The year was 2020 and The Flash was the number one show on the CW Network. A fresh-faced Mike Norvell was in year one of his coaching tenure at Florida State. To welcome Norvell to the rivalry, the Miami Hurricanes handed the Seminoles the biggest beatdown of their modern rivalry — a 52-10 massacre that would be followed up by history being made against Jacksonville State.
It’s now 2026, and while The Flash has met its end, the Norvell tenure has continued. On Saturday night, Miami may hand Florida State its worst loss in its storied history. The top-5 ranked Hurricanes have rolled their opponents to start the season and come this weekend, they may just cancel Norvell. To help us get to know this season’s Hurricanes, we welcome old friend Adam Lichtenstein from The Sun Sentinel.
The Miami Hurricanes roll into Saturday night not just undefeated, but undefeated with relative ease. Clemson’s defense put up a decent fight in the first half and Wake Forest kept it close-ish. How much of Miami’s fast start do you believe is legitimate and how much is still to be determined?
Lichtenstein: I think it is pretty legitimate. The Hurricanes jumped out to a 31-7 lead against Wake Forest before hitting a slump on offense. Part of that can be explained away by two key offensive players, Malachi Toney and Mark Fletcher Jr., getting banged up. Additionally, it doesn’t seem as bad now because the Demon Deacons are ranked after putting together some good results. The Clemson game felt like a classic “crockpotting” (fans of the The Solid Verbal podcast will recognize the term). Basically, Miami got out to an early lead and slowly but surely wore the Tigers down. The Tigers had a couple opportunities to get back into the game, but Miami kept them at arm’s length until Clemson broke in the second half. Then UM had the opportunity to roll over them and build their 11-point lead into a blowout.
Through five games, the Hurricanes have done pretty much everything that was expected of them. Their schedule has not been the most difficult, but in their one game against a good team, they went on the road and won by 13. When they have played average or bad teams, they’ve dispatched them like you would expect a top team to do.
Quarterback Darian Mensah finally has more incompletions than touchdowns and has yet to throw an interception. The Duke transfer is playing like one of the best signal callers in the nation? Do you expect that to slow down?
Lichtenstein: Not really. Mensah has been phenomenal, and the pass defenses he will face the rest of the season are not very good. Besides Notre Dame, Miami’s remaining opponents currently rank 114th (FSU), 110th (Pitt), 65th (UNC), 58th (Duke), 75th (Virginia Tech) and 19th (Boston College) in pass defense.
Do I expect Mensah to keep completing 85 percent of his passes? Maybe not. He will probably throw an interception at some point. But there is no reason he cannot have a fantastic season.
Mark Fletcher and Malachi Toney will undoubtedly terrorize Florida State fans this weekend. We’re obviously familiar with their talents but what other skill players should the readers be aware of for Saturday night?
Lichtenstein: Two offensive players to make a note of are Cooper Barkate and Javian Mallory. Barkate is a veteran, having started his college career at Harvard before transferring to Duke. He put up a 1,000-yard season for the Blue Devils last year and then followed Mensah to UM. Barkate started off a little slowly, but he took a screen pass 60 yards for a touchdown against Clemson and finished the game with 98 yards.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mallory is a freshman running back. Due to Marty Brown’s season-ending injury and his own performance, he has climbed the depth chart. He is a hard runner who is averaging 7.4 yards per carry.
If Florida State has any hope of slowing down this Miami offense it must do what one thing?
Lichtenstein: The ‘Noles have to slow down Malachi Toney, period. Full stop. A big reason why Clemson was still in the game into the second half was because the Tigers held Toney to a season-low 40 yards (he had a long touchdown catch called back on a procedural penalty).
That is, of course, easier said than done. Clemson put future NFL DB Ashton Hampton on Toney most of the night. I’m not sure if FSU has a corner who can match up like Hampton did. Very few teams do.
The defensive line lost stud Rueben Bain to the NFL but stars like Marquise Lightfoot, Damon Wilson, and Armondo Blount have filled in the gaps. How would you compare this year’s Hurricane defensive front to last years?
Lichtenstein: Miami lost Bain and Akheem Mesidor but has hardly missed a beat. Lightfoot has been very good to start the year. He left the Clemson game with an injury and did not return, but Mario Cristobal said Monday that Lightfoot will play this week. Wilson started out a little slowly, but he came alive against Clemson. He had 2.5 sacks and 11 quarterback pressures against the Tigers. Blount has been a bit banged up, but he’s been solid when he’s on the field. He has 1.5 sacks and 12 pressures.
I’m not surprised the Hurricanes’ front has been good. But Bain and Mesidor’s run-stopping ability was an underrated part of their game last year. Wilson and Lightfoot were primarily pass-rushers last year, but both have excelled at run defense. As a result, UM has the No. 1 rush defense in the nation.
Similar to the offensive side of the ball, does Miami’s defense have any weaknesses? Or do you expect Omar Thornton and the rest of the Miami defense to have their way against the Seminoles?
Lichtenstein: The weaknesses are few and far between. They have not been perfect in pass coverage, ranking 70th nationally with 207 yards allowed per game, and teams have been able to pick on UM’s linebackers in pass coverage occasionally.. But I don’t think Miami is really the 70th-best pass defense in the nation for a few reasons:
- Miami has trailed opponents for about two minutes this season. Most of the time so far this season, UM’s opponents have been playing catch-up, forcing them to pass more.
- The Hurricanes have absolutely shut down opponents’ running games. Teams have been forced to pass because that is the only way for them to move the ball.
- The Hurricanes’ secondary has been banged up this year. Starting cornerback OJ Frederique Jr. played two snaps before suffering an injury that will keep him out most of the season. Xavier Lucas has been out since the season opener, too. Ja’Boree Antoine has also been out since camp. The Hurricanes are missing three of their top five cornerbacks (and a fourth, Damari Brown, has been banged up, too). They have been playing Bryce Fitzgerald out of position at outside corner to fill the void.
I believe the Hurricanes’ pass defense will get better. Lucas will return from his injury this week, which will also allow Fitzgerald to move back to his usual safety role. It could also allow Miami to rotate Thornton, who has struggled in coverage at times, off the field in passing situations. All of that means the Hurricanes’ pass defense should improve.
What’s your prediction for Saturday?
Lichtenstein: I wouldn’t be shocked if FSU keeps things somewhat close for a little while. After all, the Seminoles were poised to go up 17-0 on Louisville last week and held a two-touchdown lead over Alabama. But ultimately, I think the Hurricanes are just much better. I think Miami ultimately wins by multiple scores. I’ll say 42-14.
Tell the readers where to find your work?
Lichtenstein: You can read all my work at www.sun-sentinel.com/tag/miami-hurricanes/, and I’m always active on Twitter (@ABLichtenstein) and BlueSky (@@adamlichtenstein.bsky.social).