What to Know
- Across the football landscape in the state of Florida this weekend, there is plenty to be excited about .
Across the football landscape in the state of Florida this weekend, there is plenty to be excited about with some of the most important games of the season in both the college and pro game taking place.
From conference showdowns in Gainesville and Boca Raton to a battle of top NFL teams in Cincinnati and Kansas City, the Sunshine State will be watching with plenty interest what takes place through Sunday evening.
Of course, all of that takes a backseat to what will be going on inside Hard Rock Stadium this weekend as the Miami Hurricanes look to do something that hasn’t taken place since before this year’s freshman class was even in kindergarten.
Let us preview all the action this weekend with our not-so-scientific NBC 6 grading scale of the top games.
Miami Hurricanes vs. Florida State Seminoles (Saturday)
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It’s arguably been one of the best college football rivalries for the last 35 years – one that has produced eight national champs and seven other teams that played for a title, more than any other game over that span. It’s also been one of streaks, as Miami broke a seven game losing streak last season to FSU on a last second touchdown in Tallahassee for their first win in the series since 2009.
Head coach Mark Richt will look to do something that hasn’t taken place in 2004 – get a win for Miami in their home stadium against a FSU team that has struggled under new head coach Willie Taggart, but has won two straight including last week’s comeback win. This series also has been dominated by the road team, as the Noles hold a winning record for games in South Florida while Miami has the lead in games played in Tallahassee.
Miami Dolphins at Cincinnati Bengals (Sunday)
On paper, this is one of the better games of the weekend between two 3-1 teams that have quite a different story so far this season. Miami was riding high before last week’s beat down at the hands of the New England Patriots as head coach Adam Gase’s team must get things back together quickly against one of the better offenses in the NFL behind quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver A.J. Green.
Florida Gators vs. LSU Tigers (Saturday)
Don’t look now, but the orange and blue are riding high after three straight wins that included road victories against SEC foes Tennessee and Mississippi State – now, they turn their attention to a Tigers team that Miami fans know all too well from the opening game of the season (a 33-17 loss for the ‘Canes that really wasn’t that close) as the top five ranked Tigers look to keep their dream season going.
Florida Atlantic Owls vs. Old Dominion Monarchs (Saturday)
Why is this game on the list? Well, to be honest, it has almost everything to do with the fact that the Monarchs pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season when they beat Virginia Tech a few weekends ago – so that means if the Owls win, they should be ranked ahead of the Hokies this week, right?
Other State Games
In the college game, the UCF Knights look to extend their win streak – the longest in the country – when they host SMU while the USF Bulls are on the road taking on UMass. The FAMU Rattlers will be celebrating homecoming when they take on Norfolk State while Bethune-Cookman will host Mississippi Valley State.
In the pro game, the Jacksonville Jaguars will hit the road to take on the Kansas City Chiefs – one of two unbeaten teams left in the NFL in a game that will feature one of the top defenses in the league (Jacksonville) against one of the top offenses (Kansas City).
