TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Carson Beck threw four touchdown passes, including two apiece to freshman Malachi Toney and CJ Daniels, as No. 3 Miami handed No. 18 Florida State its second loss of the season with a 28-22 victory Saturday night at Doak S. Campbell Stadium.
The Hurricanes entered the rivalry matchup aiming to prove their place among college football’s elite, and they delivered on both sides of the ball — building a commanding first-half lead and holding off a late FSU rally to stay unbeaten at 5-0.
Beck opened Miami’s scoring with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Daniels, then connected with Toney on a 44-yard flea flicker to give the Hurricanes a 14-3 halftime advantage.
Miami’s defense frustrated the nation’s top-ranked offense, limiting the Seminoles — who came in averaging 53 points and 600 yards per game — to just 4.5 yards per play in the first half.
Freshman safety Bryce Fitzgerald intercepted Tommy Castellanos in the red zone for his third pick of the season, one of several big stops that kept the Seminoles out of the end zone until the fourth quarter.
Beck continued his precision passing after halftime, finding Toney again on a untouched 40-yard catch-and-run on fourth-and-2 to push Miami’s lead to 21-3.
Moments later, defensive back Jacobe Thomas intercepted Castellanos on a deep ball, setting up another short field.
Beck capitalized again, hitting Daniels for his second touchdown of the night — and celebrating with the Seminoles’ own war chant gesture toward the camera — as Miami surged ahead 28-3 late in the third quarter.
Toney finished with seven catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns, both from 40 yards or more.
Beck completed 20 of 26 passes for 240 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, guiding an offense that stayed efficient and turnover-free.
FSU showed late life behind Castellanos, who led two long fourth-quarter drives. He found Lawayne McCoy for an 8-yard touchdown and converted the two-point try on a Micahi Danzy jet sweep to cut the deficit to 28-11.
On the next possession, Castellanos engineered a 19-play, 96-yard drive capped by a touchdown pass to Randy Pittman Jr., followed by another two-point conversion to McCoy, trimming Miami’s lead to 9.
FSU was able to tack on another three points to cut Miami’s lead to 6 with 20 seconds left before Miami recovered the final onside kick.
The win marked another statement for Miami’s defense, which held Florida State’s explosive offense to 22 points — far below its season average — and came up with three takeaways.
Miami (5-0) will return home to host Louisville (4-1) on Oct.17, while FSU (3-2) will look to rebound when it welcomes Pittsburgh (3-2) to Tallahassee next Saturday.
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