TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Carson Beck threw four touchdown passes — two apiece to Malachi Toney and CJ Daniels — and No. 3 Miami held off No. 18 Florida State 28-22 on Saturday night.
Miami’s offensive line mostly kept Beck’s jersey clean, and the senior completed 20 of 27 passes for 241 yards.
“He was on fire,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “He made a lot of really, really good plays. His leadership, the way he pours into preparation, into his teammates. Everything about him, it screams winner. We’re glad he’s on our side.”
A true freshman, Toney caught seven passes for 107 yards for the Hurricanes (5-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). They won their first road game of the season and captured a third win over an Associated Press Top 25 team (Notre Dame, South Florida and Florida State).
Florida State’s Tommy Castellanos threw two interceptions, both leading to drives where Miami scored touchdowns. The Seminoles (3-2, 0-2) also fumbled, although the turnover didn’t lead to any points.
A week after focus and turnovers were a problem for Florida State with three turnovers in the double overtime loss at Virginia, the sloppy plays again popped up. Miami capitalized on both of the opportunities off Castellanos’ interceptions.
“This whole year we’ve played really good, complementary football,” Beck said. “Whenever we’ve needed the defense, the defense has stepped up. Whenever they’ve capitalized on a turnover, we’ve been able to turn around and go punch it in the end zone or go get three (points). Continuing to do that is really, really good. It shows signs of a really good team.”
Miami led 28-3 going into the fourth quarter. Castellanos then connected with Lawayne McCoy and Randy Pittman on a pair of touchdown passes. The Seminoles added a 35-yard field goal to cut it to 28-22 with 20 seconds to go.
Florida State attempted an onside kick after each score but was unable to recover.
“To come up short in this one is utterly disappointing in every way,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “Our guys battled. We just had too many mistakes.”
Miami has beaten USF, Florida State and Florida, and Cristobal has claimed a state championship. “That’s our fourth straight game against an opponent from the state of Florida,” Cristobal said. “That’s important to us, being state champions.”
Miami isn’t likely to rise from its spot. Florida State will likely drop from the top 25 after its second loss in as many weeks.
Miami stopped Florida State on seven straight drives — four punts and three turnovers. The Seminoles were held to a season-low 22 points.
Florida State accumulated 230 rushing yards or more in its first four games, but was held to 132 yards on 38 carries (3.5 yards per carry) against Miami.
Florida State: Hosts Pittsburgh on Saturday
Miami: Hosts Louisville on Oct. 17.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
