Canes / Noles Rivalry Is Back to Greatness

The game between Florida St. and Miami last night was a fantastic game. It was reminiscent of the great games back in the late 80s and early 90s. It went down to the wire like it should, with the Hurricanes defeating the Seminoles 38-34 with an FSU receiver being unable to hold on to what would have been a Christian Ponder winning touchdown pass for the Noles.

This game had everything you would expect in an FSU-Miami rivalry: big plays by both the offenses and defenses of both teams. Also, what would a Florida St.-Miami game be without a mistake by an FSU kicker. Noles Freshman Kicker Dustin Hopkins hit a 52 yard field goal near the end of the first half to give the Seminoles a 10-7 lead at halftime. However, he shanked an extra point and almost missed another one. The second one hit the right upright and bounced through, but that first missed PAT came back to haunt the Noles as they had to score a touchdown with 9 seconds left in the game because they were 4 points down, not 3.

Both teams have a chance to win the ACC Title. The road will be hard with the likes of Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Clemson and a resurgent North Carolina team. The ACC had a bad weekend with Duke and Virginia losing to Div l-AA opponents Richmond and William & Mary, and NC St. not able to score a touchdown in a loss to South Carolina. Virginia Tech losing in a hard fought game to Alabama is disappointing for the conference, but understandable.

Both FSU and Miami have shown the nation that the rivalry is back where it should be: having national championship implications. It should be exciting to see if at the end of the year, one or both of these two in-state rivals is in the running for the ACC Title and more.