MIAMI GARDENS — When in danger, the Hurricanes turned to their superstar.
Malachi Toney scored the game-winning touchdown in double overtime and tossed the two-point conversion that helped seal the victory as No. 3 Miami (6-0, 4-0 ACC) survived an upset scare from their biggest rival with a two-overtime, 43-35 win over Florida State (3-4, 1-3 ACC) at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday night. It was the Hurricanes’ third straight win over their rival.
Miami took a lead with a touchdown pass from Darian Mensah to Elija Lofton late in the fourth quarter, but Florida State struck back with a 75-yard score from Ashton Daniels to Duce Robinson, forcing overtime.
Daniels hit Robinson again for a 20-yard score in overtime, and Miami freshman running back Javian Mallory responded with his second score of the game to tie the game at 35. Darian Mensah tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Malachi Toney in the second overtime. Required to go for two, Toney took a handoff and tossed a 2-point conversion to Cooper Barkate.
The Miami defense sacked Daniels on the first play of FSU’s drive and kept him from accomplishing anything on the drive, securing the victory. It appeared that Florida State might have scored a potential game-tying touchdown on fourth and long, but a holding call wiped out the 36-yard penalty. Daniels heaved the ball downfield on fourth and 30 from the 46 again, and it was intercepted by Bryce Fitzgerald.
The game did not originally seem to be so topsy-turvy. Miami was a three-touchdown favorite, and the game started off according to plan for the Hurricanes. After Miami forced a punt on FSU’s first drive, the Hurricanes marched down the field. Malachi Toney found space between three Seminole defenders for a 30-yard catch, which helped set up Mark Fletcher Jr.’s 7-yard touchdown run to give UM an early lead.
Florida State moved the ball on its next drive — aided by a Zechariah Poyser targeting penalty that resulted in the safety being ejected from the game — but opted to go for it on 4th and goal from the 2-yard line. Miami linebacker Chase Smith stopped Seminoles running back Ousmane Kromah short of the goal line, forcing a turnover on downs.
FSU knotted the game at seven when quarterback Ashton Daniels found Desirrio Riles for a 23-yard touchdown pass on a screen early in the second quarter.
The Seminoles did a good job getting after Miami quarterback Darian Mensah, getting a sack and forcing him to move in the pocket. But Mensah evaded FSU defenders on a key play early in the second quarter, escaping two would-be tacklers and throwing downfield to a wide-open Daylyn Upshaw for a 44-yard gain. That pass set up a 14-yard touchdown pass from Mensah to Toney, giving the Hurricanes the lead again.
Florida State coach Mike Norvell opted to test the UM defense on fourth down inside the Miami 10-yard line for a second time with about four minutes left in the first half, and the Hurricanes’ defense stopped the Seminoles again. FSU forced Miami to punt from deep in its own territory.
Two penalties on the punt return gave the Seminoles great field position, and they scored on a Daniels run. But FSU lost standout running back Ousmane Kromah to a left leg injury on the drive.
Miami’s offensive scuffles continued into the second half. The Hurricanes were driving the ball, but Mensah, escaping pressure, threw to Cooper Barkate in the end zone; FSU defensive back Ashlynd Barker picked off the pass. It was Mensah’s first interception of the season.
FSU took its first lead of the game with 4:09 left in the third quarter when Daniels hit Quintrevion Wisner for a 28-yard pass. The Hurricanes could not convert on their first potential game-tying drive, but after Toney hauled in a 35-yard pass and ran on a 30-yard handoff, Javian Mallory scored the game-tying touchdown from 2 yards out.
The Hurricanes took the lead back after Xavier Lucas, who was playing in his first game since suffering an injury in the season opener, recovered a Desirrio Riles fumble (forced by Ethan O’Connor). Miami moved down the field, getting a crucial third-down catch from Daylyn Upshaw, and scored on a 3-yard pass to tight end Elija Lofton.
Daniels responded immediately with a 75-yard, game-tying touchdown to Duce Robinson, keeping the Seminoles in the game and forcing overtime. Daniels tossed one overtime touchdown to Robinson, but they could not score in the second overtime.
Five takeaways
1. Gut-check time
The Hurricanes faced their fiercest adversity on Saturday. Their biggest rival had a lead and forced overtime.
Miami responded and reclaimed the lead. When FSU forced overtime, the Hurricanes responded with a pair of scores for the win.
2. Mensah not superhuman
Mensah had the worst game of his short UM career. He threw his first interception in the third quarter (though FSU could not capitalize on it).
The Miami star finished the game 23 of 34 for 325 yards and three touchdowns.
3. Penalties hurt
Miami could not get out of its own way, gifting Florida State yards with penalties. Miami had seven penalties for 68 yards in the first half alone.
The Hurricanes set up a relatively easy score for the Seminoles near the end of the half. A facemask on Bobby Pruitt and an unsportsmanlike conduct on Keona Davis during a punt return set FSU up at the Miami 15-yard line, and the Seminoles scored three plays later to tie the game.
Multiple UM drives were stalled by penalties, including a late first-half drive that effectively ended when Mensah threw an illegal forward pass.
The Hurricanes cleaned up the penalties in the second half and did not record a foul in the last two quarters.
4. Red-zone stops
Norvell, the embattled FSU coach, tried to go for the Hurricanes’ jugular when inside the Miami 10-yard line. He opted to go for it on fourth down twice, but both times, UM stopped FSU.
If Norvell had opted for field goals on those drives, he could have had a 20-14 halftime lead.
5. More injuries
The Hurricanes finally started getting some good injury news the week of the FSU game. Marquise Lightfoot, who left the Clemson game with an injury, returned for Saturday’s game. Additionally, cornerback Xavier Lucas, who had been out since the season opener against Stanford, returned to the field.
But the Hurricanes have been snakebitten by injuries, and more players were banged up Saturday. Starting defensive back Bryce Fitzgerald suffered an injury on the first play of the game but returned in the second quarter. He left the game again in the second quarter and returned again. Linebacker Mo Toure also suffered an injury in the second quarter and returned to the game.