Game Day Notes: Miami Hurricanes vs. Florida State ... how to watch, start time, game notes & more

3/#3 Miami (4-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. 18/#19 Florida State (3-1, 0-1 ACC)

Date: Saturday, October 4, 2025
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Tallahassee, Fla.
Stadium: Doak Campbell Stadium (67,277)
Series History: Miami leads, 36-33
Miami / Miami Gardens: Florida State leads, 21-19
Tallahassee: Miami leads, 16-12
Neutral Site: Miami leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Miami won, 36-14 (Oct. 26, 2024)
Television: ABC
Talent: Chris Fowler (play by play), Kirk Herbstreit (color),
Holly Rowe (sideline)
Radio: 104.3 WQAM
Talent: Joe Zagacki, Don Bailey, Jr., Josh Darrow
Spanish Radio: Radio Libre 790 AM
Talent: Alfredo Alvarez, Joe Martinez

MIAMI GAME NOTES

QUICK HITS

• The Miami Hurricanes continue their fourth season under the direction of head coach Mario Cristobal on Sat., Oct 4 at Doak Campbell Stadium against Florida State. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m on ABC.

• Miami posted its first 10-win season since 2017 and only its second 10-win season in the last 20 years in 2024. The Hurricanes also finished the season undefeated at home for the first time since 2002 (6-0).

• Fresh off a bye week, the Hurricanes improved to 4-0 for the third straight season with a 26-7 win over rival Florida last time out on Sept. 20. Miami’s defense held the Gators to 141 total yards in the victory.

• The Hurricanes opened 2025 with a thrilling 27-24 win over #6/#6 Notre Dame in their season opener on Aug. 31. A sold-out crowd saw Miami earn its first top-10 win since a 2017 victory, also over the Irish.

• Miami topped Florida State, 36-14, in the annual rivalry matchup last year at Hard Rock Stadium.

NOTABLE

• #3/#3 Miami continues its fourth season under head coach Mario Cristobal with a matchup against #18/#19 Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 4. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ABC, 104.3 WQAM, Radio Libre 790 AM and WVUM 90.5 FM.

• The Hurricanes entered the season ranked in the top 10 of both the Associated Press and Coaches Polls, checking in at No. 10 in both rankings, and rose to No. 5 in the AP and No. 7 in the Coaches Poll after a 27-24 win over Notre Dame in their opener. Following its win over Florida on Sept. 20, UM rose to No. 2 in the Week 4 AP poll – tied for its highest since 2017.

• Among UM’s top newcomers is QB Carson Beck, who arrived from Georgia via transfer portal. Beck, who missed spring practices while recovering from UCL surgery, has a 28-3 (.903) record as a starting FBS quarterback, the best of any active player (minimum five games).

THE MATCHUP

• #3/#3 Miami continues the 2025 football season with its first road game of the year vs. #18/#19 Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 4. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. on ABC, with radio broadcasts set for 104.3 WQAM & Radio Libre.

• The Hurricanes carry a 36-33 all-time series lead over Florida State into Saturday’s matchup, including a 36-14 victory in the 2024 matchup between the two teams last year’s annual rivalry installation at Hard Rock Stadium. Miami leads the all-time series with the Seminoles, 16-12, in games played in Tallahassee.

• The last time Miami and Florida State played each other as ranked opponents came in 2016, when the Hurricanes were ranked No. 10 and the Seminoles were ranked No. 21. That game was played in Miami Gardens.

 A LOOK BACK: MIAMI BEATS GATORS ONCE AGAIN

• The No. 4/6 Miami Hurricanes topped visiting Florida, 26-7, in dominating fashion on Sept. 20 to improve to 4-0 for the third straight year. The win was Miami’s 10th straight at home overall, making it the Hurricanes’ longest home winning streak since a stretch of 26 games from 1999 to 2003.

