Florida State rallies past Miami, stays unbeaten

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Breaking down No. 2 Florida State's 30-26 victory at Miami.
THE BIG PICTURE: They did it again. Should have lost to Clemson. Needed a penalty call on the last play to beat Notre Dame. Down big at Louisville. Woulda, coulda, shoulda: Florida State is easy to scare and really, really, really hard to beat. Down 23-7 against a Miami team playing with supreme confidence, the Seminoles chipped away and chipped away until they got the situation they wanted: Down by a field goal, 5:11 left, 62 yards from the end zone.
BOX SCORE: No. 2 Florida State 30, Miami 26
And to no one's surprise by this point, quarterback Jameis Winston engineered a touchdown drive to take the lead and ultimately win the game. Now, the 10-0 Seminoles have an even clearer path to the College Football Playoff with just Boston College, Florida and the ACC championship game remaining.
Meanwhile, this is a heartbreaker and a missed program-rejuvenating opportunity for Miami, which has played better late in the season. The Hurricanes dominated the first quarter (183-14 in yards) and had plenty of chances to extend the lead even further. But a missed extra point in the first quarter and a missed 26-yard field goal right before the end of the first half (which followed a dropped touchdown) and a turnover in the third quarter after a long completion gave the Seminoles just enough of an opening to come back.

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THE DECIDING PLAY: For most of the second half, it felt like Florida State was on the verge of coming back to take the lead. But the Seminoles didn't actually do it until 3:05 remained when freshman running back Dalvin Cook broke through tackles at the line of scrimmage, sprinted toward the right sideline and out-ran the second level of Miami's defense for a 26-yard touchdown. The ensuing extra point gave Florida State a 30-26 lead.
Though that play capped Florida State's 62-yard drive, a couple others were key including a close call — incomplete or fumble — on a pass toward Nick O'Leary that went in the Seminoles' favor. The Seminoles also got 14 yards on a screen to Cook after a holding penalty put them into first-and-20.
TOP PLAY: The Seminoles have had so many bounces at key times go their way this year, they almost seem blessed. It looked like that might be the case again with 4:19 left in the third quarter with Miami holding a 23-10 lead and trying to keep Florida State out of the end zone. On third-and-goal from the 11, Miami had the play sniffed out. Defensive end Tyriq McCord came off a block and got his arms in Winston's passing lane, tipping the ball high up into the air at the line of scrimmage. But just the Seminoles' luck: It found its way into the arms of running back Karlos Williams, who had a clear path to the end zone from there to bring them within one score.
KEY STAT: Freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya started hot for Miami, completing seven of his first 10 passes, including a 61-yard touchdown strike to Clive Walford to help build a 23-7 lead with 11:37 left in the first half. During that time, Miami also converted seven of its first eight third down attempts. But one big reason the Hurricanes were stuck on 23 points until 11:01 left in the game was that Kaaya completed just nine of his next 23 passes, and Miami converted just three of its next eight 10 downs.