MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Darian Mensah threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns, the last of them a 3-yarder to Malachi Toney in the second overtime, and No. 3 Miami held on to beat archrival Florida State 43-35 in a back-and-forth classic on Saturday night.
asserted
Miami → throw → night
Toney had 11 catches for 154 yards and two scores, plus threw a 2-point conversion pass to Cooper Barkate after his OT score for Miami (6-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
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Toney → have → Miami
Bryce Fitzgerald sealed the win with an interception for the Hurricanes on the final play.
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Fitzgerald → seal → play
Mensah completed 23 of 34 passes for Miami, which has now won seven of its last 10 games against the Seminoles.
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which → complete → Seminoles
Javian Mallory rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns, including one in the first OT and Mark Fletcher Jr. added a rushing score for the Hurricanes.
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Jr. → rush → Hurricanes
“That was something else,” Mensah said in the televised on-field interview.
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Mensah → say → interview
Ashton Daniels threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns for Florida State (3-4, 1-3).
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Daniels → throw → State
Duce Robinson had a pair of TD catches late, including a 75-yarder that tied the game with 2:49 left in regulation and a 20-yard score to open the first overtime.
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that → have → overtime
The Seminoles lost top rusher Ousmane Kromah late in the first half with a left leg injury.
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Seminoles → lose → injury
Florida State appeared to give itself a chance when Daniels connected on a fourth-and-21, 36-yard heave that would have made it 43-41 — only to have the play called back by holding.
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play → appear → holding
The next play was a heave into a maze of bodies in the end zone, called an interception before going to review.
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play → call → review
Fitzgerald was ruled to have come down with the ball, and the Hurricanes stormed the field in celebration.
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Hurricanes → rule → celebration
Back and forth they went, the whole night seeing one team going up by seven points and the other coming back to tie it.
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other → go → it
The drama went all the way to the end, with Miami — after a turnover — taking a 28-21 lead late in the fourth quarter on a 3-yard pass from Mensah to Lofton.
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Miami → go → Lofton
That lead lasted 10 seconds.
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lead → last → ?
Daniels found Duce Robinson for what became a 75-yard Florida State score one play later, knotting the game once again.
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what → find → game
Miami couldn’t score on the ensuing drive, and OT awaited.
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OT → score → drive
Miami had leads of 7-0 and 14-7; FSU tied the game both times.
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FSU → have → game
FSU went up 21-14; Miami answered to tie that time.
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Miami → go → ?
The Hurricanes went back on top; FSU answered.
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FSU → go → top
FSU scored first in overtime; Miami answered.
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Miami → score → overtime
In the end, Florida State ran out of answers.
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State → run → answers
“Florida State does an awesome job of coming out fast,” Mensah said.
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Mensah → do → job
“We did an awesome job of just rallying.”
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We → do → job
The takeaway
Florida State: Starting with the 2023 Orange Bowl debacle against Georgia, the Seminoles have now lost 14 consecutive games away from Tallahassee and are 0-13 since 2016 in true road games against ranked teams.
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Seminoles → start → teams
Mensah had gone 153 passes to start his Miami career without throwing an interception, a streak that ended when he tried to force one to Barkate in the end zone during the third quarter.
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he → go → quarter
Ashlynd Barker made the interception for Florida State, preserving what was then a 14-14 tie.
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what → make → State
The Seminoles’ loss last week at Louisville was sparked by a fourth-and-2 stop near the goal line, and Florida State had two such fourth-down misfires from inside the Miami 5 on Saturday.
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State → spark → Saturday
But the Seminoles also had two big stops on fourth downs in the second half, including on a fourth-and-2 from inside the red zone early in the fourth quarter as Miami came up empty — as FSU held onto a 21-14 lead.
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FSU → have → lead
Up next
Florida State: Host Clemson on Oct. 31.
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State → host → Oct.
Miami: Host Pitt on Oct. 24.
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Miami → host → Oct.
The Aporia
