The Miami Hurricanes may have defeated a beaten Florida State Seminoles football team 1-7, but that didn’t diminish how important this one was.

The undefeated No. 6 Hurricanes (8-0) earned their first dominant win in more than a month, defeating the Seminoles 36-14 in their big rivalry game. Miami never trailed and after winning their last three games by an average margin of just four points, the Hurricanes finally won a game that wasn’t on the line.

That’s a big problem for a defensive unit that had scored 39 points per game in the previous three games.

“The most important thing is that we play our best football,” Mario Cristobal said during the post-match press conference. “All these games are playoff games – they are conference games. They all mean something. The goal is to be 1-0, our goal is to be 1-0 and also play our best football. It was progress in that direction. Hats off to the defense, they set the tone, they did it with the front seven and the back seven guys, they communicated very well. They were thinking about lockdown, lockdown.”

Perhaps most importantly, the win makes it clear – and sends the message – that the Hurricanes have the best team in the state of Florida. There really hasn’t been a single season that Miami has been able to say in the past two decades, with just one bowl win since the start of the 2007 season and zero ACC championships since joining the conference in 2004.

Following their win over the Seminoles, the Hurricanes are now 4-0 against domestic rivals this season after wins over the Florida Gators, USF Bulls and Florida A&M Rattlers. However, beating the Seminoles – who had tortured the Hurricanes by a combined point margin of 72 to 27 during Cristobal’s first two years – is just another big step for a program that has the propensity to potentially finish the season undefeated close.

Cristobal even made a nice joke at the end of his press conference at the Seminoles, a team that finished undefeated in the regular season last year. However, they are 1-8 under coach Mike Norvell since losing their Orange Bowl game against the Georgia Bulldogs 63-3.

“It is critical to beat this program and remain undefeated in the state of Florida,” said Cristobal, who played for the program from 1988 to 1992. “I think it sends a strong message to all recruits across the state and beyond. clearly see the trajectory of this program compared to the other programs.”

Unexpected things can happen, and that’s usually what happens in college football. It wasn’t that long ago that the No. 2 seed Hurricanes lost to the four-win Pittsburgh Panthers in their regular season finale in 2017. This team, however, feels different.

The defensive unit obviously isn’t as stingy as that one – the “Turnover Chain” slogan was populated during that season – but the offense is a juggernaut led by Heisman Trophy favorite Cam Ward. Despite having his slowest game of the season — he failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time — Ward still took care of the ball, didn’t commit a single turnover and still led the ‘Canes to 407 yards on offense. .

That complements the two-headed rushing attack led by Damien Martinez and Mark Fletcher Jr., which combined for 249 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 8.3 yards per carry.

He even caught a receiving touchdown for the first time in his college career to tighten the game for the ‘Canes near the end. Ward – who is a perfectionist despite his laid-back demeanor – emphasized that the Hurricanes proved nothing in their win over the Seminoles.

That could be due to the offense settling for three field goals instead of converting those chances into touchdowns.

“We didn’t prove anything,” Ward said after the game. “Overall, we weren’t good on offense tonight. We settled for three field goals, which is not good. We don’t settle for field goals, we settle for touchdowns. That’s something we need to clean up. But next week you will see a better attack.”

However, he did mention how “good” it felt to win his first rivalry game, especially against a Seminoles team that had won three straight games in the rivalry, including a 45-3 win over the ‘Canes in Miami in 2022.

“It felt good,” Ward says. “It’s my first rivalry match that I’ve won. It feels good to be on the winning side, especially in a rivalry like this. We took up the challenge, they are a talented team and we knew this outcome would come.”

Entering Week 9, Ward led the nation with 24 touchdowns and 2,538 yards, including a 25-point comeback win on the road against California and two straight wins against Virginia Tech and Louisville.

It’s no secret that the Hurricanes play in a weak conference in the ACC. There are only two other ranked teams in No. 9 Clemson and No. 22 SMU and it’s clear the ‘Canes are the team to beat in that conference.

The undefeated ‘Canes wrap up their regular season schedule with four games against unranked opponents. Assuming this remains true — and it likely will, with 5-2 Syracuse as their toughest remaining opponent — it means the Hurricanes will have been without a ranked opponent all season.

While the team certainly doesn’t want to look ahead — Hurricanes players and coaches preach a 1-0 every week — it does mean that Miami’s only remaining test before the start of the new 12-team College Football Playoff will be their likely ACC Championship will be. game against Clemson – who are far from the super team they were when they defeated the Hurricanes in their only conference championship game in 2017.

Assuming the Hurricanes win the conference, that means an automatic first-round bye and a top-four seed in the playoffs.

With Ward leading the way — he’ll be one of the top quarterbacks selected in the 2025 NFL Draft — there’s no reason to think Miami shouldn’t finish the season undefeated.

If that’s the case, Ward should remains a Heisman Trophy favorite even though he will face stiff competition from Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty, who has historic pace when it comes to running backs.

The ‘Canes may not be truly tested by an elite opponent until the playoffs begin. We’ll see if the defense can continue to make progress – as Cristobal notes – which will determine how far this team progresses.

But there’s no doubt that this ‘Canes team feels different from the mediocrity that has plagued this program for the past two decades. You would expect the 2024 Hurricanes to finish the year undefeated before they are truly tested by the conference’s other giants in the playoffs.