Miami and Florida State meet to decide the SEC East

It's hard to believe we're already in week 12 of season 3. Once again, the race for the top has been a tight one. However, all of the Pac 12 and SEC division winners have (pretty much) been determined, with the exception of the SEC East.

USC has clinched the Pac 12 South, Michigan has a lock on the North, and LSU clinched the SEC West with its victory over Alabama last week. Which brings us to tonight's huge battle on South Beach between arch rivals #5 Florida State and #6(tie) Miami. The winner will move on to rematch LSU in Atlanta.

The game tonight pits strength vs. strength....FSU's defense vs. Miami's offense.

Coach stinvol's Hurricanes enter this game as confident as ever, led by a potent offense. Senior RB Lamar Miller has pounded out more than 1,400 yards and 16 TDs on the ground, while not fumbling the ball once. Miller, in Miami's 45-42 last second loss to LSU earlier this season, had 313 yards rushing and 4 TDs on the ground. A duplicate effort tonight would be huge in the Canes' upset bid.

Miami also will rely on rotating 2 QBs - Senior Stephen Morris and Sophomore Lukas Mitchell. Mitchell has earned a majority of the snaps lately, but expect to see both QBs tonight. Their primary target all season has been 6'8 freshman Ronnie Collins. Collins lacks the speed of some WRs, but his height and strength has been a major asset for the Canes' passing game. Collins has 64 catches and 24 TDs on the season.

Miami's offense has averaged 65 points per game, and has only been held below 50 points twice this season (42 vs. LSU and 45 vs. Auburn).

Florida State's defense, ranked #1 in the nation, will be a great test to the Hurricanes' prolific offense. FSU's defense, on the season, has allowed only 9.5 points per game...tops in the nation. But, in the past 6 games, the Noles have allowed an astounding 3.8 points per game and given up only 1 touchdown on defense.

Coach UTVOL54's squad will be challenged by Miami's ground game, and will have to put up a gaudy effort to contain Miller. The Noles' last trip to Miami was in last year's BCS title victory over USC, so they're certainly comfortable playing in Joe Robbie/Landshark/Sun Life Stadium.

On offense, the Seminoles boast a tandem RB backfield, with "co-starters" James Wilder and Devonta Freeman rushing for  839 yds and 837 yds respectively. Redshirt FR QB Matt Bryant has had a tremendous year and has a bright future. His passing yardage hasn't been astounding, but with 20 TDs and only 4 INTs, he has protected the ball and distributed it well to the FSU receivers.

We expect this game to be a low scoring game, which likely favors FSU. However, Miami has the home field advantage and if the game gets into a shootout, they may be tough to keep up with. In the past two seasons, the Canes have kept it close against FSU early, but turnovers have done them in. If Miami can protect the football tonight, this game will go down to the wire.

With the SEC East on the line, both coaches will be coming out firing. Who will be the first one to blink?!

Rumors have been swirling all week that Miami may don their green helmets tonight. Will that be the winning edge?



Click Here to see Corso's pick!!