When the University of Miami joined the ACC in 2004, the expectation was that placing the Hurricanes and Florida State in opposite divisions of the conference would create a ratings-busting title game nearly every year.
Something happened on the way to the annual Sunshine State championship game, however, and the two schools have yet to meet in December.
Now, though, with the Hurricanes on the rise and Florida State coming off two ACC title game appearances in three years and entering this season as the league’s defending champion, the schools appear to be closing in on a title game showdown.
“Florida State and Clemson are doing a great job right now,” Miami coach Al Golden said Monday from the ACC Football Kickoff media gathering. “Virginia Tech has probably been the most steady over the last 10 to 15 years in terms of being on the national scene. We have to do our part.”
The Hurricanes did, in a way, last season. Taking advantage of playing in the weakened Coastal Division, Miami tied with North Carolina and Georgia Tech for the division title with a 5-3 record. With North Carolina ineligible, the Hurricanes would have been the choice to play FSU in the championship game.
But because of the looming NCAA penalties that Miami still awaits, the university decided to self-impose a playoff ban for the second consecutive year, thwarting what would have been the first Miami-FSU title game.
“We played a dear price,” Golden said. “It hurt the ACC and it cost us the ability to have that stage in December in Charlotte that so many desperately wanted … against our archrival.”
While FSU sits much higher in the preseason polls, Miami, according to the media, has the easier road to the ACC title game. The Hurricanes were picked to win the Coastal Division for just the second time in 10 years. The Seminoles were chosen to place second in the Atlantic, behind Clemson.
Neither coach, though, is putting much stock in preseason votes.
“I hope the NCAA turmoil provided an incubator for us to learn how to deal with this and not worry about (external factors),” Golden said of the expectations for a Miami team that was 7-5 last season.
FSU is used to high expectations, something from which coach Jimbo Fisher has never backed down. But Clemson is the overwhelming choice to win the Atlantic and ACC titles.
The Seminoles had been picked to win the Atlantic every year with the exception of 2008 since the league split into two divisions in 2005.
“They may draw from it, but if that’s our key motivation that makes us win we’re not the program we thought we were,” Fisher said. “(Expectations) are still high for us: ACC championship and a national championship.”
The love for the Hurricanes is based on several factors: The Coastal is the weaker, by far, of the two divisions, and Miami returns eight starters on offense and could have the league’s top quarterback-running back combination in Stephen Morris and Duke Johnson.
And although UM fielded the ACC’s worst defense last season, surrendering 486.4 yards per game, the Hurricanes were young. Still, that defense is the reason Miami is excluded from most top 25 rankings.
“I think we grew up a lot, we matured a lot, we have a lot more experience coming back,” Golden said.
A sense of normalcy is also returning to a program that has been under the NCAA’s scrutiny for so long. Golden was among the Hurricanes officials who went before the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions a month ago and now awaits the organization’s final ruling.
For Fisher, a normal offseason of late has been reloading a program that has made major strides in his three seasons. FSU is 31-10 since Fisher replaced Bobby Bowden, finishing 12-2 in 2012 while capturing its first ACC title since 2006 and first BCS bowl win — a 31-10 victory over Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl — since 1999.
Eleven Seminoles were chosen in April’s NFL draft, and FSU will start this season with an untested quarterback, likely freshman Jameis Winston. But Fisher has built depth through strong recruiting classes, and FSU is ranked around No. 15 nationally by most preseason publications.
“We have the least amount of starters back in the ACC, but we have more junior starters than we had a year ago,” Fisher said. “Guys (who) played significant snaps and played a lot of plays in big games. Even though they’re not considered returning starters, they’re very talented and will have a huge impact on our team.”
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