No. 3 Miami shows it's the best team in the ACC with 28-22 win at No. 18 Florida State

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There is little doubt about the team to beat in the ACC.

No. 3 Miami capitalized on three Florida State turnovers in a 28-22 win over the No. 18 Seminoles on Saturday night that wasn't as close as the final score would indicate for much of the game.

The Hurricanes led 14-3 at the half before Carson Beck found Malachi Toney open in the middle of the field on fourth down. Toney then outran everyone else into the end zone for a 40-yard TD.

On Florida State’s next drive, QB Tommy Castellanos significantly underthrew a deep ball to the end zone and Jakobe Thomas made the interception.

Eight plays later, FSU had no real hope of coming back when WR CJ Daniels scored his second TD of the day on a 24-yard pass from Carson Beck. The Seminoles mounted a futile comeback in the fourth quarter with 19 unanswered points, but the game was so far out of reach before then that there was no real drama. 

Beck picked apart the Florida State defense and had more touchdowns than interceptions through the first three quarters. He finished the game 20-of-27 passing for 240 yards and four TDs.

Castellanos, meanwhile, threw two interceptions. His first came in the second quarter as Florida State trailed 7-3.

A play later, Miami ran a flea-flicker and Beck hit Toney for a 44-yard score.

Castellanos transferred to FSU from Boston College after the 2024 season and was a spark in the Seminoles’ win over Alabama as he threw for 152 yards and rushed for 78 yards and a TD in the Week 1 victory.

He hasn’t been nearly as good in ACC play, however. A week ago in FSU’s double-overtime loss to Virginia, Castellanos was 18-of-32 passing for 254 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Beck, meanwhile, looks like the Heisman frontrunner he was supposed to be in 2024 at Georgia. After a rough game against Florida, Beck has now thrown for 11 touchdowns and three interceptions this season while completing approximately 75% of his passes.

He’s got a lot of help from receivers like Toney and Daniels. Toney has been one of the most dynamic freshmen in college football and Daniels has been an immediate impact player in his first season with the Hurricanes after transferring from LSU.

As Beck replaced Heisman finalist and No. 1 NFL Draft pick Cam Ward at QB, Miami also had a huge void at receiver with the departures of Xavier Restrepo, Isaiah Horton and Jacolby George. The position could have been a question mark. Instead, it’s a strength.

The defense has been spectacular too. Opponents are averaging just over four yards per play after Miami gave up 5.3 yards a play a season ago. The defense was vulnerable at key points during the season in 2024 and was a big reason why Miami failed to make the playoff.

This season, opponents have scored just six touchdowns in five games.

At this rate, the biggest question remaining in the ACC is who will join the Hurricanes in the conference title game. Right now, the two favorites to play Miami are Virginia and Georgia Tech. Neither team plays the Hurricanes in the regular season and have plausible paths to the title game.

The Cavaliers moved to 5-1 overall and became the first team to get to 3-0 in the ACC with an overtime win at Louisville on Saturday. Virginia doesn't have a ranked team remaining on its schedule and just one of those teams (Cal) has fewer than two losses. 

Georgia Tech has already taken down Clemson and is the only other undefeated team in the conference. Like Virginia, the Yellow Jackets have just one conference game remaining against a team with fewer than two losses.