Sunday, 4 a.m.
Let's face it. The odds weren't very good for Florida State Saturday afternoon.
They trailed by thee points, and time was running out, and they had to kick the ball to Florida. The odd of an onside kick weren't very good to start with.
And then kicker Parker Grouthas whiffed it.
Grouthas barely topped the football from the kickoff tee, allowing the Gators to run out the final 42 seconds of the in a 24-21 loss.
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For Florida, the win came days after the firing of head coach Dan Mullen. Interim coach Greg Knox, in his second stint filling in, improved his record to 2-0. The Gators, at 6-6, are now bowl eligible.
"Was it our best?" Knox said. "No but it's a win. A great win. That senior class waned it.
"We talked about opportunity in chaos."
FSU's attempted comeback by led by quarterback Jordan Travis, who left the game twice with an injury.
Travis threw for 202 yards and ran for 102.
For Florida, backup quarterback Anthony Richardson came off the bench and hit five of seven passes for 56 yards. Starter Emory Jones threw three interceptions.
"I thought at times we let our passion and emotion go a little too far," said FSU coach Mike Norvell. "We weren't in control of our response in certain situations, which put us in challenging situations.
"It's a hard way to end this season, because I've seen a team that's been knocked down, had all odd against them and they continued to respond, continued to believe."Paragraph
FSU ends its season 5-7 after starting 0-4.
Miami 47, Duke 10: The Hurricanes finished their season in a decisive factor, winning five of their final six games.
Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke threw for 381 yards and three touchdowns, wo of them to Charleston Rambo, who had 102 of the yards. It was the sixth 300-yard game of Van Dyke.
Miami scored all of its points in the first three quarters.
"It just felt like upfront we really got after them," said UM coach Manny Diaz. "They’re really good at running the football and Durant set the record today and has been in the top ten in rush yards all season. They were a real threat and a real challenge.
"Fourth down was a crazy thing today. We stopped three and converted three. So many guys contributing. That’s the part to me that made today a lot of fun to watch.”
There has been speculation whether Diaz will return next season, but he didn't seem concerned.
"All I know is that every week we’ve been on a one week mission," Diaz said. "This week, the mission was to beat Duke. What I’m proud of is the guys in that locker room. I’m proud of how all in they are for this program. To do what they’ve been able to do and finish the year the way we’ve been able to finish. You look at the young guys making plays on that field, there’s a hunger. It’s not the end, it’s the beginning."
Officially, Diaz admitted he hasn't been told.
"All I’ve been told is, ‘Hey lets win a football game,’" Diaz said. "That’s all I’ve been focusing on. That’s all that matters right now. Everything else has been out of my control, so it wasn’t really worth worrying about. I think that’s the whole point of why this team has been able to finish the way that we’ve finished. We’ve been able to identify every week what is in front of us right now, where our feet are at, and let’s win where our feet are at. I think that’s why they’ve showed the resiliency to win five out of six and turn 2-4 into 7-5. We’re not happy with 7-5, but where we were and where we are going, I think everybody understands how we finish is beyond putting up for this year. We’re not finished. We have a bowl game that we have to go win.”