Florida State let a 20-point lead slip away on Saturday in a hard-fought 28-27 loss to No. 17 Miami. With the defeat, FSU falls to 3-3 and just 1-3 in the ACC.
As customary, we’ll take a look at the Seminoles who shined brightest in each phase of the game. Editor Mike Ferguson and lead writer Clint Eiland had out their game balls for Saturday’s efforts against the Hurricanes.
Offense
Unanimous Game Ball: Keith Gavin, WR
Florida State junior wide receiver Keith Gavin got the scoring started on Saturday with his first career touchdown — a 17-yard reception. Gavin would catch just one more pass for nine yards but should have had another touchdown. Unfortunately, what appeared to be a bad call negated a 45-yard touchdown reception from wide receiver D.J. Matthews.
Defense
Unanimous Game Ball: Brian Burns, DE
Florida State had a solid day defensively on Saturday and junior defensive end Brian Burns was a big reason why. Burns finished with four tackles, three four loss, two sacks and was responsible for forcing the only Miami turnover on a strip sack of quarterback N’Kosi Perry. Burns also batted one pass down at the line of scrimmage.
Special Teams
Unanimous Game Ball: D.J. Matthews, WR
For the first time in more than two years, Florida State had a punt return for touchdown. Junior D.J. Matthews gave FSU a 27-7 lead early in the third quarter with 74-yard punt return for a touchdown. For the day, Matthews averaged 29 yards on five returns. He also caught a team-high five passes.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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