One of the biggest rivalries in the ACC comes ahead once again on Oct 26, 2024. It is close to Halloween which means its spooky hours for one of the programs between the Florida State Seminoles and the Miami Hurricanes.

This rivalry has been going back and forth over the past number of years but recently the Seminoles have been getting the best of the Canes. They have won the previous three matchups between the teams and gone 6-4 in the last ten. This game will be one of the biggest games in the ACC during this season with the expectations that Florida State will still have a similar season as last year.

Going undefeated is a great accomplishment and winning the ACC championship with a third-string quarterback will be remembered for ages, however, a bad taste in the Seminole’s mouth for being snubbed out of the 2023 College Football Playoffs will have the team returning with more hunger than before. While most of their talented defensive and offensive players were drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft, Florida State has regrouped and recalibrated. Here is a look at the 2024 Florida State Seminoles.

Last season the Seminoles were the No. 1 scoring offense in the ACC and that was even with the injury to quarterback Jordan Travis. Now he has been drafted, new QB DJ Uiagalelei, the former Clemson star who transferred to Oregon State for a year, will not take the reigns. With the return to the ACC, the quarterback will have some questions about his game and leading this team back to a No. 1 scoring offensive when he has a career completion percentage of 59 percent.

Other players with most of the production in the offense have also been drafted into the NFL as well. Wide receiver Keon Coleman (No. 33 overall, Buffalo Bills), Trey Benson (No. 66 overall, Arizona Cardinals), and Johnny Wilson (No. 185 overall, Philadelphia Eagles) generated most of the offensive production last season. This season will be one of question marks around who will make up for that production.

Hakeem Williams will have major involvement as a wide receiver now that the production of the Seminoles top guys needs to be replaced. Ja’Khi Douglas averaged over 17 yards per catch last season, and transfer Malik Benson comes in from Alabama to try and kickstart his career with a fresh opportunity.

Even with Benson leaving the team will still have talent at the running back rosters with senior Lawrence Toafili who averaged 6.7 yards a carry and finished with 463 yards on the season.

The offensive line looks to be better on paper with a majority returning to the line and new additions with Richie Leonard (Florida) and TJ Ferguson (Alabama) being brought in from the transfer portal.

The defense for the Seminoles last season was stout with NFL talent. Jared Verse (No. 19 overall, Los Angeles Rams), Braden Fiske (No. 39 overall, Los Angeles Rams), safety Renardo Green (No. 64 overall, San Francisco 49ers), and defensive back Jarrian Jones ( No. 96 overall, Jacksonville Jaguars) each had a massive impact on what was one of the best defense in the country. Even with those losses, the defense will still be one of the best in the country.

Patrick Payton will be returning after battling alongside Verse on the line. He finished his season with seven sacks and 14.5 tackles. With him is also Georgia transfer Marvin Jones Jr. lining up next to him.

Last season they had one of the best passing defenses in the country and their top corners are still on the roster for next season. Fentrell Cypress broke up eight passes last season while also making 40 tackles. These stats are outstanding but something that also has to be noted is that teams will try to stay away from him. Even with that, Azareye’h Thomas is on the other side with two more pass deflections in ten.

DJ Lundy will likely be the top linebacker in the room and with the addition of Shawn Murphy transferring in from Alabama, the linebacker room has had a complete turnover. Lundy is the only senior in the room with the rest of the linebackers being redshirt sophomores or younger. It is a young room but with that brings a lot of opportunity.

While there were several turnovers on the defensive side of the ball, there will still be many key pieces that will return to lead the team.

These back-to-back games for the Hurricanes against Lousiville and Florida State will be the most difficult stretch on the team schedule. They will follow this game and head to Durham to face the Duke Blue Devils in the week following. This could be the point in their season where the Canes will have an understanding of what needs to be done to finish out the season strong They could be undefeated or they could have one or three losses at this point,

The each team, this will be a massive game to see where the ACC standing will line up going forward. These two teams will be battling it out for who will be in the ACC championship game as well as a spot or two in the College Football Playoffs. For each team, a win will be a great on their resume. At this point in the season, each team will know what they will likely be competing for. For Miami, it will be a bowl win and for the Seminoles, it will be a chance to rewrite the wrong that left Florida State out of the playoffs last season.

Date: October 28

Time: TBA

TV: TBA

Location: Hard Rock Stadium

Series: Miami leads 35-33 against Florida State

Last Matchup: The Seminoles defeated the Hurricane in a close matchup 27-20 on Nov 11, 2024. This was one of the many times freshman Emory Williams started and played a decent game before suffering a season-ending injury. Jacolby Geroge had a monster game catching two touchdowns on 153 yards in the loss.