• RB Mark Fletcher, Jr. and RB CharMar “Marty” Brown led the way for the Hurricanes offensively, totaling 249 total yards (196 rushing, 53 receiving) along with three total touchdowns (two for Brown, one for Fletcher, Jr.).

• Miami’s defense put on a masterclass against the Gators, holding the Florida offense to just 141 yards – its fewest in a single game since 1999. Florida failed to reach 10 points for the first time since 2022 and went 0-for-13 in the game for the first time since 1998. DJ Lagway threw for just 61 yards on 12-for-23 passing for the Gators.

• LB Mo Toure finished with a season-high 10 tackles along with one sack, while nine players totaled at least onehalf tackle for loss in the win. DB Jakobe Thomas had 1.5 TFLs, while DL Marquise Lightfoot had his first sack.

• With the victory over the Gators, Miami improved to 4-0 for the third straight season – the first three-year stretch of 4-0 starts since 2002-2004. UM also picked up a win over an SEC opponent for the third straight regular season (2023 vs. Texas A&M, 2024 at Florida, 2025 vs. Florida) – the first such stretch 1986-1988 (1986 at LSU, 1987 vs. Florida, 1988 at Florida).

HURRICANES RANKED 3RD IN AP, COACHES POLLS

• Following their 4-0 start to the season, the Hurricanes were ranked as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press top 25 released on Sept. 21. Now ranked No. 3 in both polls, UM has been in the top 10 of both polls for all of 2025.

• Miami’s No. 2 ranking last week in the Associated Press top 25 released on Sept. 21 was the highest of any Mario Cristobal-coached team in his career; Cristobal’s previous high was No. 3 at Oregon, obtained during Week 4 of the 2021 season (#3/#3). Miami dropped to No. 3 following its open date.

• With a No. 5 ranking in the Associated Press poll attained on Sept. 2, the Hurricanes made it back-to-back years to crack the top five of the AP for the first time since a six-season run from 2000-05. Miami was ranked No. 10 in both preseason polls.

• The Hurricanes opened the 2024 season at No. 19 in the poll and found their name in every top 25 ranking of the season. The Hurricanes reached as high as No. 4 (after improving to 9-0 to start the year) and ended No. 18 in the final poll, its highest final ranking since being ranked No. 13 to end 2017. Cristobal’s highest-ranked finish as a head coach came in the final 2019 polls, when Oregon was No. 5/5.

HETHERMAN’S “E.S.V” DEFENSE WREAKING HAVOC

• Mario Cristobal announced the hiring of Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman to the same post in January 2025. Hetherman arrived in Coral Gables after a dominant lone season at Minnesota.

• Hetherman has made a flawless transition through the Hurricanes’ 4-0 start. Miami ranks No. 13 in total defense, allowing just 244.5 yards per game so far against Notre Dame, Bethune-Cookman, USF and Florida. Hetherman’s signature acronym, “E.S.V.” – has been on display early. The acronym stands for Excitement, Swarm, Violence.

• Miami’s defense has forced three-and-outs on 33.3% of opposing offensive drives through three games (non- FBS opponents not included), which ranks as the seventh-best mark in the country. In addition, Miami is forcing a turnover (fumble, interception, turnover on downs) on 27.78% of drives – the 11th-best mark in the country.

• In a measurement of “defensive havoc” – which charts the percentage of plays where a defense forces an opposing offense into either a sack, tackle for loss, interception or a fumble that is recovered by the defense – the Hurricanes rank No. 18 in FBS, posting a percentage of 13.97%.

CARSON BECK ARRIVES IN CORAL GABLES AS QB 1

• For the second straight year, the Miami Hurricanes added one of the top quarterbacks in the country in the January transfer window, signing QB Carson Beck after an eye-popping career at Georgia, where he finished 24-3 as a starting quarterback with the Bulldogs. He threw for 7,912 yards, 58 touchdowns and 20 interceptions at UGA.

