His head coach – who has played and coached in the rivalry – echoed that sentiment.

“I could say as a player we never looked at the record of anyone we played against,” said Miami head coach Mario Cristobal, a two-time national champion offensive lineman for the Hurricanes. “Whatever the record of any team is in this rivalry, you get the best version of them and they get the best version of you. That makes the game so incredibly intense and physical and that’s why so many guys come here to play in that game.”

Being at their best will undoubtedly be a priority for the Hurricanes (7-0, 3-0), who have played in tight back-and-forth games against all three of their ACC opponents so far this season.

And while Miami has won all three of those games, the Hurricanes believe they can be better than what they showed against Virginia Tech, California and Louisville.

Showing that they have continued to improve and play well against Florida State will not only be a positive thing to build on as Miami sets its sights on November. It will be essential if the Hurricanes want to leave Hard Rock Stadium tomorrow still undefeated and with their first win over Florida State since 2020.

“It’s learning and learning. That’s a two-part system, right? And we have to practice every ounce of preparation, walkthroughs, meetings, you name it, we have to provide the guidance, the education, the mentorship, the confidence to go out there and really let it go. and play fast as we have shown in so many cases,” Cristobal said. “And the areas where we didn’t do that certainly didn’t look good, but we feel like we’re addressing them, we’re attacking them and continuing with transparency and honesty. We know we have to get better. We are completely over it.”

Restrepo added: “We are getting better every day. As simple as that sounds, that is literally our main focus: we try to improve ourselves internally and remove all distractions externally.”

While all three of Miami’s conference games have come down to the final minutes, the Hurricanes go into Saturday’s game against the Seminoles with one of the best offenses in the country.

Quarterback Cam Ward, a transfer from Washington State who will play in his first Miami-FSU game, leads the nation with 2,538 passing yards on the year and 24 touchdowns.

Overall, the Hurricanes are averaging 577.3 yards per game and 8.05 yards per game, both of which rank No. 1 among FBS programs.

But in their three conference games, the Hurricanes have allowed an average of 39.0 points — a number the defense knows needs to be better.

“From the d-line, linebacker and secondary, I mean we didn’t play our best ball,” said defensive lineman Simeon Barrow Jr., who had six tackles, a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble in the final had. week victory over Louisville. “We know it’s just communication issues and I feel like we all just have to work together, play together and just stay locked in and take it day by day.”