Through the Smoke: A Miami Hurricanes football podcast · 247Sports, Miami, Miami Hurricanes, Miami football, Miami athletics, College Football

FSU Game Review: Miami's talent shines in Tallahassee

·40 min·2 clips

Miami's defense produced 42 quarterback pressures, with Bain at 11 and Mesidor at 8.

David Lake opens with a solo recap review of Miami's impressive 28-22 win over Florida State. He frames it as a re-watch and observations piece, not a victory lap. The main focus is Miami's defense and how it handled an FSU offense that had been producing big plays at a strong clip. Lake notes that the Seminoles had averaged 7.5 explosive plays per game against Alabama and Virginia before facing Miami. Against Miami, they managed only two plays of at least 20 yards. The biggest came early, when a 28-yard wheel route to running back Usman Kroma moved the ball but still ended in a field goal. Lake treats that sequence as a preview for the rest of the night. From there, Miami settled into a plan that took away the downfield throws and the side-to-side movement that usually opens things up for Florida State. He points to motions, jet sweeps, edge runs, end-arounds, and reverses as areas Miami shrank almost completely. FSU got three yards on two end-around attempts. A jet sweep lost yardage. Seven edge runs produced only 26 yards. The coverage plan mattered too. Miami played off the ball, protected against the run, and asked Tommy Castellanos to beat them from the pocket. Castellanos did not answer that challenge. He went 0-for-4 on deep throws and threw two interceptions. Lake says Miami gave up some easy completions to Deuce Robinson and a few others, but not enough to alter the game. He argues that the Hurricanes controlled the matchup at the line of scrimmage and in coverage. He also says the performance offers a blueprint for how opponents can frustrate Florida State, even if most teams do not have Miami's personnel. The episode closes by placing that result in broader season context, with Lake suggesting Florida State may still be closer to a seven- or eight-win team.

As heard by us

A defense-first rewatch that explains Miami's win without dressing it up.

David Lake's solo recap of Miami's 28-22 win over Florida State stays inside the defense. It keeps coming back to how the Hurricanes turned an explosive offense into something ordinary, with the two 20-plus-yard plays allowed, the first-drive wheel route that still ended in a…

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Need the cleanest read on how Miami squeezed Florida State in a 28-22 win without turning it into a victory lap?

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