• In a win over No. 18/23 USF on Sept. 13, Beck threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns. The performance marked Beck’s 10th career 300-yard passing game – he is one of just four FBS quarterbacks with 10-or-more 300- yard games, joining Josh Hoover of TCU (13), Tyler Van Dyke of SMU (11) and Chandler Morris of Virginia (10).

• Beck currently ranks second among FBS players in career passing yards (8,884), fourth in career passing efficiency (156.98) and sixth in career total offense (9,148).

• He was named to the Davey O’Brien “Great 8” after a 205-yard, two-touchdown win in his debut vs. Notre Dame. In Miami’s win vs. Bethune-Cookman, Beck had his 14th career game with multiple passing touchdowns and zero interceptions. That is the second most among active FBS players behind Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia (19).

• Beck went 22-for-24 (91.7) against Bethune-Cookman, marking the highest completion rate by any Miami signal caller (min. 20 attempts) over the last 30 seasons.

• He now owns a 28-3 record as a starting quarterback at the FBS level (.903), the best of any active player.

• Beck, who assumed starting responsibilities at Georgia in 2023 as a fourth-year redshirt sophomore, led the Bulldogs to a 13-1 record and a win in the 2023 Capital One Orange Bowl, finishing just shy of a College Football Playoff berth in the four-team field. He was a member of back-to-back national championship teams as a backup.

• In his second year as the team’s starting quarterback in 2024, Beck led Georgia to the College Football Playoff with an 11-2 record. Beck was hurt in the 2024 SEC Championship Game against Texas, which Georgia won, 22- 19. He finished 2024 with 3,485 yards, a 64.7% completion percentage, 28 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

• Beck underwent surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow after the SEC Championship Game. Though he did not throw during all of spring practice at Miami after enrolling in January while completing his rehab, he was cleared for full participation shortly thereafter and took part in all summer team activity.

BAIN, MESIDOR COMPRISE FBS’ TOP EDGE TANDEM

• Miami’s defensive end tandem of Rueben Bain, Jr., and Akheem Mesidor have been the top tandem in the country through the first five weeks of the college football season by most metrics.

• Among 250 defensive ends across Power-4, Bain is the No. 1 overall edge player by Pro Football Focus (95.8), while Mesidor ranks third (91.4).

• In PFF’s “run defense” grades, Bain is first (92.6) while Mesidor is sixth (86.4). Bain ranks third by PFF in “pass rush” (92.3) while Mesidor is sixth (90.8), and the two players are tied for fifth in total pressures, with 19 each.

MIAMI STACKING IMPRESSIVE HOME WIN STREAK

• The Hurricanes have won 10 straight home games dating back to Sept. 7, 2024 – a stretch that encapsulated the entirety of 2024 and includes Miami’s 4-0 start to 2025.

• Miami’s 10-game home winning streak is tied for the sixth-longest active streak among FBS programs and is one of only seven double-digit home winning streaks across the entirety of FBS.

• In the modern era of Miami Hurricanes Football (since 1979), Miami’s 10-game home winning streak is the third longest, trailing only two streaks: a 58-game stretch at the Orange Bowl that began on Oct. 12, 1985 and ended on Sept. 24, 1994 – the longest home winning streak in college football history – as well as a stretch of 26 straight games at “The OB” from Oct. 30, 1999 – Oct. 18, 2003.

• With a win on Sept. 6, UM started the season 2-0 at home for the 13th time in the last 14 seasons (since 2012). The Hurricanes have not lost a home opener since 2006, when they fell to Florida State 13-10 at the Orange Bowl on Sept. 4, 2006. Miami has won 19 straight home openers since – each one since 2007.

• In the modern era of Miami Hurricanes football (since 1979), UM has opened the season at home 20 times and is now 18-2 in those games. The Hurricanes are 35-12 in regular season openers dating to 1979.

