CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Twenty-five University of Miami seniors, including quarterback Stephen Morris and wide receiver Allen Hurns, don't want to be part of history.
It's been more than a decade (1995-1999) since Florida State rattled off four straight wins in the yearly in-state rivalry, which Miami leads 31-26.
Opening as 21-point underdogs in Saturday night's matchup in Tallahassee, the Hurricanes know they must play a near-perfect game in order to send their seniors off with a top-10 victory.
"Right now I'm very calm, treating it like every week," said Hurns, the team's top receiver with 28 catches for 506 yards. "Come game time though I'm going to be hype. Once the game starts I'm going to be tuned in."
Head coach Al Golden believes his seventh-ranked Hurricanes have not faced a more complete team than the third-ranked Seminoles during his tenure.
Golden said Florida State's offense, the second-most efficient in the nation, has tall receivers who can beat the secondary deep or come back for the ball on Heisman Trophy hopeful Jameis Winston's throws.
Juniors Devonta Freeman (561 yards) and James Wilder Jr. (226 yards) provide a formidable attack on the ground. Junior tight end in Nick O'Leary could give Miami, a team that failed to shut down North Carolina's Eric Ebron, fits.
Florida State's defense has allowed 20 points or fewer in 28 of its last 35 games for an 11.8 average. Opponents have recorded 200 or more passing yards just twice in its last 11 home games and 2.8 yards per carry on the ground.
"It's a very complete team playing with a white-hot quarterback," Golden said.
If the Hurricanes wish to snap the Seminoles' 11-game win streak over Atlantic Coast Conference opponents, Golden said they must avoid breakdowns on special teams, turnovers and penalties.
Although Miami rides a nine-game win streak dating back to last season and remains one of eight unbeaten teams left in the country, the margin for error is small against a talented team such as Florida State.
Over the past two weeks, Miami has overcome double-digit deficits for comeback victories against unranked ACC opponents.
"It's really all about you extracting whatever you can extract that's positive in each of those games, and certainly winning late in games, overcoming adversity, things not being perfect. All of those things we extract," Golden said. "Biggest thing is, 'Are we learning?'
"We have to learn a great deal and improve individually a lot from last Saturday to this Saturday to have a chance on Saturday in Tallahassee to really play well and have a chance to win."
Here are three keys to a Miami upset:
The senior, who called his 2013 season "up and down" in terms of performance, hasn't been the same quarterback since sustaining an ankle injury in a late September game against Savannah State and re-aggravating it a week later.
Fourth on the program's all-time passing list and a standout at this summer's Manning Passing Academy, Morris' mechanics have been out of whack. His throwing motion is particularly inconsistent on short and intermediate passes.
His decision-making against the Tar Heels, which resulted in four interceptions, almost cost his team in North Carolina. Instead of airing it out in comeback victories over the Tar Heels and Wake Forest, the Hurricanes relied on sophomore running backs Dallas Crawford and Duke Johnson, respectively.
"It was just a shame when it happened [with the way] he was throwing the ball," offensive coordinator James Coley said. "It did set him back a little bit, but he's done that work and he's finally feeling good."
According to Golden, he expects a "clean bill of health" from Morris by Saturday.
"I think he looked better this past game than he has looked," Golden said. "He moved better in the pocket and when we moved the pocket on him. He looks different. His personality is coming back. He's not worrying about it. He's starting to feel good."
If Miami's offense wants to avoid the struggles it faced in a tough win against in-state rival Florida, Morris will need to produce to take some of the pressure off the run game.
Miami is 11-0 when Johnson rushes for a touchdown and 3-5 when he does not. Though he ranks fourth in the nation in all-purpose yards (1,280) and 11th in rushing (823), his career numbers haven't been impressive against ranked opponents: In four games he has averaged just 2.9 yards per carry (127 yards on 44 attempts).
In the all-time series, the team with the better run game has won 19 of 26 meetings since 1988. FSU has outrushed UM twice over the past three years.
Coley has done a good job calling plays that distribute the ball to all of Morris' playmakers, which sport the seventh-best yardage per completion (15.56).
Hurns said his hip pointer injury wouldn't affect him on Saturday. Junior Rashawn Scott suited up in a game this past Saturday for the first time since the opener, fully recovered from a broken collarbone. Freshman Stacy Coley continues to make great strides, rebounding from a couple of tough drops in the opener.
"[Stephen's] the big key, he's the main key," said junior tight end Clive Walford, who has 17 catches for 244 yards and two touchdowns this season. "We look to him when we need a big play. He's the main factor."
How does one stop a unit that scores on 54.2 percent of its drives, the second-best mark in the nation? Or slow down a redshirt freshman quarterback in the midst of a Heisman Trophy-worthy season?
"We just make sure especially the younger guys stay focused and know your role on the defense and the team," said sophomore linebacker Tyriq McCord, who has three sacks and two interceptions.
In 2012, it was hard to find a defense as statistically bad as the one in Coral Gables. It was the fifth-worst in yards allowed per game (486), 11th-worst against the run and in the bottom 20 against the pass. It surrendered a program-high in points (366).
This year, Miami ranks 10th in the country in pass-efficiency defense (104.77) and 11th in scoring defense (17.7 points per game). Offenses have scored a touchdown on 45 percent of their red-zone opportunities, 16 percent less than last year.
While it may still allow 342.3 yards per game, the Hurricanes vastly improved in two key areas: forcing turnovers and pressuring the quarterback.
Miami already has 11 interceptions -- one more than last season -- and seven recovered fumbles (four away from 2012 mark). The Hurricanes have 22 sacks by 14 players, averaging 3.14 a game. Over 12 games last season, the Hurricanes recorded just 13 sacks (fourth-fewest in NCAA) by seven players.
"We're more mature as a defense and guys are out there doing their job," said junior linebacker Denzel Perryman, a Butkus Award semifinalist. "We're faster, stronger, more physical."
Florida State, however, has the second-fewest turnovers in the nation (one fumble, five INTs) and seven straight games with 40 or more points. Its red-zone scoring is tops in the nation at a 97.4 percent clip (only one failed drive).
"They do a lot of things really well," junior defensive lineman Anthony Chickillo said. "They have a tremendous young quarterback, good offensive line, playmakers. They're a good team, and we've got to get ready."
If the series' history proves anything it's that quick starts almost always mean a Miami victory.
When the Hurricanes score first they are 22-5. By halftime with the lead, they're 19-2. The Seminoles, meanwhile, hold a 21-9 record both when scoring first and taking a halftime lead.
That could be a problem come Saturday for a Miami team that has needed last-minute comeback wins in consecutive weeks.
As the Demon Deacons controlled the clock during the first quarter of last week's game, the Hurricanes ran just three offensive plays and trailed 7-0. The time of possession differential was drastic.
After going through the first four games of the season without falling behind, Miami found itself losing for 48:59 on Saturday alone. The Seminoles, on the other hand, have trailed just 37:58 all season.
Golden, who sent out his punt unit with 10:42 remaining in the game down 14-10 despite possession on the Wake 35-yard line, said he trusted his defense enough to get the offense the ball back.
Miami cannot afford another double-digit deficit on the road against a top-3 team such as Florida State.
"I'm proud of our guys that they have overcome adversity and they're fighting and counterpunching," Golden said. "But make no mistake -- we are not planning to play from behind in any of these games. It's not part of the game plan."
