TALLAHASSEE - Despite their steady rise in the rankings, Florida State insisted Miami would be the measuring stick of how far it actually had come after consecutive subpar seasons.
So, where do the No. 5-ranked Seminoles (5-1) think they stand after a mistake-prone 22-14 loss on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Doak Campbell Stadium?
Well, this much is clear: Their prospects are muddier.
"I definitely don't believe it's time to count us out yet," said FSU quarterback Chris Rix, who threw two touchdowns and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, lost two fumbles and fumbled two snaps. "But we have a ways to go if we want to get back to where Florida State has been in the past."
Or where the No. 2 Hurricanes are now.
The 'Canes (6-0), who have beaten FSU four straight years and for the fourth time in five tries when both were in the Top 5, looked like a championship contender and not the pretender that needed a last-minute field goal to beat West Virginia on Oct. 2. "When you beat a Florida State or a Florida, you have done something," Miami coach Larry Coker said. "They (Seminoles) are a marquee team and they have been for years. To win this game is a great ... litmus test about where we are."
Pretty good defensively and on special teams, for a start. In the opening half, the Hurricanes blocked a punt, recovered a pooch kickoff, recovered two fumbles and intercepted two poorly-thrown Rix passes. That all but quieted the once raucous FSU fans among the soaked record crowd of 84,366.
"The first thing I warned my kids of two weeks ago," coach Bobby Bowden said, "two things are going to decide this ball game. I spelled it out. One would be turnovers and two would be the kicking game. We self-destructed the first half with turnovers and the kicking game."
But the 'Canes also showed their offense has a ways to go. Miami entered scoring nine touchdowns on 21 trips inside the opponents' 20. That ratio got worse in the first quarter; the Hurricanes settled for three short field-goal attempts and former Countryside star Jon Peattie only made two (27- and 22-yarders); he missed his first attempt from 22 yards, ending a streak of 10 straight.
Quarterback Brock Berlin pushed the lead to 12-0 when he hit senior tailback Jarrett Payton, starting for the first time in place of star Frank Gore (knee), on a short pass that turned into a 14-yard touchdown. Meanwhile, Miami's defense, which had drawn criticism and was not statistically as stingy as its predecessors, continued to stymie the Seminoles.
"Their defense hasn't been given enough credit and they showed they're legit," Rix said.
FSU players and coaches did not want to blame the steady rain nor the soggy field, but weather played a role.
FSU had hoped to take advantage of speedy, elusive tailbacks Leon Washington and Lorenzo Booker, both back from injuries after a month, but no one could cut in the muck. Nor could power back Greg Jones get going, much like he struggled in a torrential downpour at Louisville last season.
The Seminoles had 61 yards rushing.
"It wasn't impossible, I'd never say that," said Jones, who finished with 15 yards on 13 carries, including 1 yard on three straight attempts from the UM 5 midway through the fourth quarter that effectively ended FSU's comeback bid.
"Sometimes there was room. Sometimes there wasn't. I guess it was me. ... It seemed like a safety was always there."
FSU also figured it could take advantage of UM's secondary, which lost starting strong safety Maurice Sikes (sprained knee) in the West Virginia game, and go long. Unlike UM, which seemed content to throw shorter, safer passes in the flat or crossing routes to tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., they tried. And tried. And failed.
"We could not throw long," Bowden said. "You can not hang the ball with that No. 26 (safety Sean Taylor). He is just too good. I haven't seen a safety that good in a long time."
Taylor picked off a pair of passes, returning one 50 yards for a touchdown that gave the 'Canes a 19-0 halftime lead. "If you knew you would be playing under those conditions, you would have changed your game plan," Bowden said. "I would have changed the game plan a lot."
After a poor pitch by Rix for Washington was recovered and returned by the 'Canes to the FSU 11, Peattie hit a 19-yarder for a 22-0 lead. But the FSU defense, which led the nation in scoring and was sixth in yards allowed, kept the team alive by forcing turnovers on the next two UM possessions - interceptions by cornerbacks Leroy Smith and Rufus Brown. A dropped pass by Dominic Robinson inside the 10 blew one of those chances, but Rix hit a leaping Willie Reid in the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown after the latter pick. FSU linebacker Kendyll Pope followed by stripping the ball from Winslow and cornerback Bryant McFadden recovered it. The Seminoles marched to the goal line, but the 9:17 drive ended when Rix's fourth-down pass was knocked away. A touchdown pass to former St. Petersburg Catholic star receiver Chris Davis on the game's final play was cosmetic.
"We still have the ACC championship to go for; we still have a lot to work for," senior linebacker Michael Boulware said. "We still have something to prove."