TONEY MAKING NAME FOR HIMSELF AS FRESHMAN

• WR Malachi Toney has been among Miami’s top playmakers in his true freshman season, emerging as a go-to target in the Hurricanes offense for QB Carson Beck and OC Shannon Dawson.

• Since at least 2008, no freshman (redshirt or otherwise) in all of FBS had ever led his team in the first two games of the season in both catches and yards until Toney did so for Miami against both Notre Dame (6 catches, 82 yards) and Bethune-Cookman (6 catches, 80 yards) in 2025. He also tied for the team lead in catches in UM’s win against USF, posting six catches for 66 yards. He leads Miami with 22 catches for 268 yards this season.

• Toney is tied with Marvis Parrish of Western Kentucky for the lead among true fresmen nationally in total receptions (22). He is No. 2 among true freshmen in receiving yards (268) behind Dakorien Moore of Oregon (296).

• Toney became the only Hurricane in the last 30 seasons to have at least six catches, 80 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown in his college debut. He was named 247Sports National True Freshman of the Week.

• Toney, who turned 18 years old on September 17th (9/17/2007), reclassified from the Class of 2026 to the Class of 2025 at American Heritage. He helped lead the Patriots to a 12-2 record and a Class 4A state title in his final year, finishing as the team’s leading receiver with 1,018 yards and 12 touchdowns on 57 receptions. He played quarterback the final three games of the season at quarterback in place of the injured starter at QB, completing 36-of-45 passes for 510 yards and seven touchdowns compared to one interceptoin over that time.

FLETCHER ENJOYING IMPRESSIVE START TO 2025

• RB Mark Fletcher, Jr. has been a key member of UM’s offensive attack through its perfect 4-0 start to the year. Fletcher has back-to-back games of 100-yards-or more with at least one touchdown (vs. USF and Florida). The last UM RB to have back-to-back such games against FBS was Cam’Ron Harris from September 10-19, 2020.

• He delivered a dominant outing for the Hurricanes in their 49-12 win over No. 18/23 USF on Sept. 13, posting 120 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Fletcher’s performance vs. USF is one of only seven this season by an FBS player who recorded 100-plus yards and multiple TDs vs. an opponent ranked in the AP Top 25.

• It was Fletcher’s second 100-yard, multi-touchdown game of his career against an AP ranked team – he also did it vs. Louisville in 2023. Since 2000, there have been only eight such performances by the Hurricanes – two from Fletcher, two from Tyrone Moss, two from Willis McGahee and one each from Clinton Portis and Frank Gore.

• Fletcher now has four career 100-yard games – his 100-yarder vs. USF was his first since 11/18/23 vs. Louisville.

MIAMI LOOKING FOR THIRD RANKED WIN IN 2025

• Prior to this season, where Miami has knocked off both #10/#10 Notre Dame and #18/#23 USF, the last time Miami started a year with a 3-0 mark with at least two ranked wins in those first three games was the 1993 season. UM opened the year with wins over then-No. 20 Boston College, Virginia Tech and then-No. 13 Colorado.

• Against #18/#19 Florida State on Saturday, the Hurricanes are looking for their third ranked win in a season, which would mark the first such year since 2009 (wins vs. No. 18 FSU, No. 14 Georgia Tech, No. 8 Oklahoma).

FOLLOW THE BLUEPRINT: CANES ARE ON THE RISE

• Miami reached a number of notable milestones in 2024, its third season under Mario Cristobal. The Hurricanes managed only the second 10-win season in the last 20 years at Miami (2017), finished undefeated at home for the first time since 2002 and ended the season inside the Associated Press Top 20 at No. 18 – only its second finish that high since 2005. UM went from five wins (2022, 5-7) to seven (2023, 7-6) to 10 (2024, 10-3) under Cristobal.

• The Hurricanes had 10 NFL Combine invites and its seven NFL Draft picks ranked sixth-most nationally. The Hurricanes had just one NFL Draft pick in the draft prior to Cristobal taking the helm, in 2022 – and it came in the seventh round (Jon Ford, Green Bay Packers).

