back Graig Cooper and quarterback Kirby Freeman engineered a game-winning drive to near perfection, as they took the ball 80 yards for the score.
The drive was marked by three Cooper runs of eight, 10 and 13 yards and three Freeman passes for 16, 21 and 13 yards. The 13 yard touchdown pass, from Freeman to tight end Dedrick Epps, was the only touchdown pass thrown by a Miami quarterback in the game.
If this was not enough, on the ensuing FSU possession, with the score Miami up 30-29, linebacker Colin McCarthy recovered a Xavier Lee fumble and took it 28 yards to the house, icing the game in favor of the Hurricanes.
This year’s matchup between the Miami Hurricanes and the Florida State Seminoles was marked by more scoring than the past two years combined, as the Hurricanes edged the Seminoles 37-29.
This rivalry game for the Hurricanes was heightened by a number of interesting side stories.
Unlike the past several seasons, this year’s game was an offensive instead of a defensive game. The Hurricanes’ defense cannot be overlooked though, as they kept the Seminoles out of the end zone for most of the game, holding them to five field goals and only two touchdowns.
The kickers were also on top of their games this week. The game did come down to the final minutes, as fans are accustomed to, but unlike past years, the kickers were not the ones responsible for a last minute decision. Miami’s Daren Daly was 1-for-1 on field goals, while FSU’s Gary Cismesia was 5-for-5 on his field goals. Miami kicker Francesco Zampogna also threw a 26 yard touchdown on a fake field goal.
The Hurricanes overcame some in-game adversity on their way to victory, as they saw a number of players, including quarterbacks Kyle Wright and Kirby Freeman as well as offensive lineman Jason Fox, leave the game with injury.
At the end of the day, it was the Hurricanes’ Cooper, Freeman, Epps, and McCarthy who stole the spotlight with their late game heroics, leading the Hurricanes to a 37-29 victory over the Seminoles. The win snaps a two-game losing skid against the Seminoles and the two-game losing streak the Hurricanes were currently on.
Pravin Patel may be contacted at p.patel7@umiami.edu.