MIAMI (AP) — Gary Cismesia took his final warmup kick on the sideline, rubbed his head, fastened his helmet strap and jogged onto the field. He looked cool and calm, then did what so many Florida State kickers over the years could not.
He beat Miami.
Cismesia's 33-yard field goal with 8:06 left lifted the 10th-ranked Seminoles to a 13-10 win over the No. 11 Hurricanes on Monday night.
Michael Ray Garvin intercepted Kyle Wright's final pass with 29 seconds left, sealing the victory.
It was the second straight win in the series for the Seminoles, who also eked out a three-point win over their Sunshine State rival in last season's opener.
Drew Weatherford, who was awful in the 2005 win, was solid this time — throwing for 175 yards, 62 of them on a pair of pivotal third-down conversions that set up the Seminoles' lone touchdown early in the fourth quarter. And Florida State's hopes almost entirely hinged on the passing game, since Miami's defensive front held the Seminoles to 1 yard on 25 rushes.
Still, even a performance like that wasn't enough to carry the Hurricanes, who managed only 17 yards in the second half and wasted a 10-3 halftime lead.
"You don't know how hard it is to beat Miami," Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden said. "I mean, I've been playing these guys for 31 years. They've probably got as good a defense as there is in the country, unless it's us."
Charlie Jones had a 4-yard touchdown run for Miami, which hadn't lost to Florida State in the Orange Bowl since 1998 — and has now lost three of its last four games overall dating back to last season. The revamped Hurricane offense struggled mightily; Wright was 18-of-27 passing, but gained only 132 yards.
And the rushing game, like Florida State's, was non-existent: Miami had 2 yards on 26 carries, the second-lowest total in school history.
"What you saw tonight was a typical Miami-Florida State game. ... I want to make sure our fans don't give up on this football team," Miami coach Larry Coker said. "This is going to be a very good football team. It's a long season."
Joe Surratt had a 1-yard touchdown plunge for Florida State on the first play of the final quarter, and De'Cody Fagg had three catches for 60 yards for the Seminoles.
Darnell Jenkins and Lance Leggett each had four catches and combined for 93 yards for the Hurricanes, but the duo made only one catch in the second half.
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Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Noles Kick the Canes 13-10
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