• Miami won the unofficial “state championship” by beating Florida, FSU and USF in the same year last season.

• QB Cam Ward, the winner of the Davey O’Brien Award and Manning Award as the nation’s top quarterback, was selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the Tennessee Titans – it was the third No. 1 overall pick in program history.

BALLHAWK FITZGERALD CONTINUED INT STREAK

• DB Bryce Fitzgerald recorded an interception for the second straight game against USF on Sept.13, picking off Byrum Brown to end what was the nation’s longest passing streak without an interception (252 straight attempts).

• After five weeks, Fitzgerald joins Markus Boswell of Akron as the only freshmen to have multiple picks this year.

• Fitzgerald, one of Miami’s top performers as a true freshman, had the first interception of his career against Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 6. Both interceptions showcased his elite instincts, which have been praised by staff and teammates. A four-star safety out of Christopher Columbus High School, Fitzgerald debuted vs. Notre Dame.

• For the fourth straight season, the Miami Hurricanes had a player record interceptions in back-to-back games. Fitzgerald, who managed the feat against both Bethune-Cookman (Sept. 6) and USF (Sept. 13), joined Mishael Powell, who did it in 2024, as well as Kam Kinchens, who managed the feat during both 2022 and 2023 seasons.

CANES LEAD THE NATION IN FG PCT. SINCE 2020

• The Hurricanes have been the most accurate field-goal kicking team in the country over the last six seasons. Miami has made 87.7 percent of its field goal attempts since 2020 (100/114), including a 5-for-5 start to 2025.

MESIDOR 2ND IN CAREER SACKS IN ALL OF FBS

• A key member of Miami’s defensive line who has been stellar through the first two games of the season, veteran edge rusher Akheem Mesidor is second in all of FBS with 25.5 sacks over the course of his career.

• Now in his sixth year, Mesidor spent the first two seasons of his career (2020-21) at West Virginia before transferring to Miami. He is one of just four players with more than 20 career sacks at the FBS level, joining Trey Moore of Texas (28.5), Mikail Kamara of Indiana (22.5) and Ben Bell of Virginia Tech (20.5).

DANIELS HEADLINES NEW-LOOK WIDEOUT CORPS

• The Hurricanes lost their top-six pass-catchers by receptions from a season ago, when the Hurricanes had the No. 1 offense in the country. Miami’s three starting wide receivers were all making their debuts on Aug. 31 vs. Notre Dame: transfers CJ Daniels (LSU) and Keelan Marion (BYU) as well as true freshman Malachi Toney.

• The trio combined for 14 catches totaling 157 yards and two touchdowns in Miami’s 27-24 win. Toney was targeted 10 times – more than any other player – while both he and Daniels had touchdown catches.

• Daniels is one of only two active FBS players with 2,500 receiving yards (2,630) and 20 touchdowns (24) over their careers at the FBS level. The other is Arkansas State’s Corey Rucker (3,318, 25). Daniels’ eye-popping onehanded score vs. ND was named the Crunch Time Play of the Week by the Football Writers Association (FWAA).

• Daniels ranks third among all FBS players with 2,630 career receiving yards, trailing Rucker and Caullin Lacy of Louisville (2,979). Including Daniels, there are only five players in FBS who have 2,500-or-more receiving yards.

MIAMI ONE OF JUST THREE NOT TO TRAIL IN 2025

• The Hurricanes are one of just three teams to not have trailed at any point during the 2025 season, joining Maryland and Texas Tech. The last time the Hurricanes did not trail in their first four games of a season was 2016.

“HURRICANE BAIN” IS POWER 4’S TOP-GRADED DL

• One of the top performers in the nation in his first two years at Miamiwas DL Rueben Bain, Jr., who enjoyed a dominant rookie campaign that resulted in ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2023. That year, the 6-foot-3, 275-pound defensive lineman tallied 44 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks over 13 games, earning Freshman All-American honors. He was also selected to the All-ACC Third Team.

