TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Hurricanes and Seminoles must wait another year to continue their bitter rivalry, in which the tension nearly overflowed as the teams rushed toward one another at midfield just before the final quarter began Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium.
The fire, of course, was eventually contained by officials, but for UM it got out of control as the seconds ticked toward 0:00. What happens next is the program’s biggest question — the future of UM coach Manny Diaz, the team’s upcoming finish, the early signing day among the subplots.
The first three quarters of Miami’s 31-28 loss at Florida State were strikingly similar to the first three quarters of the season. The first half for UM (5-5, 3-3) was basically dreadful, with the turnaround beginning soon after.
On Saturday, the Hurricanes’ fourth-quarter collapse not only ended their rivalry and overall winning streaks, and not only took them out of Atlantic Coast Conference contention, but dredged up memories of how recent Hurricanes seasons have ended.
Bad endings
Last year, after starting 8-1, with their only loss to No. 1 Clemson, the Canes rose to No. 9 before folding against North Carolina in the regular-season finale and Oklahoma State in the Cheez-It Bowl.
The year before, they were 6-4 before falling to FIU and Duke to end their regular season and getting shut out by Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl in Manny Diaz’s first year as head coach.
Even going back to Mark Richt’s tenure, Miami ended 2018 with five losses in its last seven games and ended 2017 with three straight losses after starting the season 10-0.
The Hurricanes next meet Virginia Tech (5-5, 3-3) for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff (ACC Network) Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. They close the regular season Nov. 27 at Duke (3-7, 0-6) in Durham, North Carolina. Miami needs to win one of the two to reach a bowl game.
“Those guys are going to learn from this,’’ Diaz said. “This will not sit well. This defeat will be hard for our guys. It’s emotional there. But they can use this as fuel. This is what this rivalry is all about.
“That was the proper Miami-Florida State game. It’s been a few years since we had one of those. And they’ll know. They’ll understand what this game will mean when we get them back at Hard Rock next year.”
Tight end Mallory, who said after the game he was proud of his teammates for how they “fought back,’’ despite conceding that the offense dug itself in a hole with subpar play, believes his teammates are “sticking together, staying together to finish the season off strong.
“We do have a special team here,’’ Mallory said. “...I just wish we would have finished it.’’
Diaz’s future
Diaz’s future was looking grim after UM started 2-4, but he earned himself more breathing room with the three-game win streak that included two top-20 teams. Now, his status is once again in serious question. He could have hardly afforded any losses down the stretch, and falling to Miami’s biggest rival didn’t help. Even three impressive wins, which could include a bowl game, might not save him.
The players, at least through Saturday, appear to have not given up on their coach, as evidenced by their battling to the end.
However, if their undisciplined play continues, it won’t matter how hard they play for him.
Early ineptitude
The Canes committed a season-high 14 penalties for 105 yards, including five in FSU’s first drive.
After UM went three-and-out to start the game, the Hurricanes’ defense went to work — on committing penalties. Miami was penalized with offsides committed by linebackers Corey Flagg and Keontra Smith and striker Amari Carter, and personal fouls by safety James Williams and Smith.
“We were very undisciplined. That’s on us,’’ Flagg said. “We know that. It’s habits that happens in practice. Coach Diaz gets on us about it all the time. Probably for the game it’s not a shocker that it happened. Again, that’s on us. We gotta do better on our end.
“Coach gets on us about that all the time.We get punished for it. I mean that’s just on us, man. ...We beat ourselves.’’
Van Dyke woes
Offensively, quarterback Tyler Van Dyke added to the mishaps.
Van Dyke was intercepted on UM’s next two drives — the first on a ball intended for Key’Shawn Smith and picked off by Omarion Cooper; the second, on a ball that hit Mike Harley’s hands but was instead grabbed away by Jammie Robinson. FSU failed to score on both picks.
Things didn’t get better for the Canes. Backed up on his own 15-yard line, Van Dyke was strip-sacked by Jermaine Johnson. Derrick McLendon recovered the fumble at Miami’s 12, and Noles tailback Jashaun Corbin scored on the next play to make it 14-0 with 1:05 left in the first quarter.
After one quarter, Van Dyke was 3 of 11 for 13 yards and the two interceptions. At halftime, he was 9 of 21 for 96 yards and a touchdown. For the game, he was 25 of 47 for 316 yards and four touchdowns, with the two picks.
“It was tough,’’ Diaz said of Van Dyke. “He’s been so impressive, but he hasn’t seen the atmosphere of what he came into. It’s still your first Miami-Florida State game on the road and in the three trips of there now, that’s as rowdy a crowd as we’ve had to go against.
“It took him awhile to settle down. It took a lot of guys on our team awhile to settle down. He missed some throws. We had some guys deep... What was great about Tyler was he didn’t flinch, got back in the game, made some big-time plays.
”So, to me, the stats are one thing, but it’s the way he grew into the game and played in the second half. I’m very proud of him. “We forget, [he’s] still a young guy and a rookie on the road in very adverse conditions.”