Miami Hurricanes 2024 Football Schedule

August 31            at Florida

September 7      Florida A&M

September 14    Ball State

September 21    at USF

September 27    Virginia Tech

October 5            at California

October 12         Bye Week

October 19         at Louisville

October 26         Florida State

November 2       Duke

November 9       at Georgia Tech

November 16     Bye Week

November 23    Wake Forest

November 30     at Syracuse

Q: Patty Mills is coming back to the Heat in his dreams. –  Wolfgang.

A: What else would you expect a player to say as he heads into free agency from a destination franchise such as the Heat? So, yes, Patty Mills clearly wants to return to the Heat if all things are equal. But they’re not. The Heat have to start thinking about getting younger. They likely will have to make a choice between Patty or Delon Wright, and that’s if either returns. And they will have far more pressing issues to first address. It’s not as if Patty Mills did anything wrong during his brief Heat tenure. It’s just that the invitation basically was for a two-month run, with nothing guaranteed thereafter. Now, should Kevin Love not return, then it is possible Patty comes back in the Heat’s time-honored mentorship role previously held by the likes of Juwan Howard and Udonis Haslem.

Q: Hi, Ira. It’s not just about going out and getting talent (see James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant with the Nets), it’s about getting talent that’s a good fit schematically, and in terms of personalities and team chemistry. Boston did a masterful job of that.  – Ray, Deerfield Beach.

A: But it’s also a matter of identifying talent that could become available while also having the assets to close deals. It’s not as if the Heat did not recognize that Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday could have helped them, as well (they could have and would have). It’s that Boston seized the moment and had the assets to close the deals. Sometimes it’s as much about the maneuvering as the personnel assessment.

Q: So, I read your piece on Ron Holland and I made mention prior to the NBA draft that Portland drafting Scoot Henderson to replace Damian Lillard was fool’s gold. I based that on the numerous players who look great in the G League and can’t cut it at the NBA level. – Rodney.

A: Except Ron Holland did not look great in the G League, based on his turnovers and shooting struggles. But what he did show was NBA-level defensive tenacity. And at No. 15 (if that’s where the Heat stick), getting a player with at least a single ready-for-the-moment skill is a net gain.

MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) – Newly released body camera video shows the arrest of a man, police say, who is accused of assaulting two women and a police officer.

Sex offender and accused repeat violent offender is how Perry Smith is described by law enforcement and state records.

According to police, Smith began his assault a few months ago when he battered resident, Jo Manning outside her South Beach home.

Manning, an 83-year-old Miami Beach preservationist and advocate, said Smith threatened to hurt her if she didn’t give him all of her money.

“Give me all your money now, or I’m going to hurt you,” said Manning.

Manning turned out OK and Smith was found hours later by police. But he wasn’t going down without a fight.

Police body camera video shows the struggle with police which, they said, resulted in a battery of a law enforcement officer.

“Don’t…Get off me,” said Smith.

“You don’t tell me what the crime is and whether or not…” said Smith.

“You just (expletive) hit me, (expletive)” said an officer.

A day later, Smith appeared in court where prosecutors laid out their case.

“Very violent with the officers,” said a prosecutor.

Still, Smith was released on his own recognizance weeks after his initial court appearance.

His freedom, despite pending charges, allowed him to encounter his second victim in Miami Beach, Barbara Muckermann.

“I was just, I was just walking in this direction, and he was walking in this direction and he just rammed me!” said Muckermann.

Muckermann, an out-of-country tourist, encountered Smith outside a Walgreens on 41st Street.

“He was very violent. He threw me on the floor. He rammed into me like, you know,” said victim Barbara Muckermann. “He started saying ‘You (expletive)’ threw me on the floor.”

Muckermann ran back inside the Walgreens and police were called.

Police said the manager of the Walgreens helped the victim. The arrest report states “he stated he recognized the subject from a recent news article by WSVN as Perry Smith.”

“Yeah, this is the guy. That’s the guy,” said Muckermann.

“We know this guy. We know,” an officer said.

The officer told the victim and the Walgreens employees that Miami Beach has a recurring problem with homeless offenders.

“We do our work. We bring them to justice, but then they’re back on the streets hours later. Especially when the victims don’t show up to court,” said the officer.

According to a State Attorney memo, that is why Smith was able to be freed after the Manning incident despite having pending charges. The memo stated, “The victim failed to call in and/or appear for two scheduled pre-file conferences.”

Smith remains behind bars on a new charge of disorderly conduct as well as his pending case on battery of a police officer.

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