• The standout junior has twice been named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week this year; Bain, mentioned by many analysts as a Heisman Trophy candidate, was recognized following standout performances against both Notre Dame (Aug. 31) and Florida (Sept. 20).

• Through five weeks, Bain is graded as the No. 1 defensive lineman (either edge or tackle) by Pro Football Focus at the Power-4 level. He has a 95.8 defensive grade overall and 92.6 run defense grade (also No. 1 in Power-4).

• Bain, who has 21.5 career TFLs, ranks No. 14 nationally among active players in TFL per game (0.83). He has been projected as a top-10 overall pick by multiple prognosticators in advance of the 2026 NFL Draft.

• Bain’s uncle, Tolbert Bain, lettered for the Hurricanes from 1984-1987. His older brother, Reggie, is an offensive line graduate assistant. The rising sophomore, who was named to the preseason watch lists for the Bednarik and Lombardi Awards, has a nickname “Hurricane Bain” – a writeup from the Miami Herald on the moniker is below:

• The “Hurricane” started swirling almost 30 years ago, years and years before Rueben Bain was even a thought in his father’s mind and long before the elite edge rusher was one of the crown jewels of the Miami Hurricanes. It all started, fittingly, at “Traz” Powell Stadium in Miami, where Rueben Bain Sr. — just like his son — played his home games and wreaked havoc as a two-way lineman for Carol City. Willie Wilcox, the stadium’s iconic public address announcer, gave him the nickname because of his physicality and tenacity, inspired by the story of wrongfully imprisoned boxer Rubin Carter. It turned out to be something like a premonition from Wilcox. After a solid career with the Chiefs, Bain Sr. graduated, played at Division II Morris Brown College in Atlanta, moved back to Florida, where he started a family. He had a few sons and gave one his own name, and, with it, his own nickname, once Bain Jr. started playing for Miami Central and Wilcox realized who he was. He became the latest in a long line of Bains to star athletically in Miami-Dade County, starting with grandfather Herman Bain, who was a three-sport star at Northwestern. It turns out, Wilcox had something like a premonition…he also embodied the nickname in a way not even his father could, with four state championships in four years, 58 1/2 sacks across his final two seasons at Central and finally a nod as the MaxPreps Florida Player of the Year on Tuesday.” -David Wilson, Miami Herald, December 2022.

BROWN WAS ONE OF JUST 30 IN 1,100/15 CLUB

• Despite having two running backs – Mark Fletcher, Jr. and Jordan Lyle – that will play massive roles for Miami’s offense in 2025, Mario Cristobal went out and added one of the best players at the FCS level to the roster this offseason – former North Dakota State running back CharMar “Marty” Brown (pronounced like Shemar).

• Brown was one of 30 DI (FBS/FCS) players last season to record at least 1,100 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns last season, and is the only active underclassman among that group. He is a redshirt sophomore.

• Brown, the Jerry Rice Award winner as the top freshman player in Football Championship Division last season, was a member of the Stats Perform, FCS Football Central and Phil Steele FCS Freshman All-America teams. Brown won Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors, becoming just the third Bison player and sixth in league history to sweep both awards.

• The Omaha, Neb., native led all FCS freshmen in rushing attempts (244), yards (1,181) and touchdowns (15) and became the first Bison tailback in seven years to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark. He is a 5-11, 220-pound back.

BECK IN ELITE COMPANY W/LATEST 300/3+1 GAME

• QB Carson Beck became the fourth Hurricanes quarterback in the last decade to throw for 300 yards (340) and at least three touchdowns (3) and run for a score in the same game, joining Cam Ward (2024), Malik Rosier (2017) and Brad Kaaya (2016).

• Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, had two such performances during his lone season at Miami.