Hurricane's Upset No.18 Florida State 38-34

Sports Betting News - September 8th, 2009 - Written by Scott

The ACC showdown between rivals Florida State and Miami is usually a hard fought, emotional battle. Monday night's matchup was no different. Miami came into Tallahassee and defeated the 18th ranked Seminoles 38-34 in a game which had seven lead changes. It came down to the final second as Jarmon Fortson could not scoop up a low pass from quarterback Christian Ponder for the win. The win was crucial for Miami as they arguably face the toughest schedule to start the season.

The difference in the game was Miami's quarterback Jacory Harris who threw for 386 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Seminoles. The FSU defense could not find a way to stop the Hurricane's quarterback. It was his 40 yard pass to Travis Benjamin in double coverage that set up Graig Coopers's go ahead 3 yard touchdown run that put the Hurricanes ahead for good. The Seminoles drove down the field on their final drive, but could not capitalize and steal a win at home. Miami has won four out of its last five in Tallahassee.

Both teams showed their ability to put points on the board, as neither team showed any defensive advantage throughout the night. The kicking issues that have haunted the Seminoles in their past games against Miami came into play once again on Monday Night. Florida State kicker Dustin Hopkins missed an extra point in the third quarter that proved to be a defining moment in the game, this coming after his 53 yard field goal in the second quarter. Had he made this, FSU would have had an opportunity to kick a field goal in the final seconds to send the game into overtime.

Miami opened the game on their first possession with a 39 yard touchdown pass to Benjamin from Harris. The Seminoles responded with a 10 yard touchdown pass from Ponder to tight end Caz Piurowski. The lead would change throughout the night, but ultimately the end result was Miami's defense stopping the Seminoles on their final drive to seal the victory. Harris connected with Cooper for a 24-yard score to tie the game at 31. Florida State then took the lead again on Dustin Hopkins’ 45-yard field goal with 4:11 left. Miami responded by going 59 yards in six plays. Harris' pass to Benjamin would end up being crucial on third down. Cooper then scored from three yards out to put the Canes ahead for good.

Christian Ponder, who lit up the Canes a year ago with 144 yards rushing, ended the night with a career high 294 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. Florida state will have a short week to get ready for Saturday's game against Jacksonville State and a week later, face another tough matchup with BYU, who upset then No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday. The Hurricanes will begin a tough 3 game streak on September 17 against Georgia Tech.

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