‣ CFB 2026 ACC Championship Game - Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina (9-4, 7-1 ACC)#4 Florida State Seminoles vs. #1 Miami Hurricanes (12-1, 8-0 ACC)FSU | 0| 0 | 7 | 13 | 20 MIA | 10 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 28
Miami Hurricanes hold off Florida State's late surge to win ACC Championship 28-20
Florida State never stopped fighting, scratching and clawing their way back into a game they had no business still being in. But when it mattered most, the Miami Hurricanes had the answers to the test.
The Seminoles nearly pulled off the comeback, scoring two touchdowns in the final six minutes of the game but the blocked extra point that was returned for a touchdown would prove to be too much to overcome for Florida State as Miami escaped Charlotte with their second consecutive ACC Championship Game and the likely top seed in the College Football Playoffs with a 28-20 win over their rivals.
Miami receiver Jeremiah Smith made his season debut after missing the entire regular season with a torn pectoral. In a limited role, he caught three passes for twenty yards with a drop on a potential big play down the field in the second half.
Miami was leading 26-7 with 9:04 remaining when Emory Williams was sacked for a seventeen yard loss and the Seminoles got the ball back and completed passes of twenty and seventeen yards on consecutive players before Jaylin Lucas found the endzone on a twenty-two yard run.
Florida State would be back in the red zone with a chance to make it a one possession game when Luke Kromenhoek threw his fourth interception of the day on an ill advised throw into the endzone instead of keeping it on a scramble. It would prove to be not too costly as Miami's Jordan Lyle fumbled three plays later and Kromenhoek found Damien Keys for the fourteen yard touchdown with 1:47 remaining to make it a six point game.
During the extra point, Kahlil Dogg's field goal would be blocked by freshman cornerback Jamar Rattay and returned for two points by safety LaMarcus Cook to make it an eight point game.
The Seminoles offense would get the ball and a chance to force overtime with 1:26 remaining and no timeouts but Miami's defensive line would sack Kromenhoek three times in four plays, on top of drawing a holding call and force the Seminoles into a heave on 4th and 38 that fell incomplete. Scoring Summary Quarter 1 James Rutter, 23 Yd FG (5:26) Maurice Rugamba 3 Yd pass from Emory Williams (0:24)
Quarter 2 James Rutter, 28 Yd FG (7:12) James Rutter, 31 Yd FG (2:06) James Rutter, 50 Yd FG (0:08)
Quarter 3 Damien Keys, 10 Yd run (9:02) Joshisa Trader 38 Yd pass from Emory Williams (4:44)
Quarter 4 Jaylin Lucas, 22 Yd run (5:57) Damien Keys 14 Yd pass from Luke Kromenhoek -- 2pt failed (1:42) Player Stats QB Luke Kromenhoek: 17-27, 171 yds, TD, 4 INT, sacked 4 times QB Emory Williams: 18-31, 171 yds, 2 TD, sacked 3 times
HB Kam Davis: 17 att, 112 yds, 4 rec, 25 yds HB Jordan Lyle: 16 att, 57 yds, fumble (lost) HB Mark Fletcher Jr: 12 att, 56 yds
LT Markel Bell: 52.8 PFF grade LG Frankie Tinilau: 20.4 PFF grade C Will Larkins: 27.1 PFF grade RG Juan Minaya: 43.0 PFF grad RT Francis Mauigoa: 74.7 PFF grade
LB Justin Cryer: 17 tkl, TFL LB Omar Graham Jr: 15 tkl, 2 TFL DE Amaree Williams: 9 tkl, 4 TFL, 1.5 sacks CB Dontae Balfour: 6 tkl, INT, 2 PBU S Markeith Williams: 6 tkl, INT CB Damari Brown: 5 tkl, INT S Jaden Harris: 4 tkl, TFL, INT
Squad struggled to hit the board traditionally. Y'all owe Rutter some ice cream
I feel like the third quarter is where he should have blown the game open so yeah, definitely need to start finishing drives if we're really going to do this thing. Florida State is probably one of the higher rated teams though and we've beaten them twice despite playing poorly. Jeremiah Smith byke too and still made an impact despite the low snap count
Orange Bowl Preview: vs. #8 Georgia Bulldogs
Record: 11-3, 7-1 SEC
Head Coach: Kirby Smart
Offensive Scheme: Pro Style
Defensive Scheme: 3-3-5
Notable Results
at Louisville (3-9): L 45-24
vs. #22 LSU (9-4): W 31-17
at #14 Texas A&M (9-4): W 30-29
vs. #9 Florida (10-3): L 31-19
SEC Championship Game vs. #9 Florida (10-3): L 35-27
CFP Playoff R1 vs. #7 Florida State (9-5): W 31-17
James Rutter, 23 Yd FG (5:26)
Damien Keys, 10 Yd run (9:02)
HC Clark Lea (fired)
HC Manny Diaz (went to the NFL)
HC Tony Elliott (fired)
HC Sherrone Moore (fired)
HC Brent Venables (fired)
HC Mike Gundy (fired)
HC Lane Kiffin (fired)
HC Fran Brown (fired)
HC DeShaun Foster (fired)
HC Jedd Fisch (fired)
HC Troy Taylor (fired)
S K.J. Bolden (out)