Week 10; The 'U' and the NOLES
Week 10 is upon us. There are rivalry games and big conference matchups across the country this weekend. Some of these games could make or break a season for a couple teams...... One game in particular will make the BCS Title race a little more clear.
Two unbeaten teams in the top 10 will faceoff in Tallahassee on Saturday night. The Miami Hurricanes take on the Florida State Seminoles. This time, this game really means something. Sure, it still holds the bragging rights..... but now it has BCS Title implications. It's what the ACC dreamed of when they extended an invite to Miami to join the conference a decade ago. Since the Hurricanes have joined the ACC, they have been everything but good until now. Bad seasons and NCAA investigations have defined what Miami has been since joining the ACC..... Now they appear to be back on track. Al Golden has Miami relevant again.
Let's be real for a moment, though. Miami might not be what their ranking says. They have yet to be tested. What about their game against Florida? It's obvious, the Gators played a bad game..... And besides that, the Gators' offense was never anything special (and still isn't anything special). Miami has not faced an offense like what Florida State has to offer. However, on the other side, Miami looks like they could have success against Florida State's defense. Miami's offense likes the power run formations a little more than most of who Florida State has played thus far. FSU fans should think back to the Boston College game. The Eagles had huge success running the ball against the Noles. So Miami has to be thinking about the run game being a key part of getting the upset in Tallahassee.
Florida State has the momentum coming in to make this another dominating performance. They destroyed NC State last week when most people had that game tagged as a trap game. Anybody ever see a trap game that was 35-0 at the end of the first quarter? Of course not, and that is what's different about Florida State this season. Previous seasons Florida State's offense would be up and down like a roller-coaster. There were games they looked unstoppable and then there were games like last year's road game against NC State where the offense just looked lost. Not this season.... Florida State has put up 41 or more points in every game this season, including 51 points on the road AT CLEMSON. This offense is the best we've seen since....... since the 90's.....but I would even go on a limb and say that this offense looks better than what fans saw during the 90's. Even the offense we saw from the Noles during that decade had games where they slowed down a bit and didn't look as consistent as what we are seeing this year.
Okay, so I am saying this offense is pretty good, obviously. What about FSU not having a 1,000 yard rusher in the last 16 years? Well, it looks like that drought may come to an end this season. Devonta Freeman is on pace to break 1,000 yards, and I don't think this week is going to slow him down. He plays particularly well against Miami. He is from the Miami area, and playing against his hometown team gives him a little something extra.... Freeman feels like he has something to prove when he steps on the field against the Hurricanes.
This will be an instant classic, no matter what the score is at the end. It's a conference game. It's a top 10 matchup.... It's a rivalry game.... ESPN's College Game Day will be there. The atmosphere will be everything you would expect from a big time matchup. Doak Campbell will be louder than it has been in a long time. Not a Hurricane fan? Not a Seminole fan? Who cares!?!?! Watch the game because there aren't many rivalries like the FSU vs Miami rivalry...... The SEC can sit in the back seat this weekend.... Their big matchup this weekend? How about a 3:30pm game featuring two SEC "Juggernauts"..... UNRANKED Georgia takes on UNRANKED Florida.... One game matters this weekend, and it's not in the SEC. Too soon?
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