Florida State football: Opponent preview with Miami beat writer Adam Lichtenstein

Florida State bounced back from a three-game losing streak to beat Georgia Tech last week.

Now the Seminoles (5-3, 3-3 ACC) will shift their attention to in-state rival Miami (4-4, 2-2) in an ACC battle at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

ABC will broadcast the game.

Florida State is on the upswing in the third year of head coach Mike Norvell, while the Hurricanes are still looking to find their footing in year one under Mario Cristobal.

As usual, the Miami-Florida State football game involves many major storylines.

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Norvell has talked this week about missing the 2020 game in Miami due to COVID, while he and the players have talked about the growth of the program since the blowout loss two years ago.

As usual, the game will be a gage for both teams on which direction their season is headed. A win for FSU cements an already good start to the season and earns it the first bowl game berth since 2019.

A win for UM rebuilds confidence in what hasn't been a smooth first year under Cristobal, one which the Hurricanes began the season ranked, but are now fighting for bowl eligibility.

To preview the game, the Tallahassee Democrat caught up with Adam Lichtenstein, the Miami Hurricanes beat writer for the Sun-Sentinel.

Opponent preview: Florida State football: Will Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke be back to play against Seminoles?

Q&A with Miami beat writer Adam Lichtenstein

Q: What is the status for QB Tyler Van Dyke? Is he playing Saturday? If not, what is the game plan going to look like for the Hurricanes?

Adam Lichtenstein: The Hurricanes are pretty coy about injuries, so they have not announced whether or not Van Dyke will be ready for Saturday's game. Mario Cristobal has said Van Dyke is improving and working in practice, but he has said that they would know more closer to game day.

If Van Dyke misses his second straight game, they'll go with redshirt freshman Jake Garcia. Garcia was a highly touted, four-star prospect in high school, but he has struggled a bit since entering the Duke game for Van Dyke. Last week, he went 15 for 29 for just 125 yards, but he did keep his poise enough to run for the game-winning two-point conversion in overtime.

Q: Will Mallory is the leading receiver for the Hurricanes this season, but Xavier Restrepo looks like he’s finally healthy. What is the status of the receiving core for Miami?

Lichtenstein: It appears like the UM receivers are all finally healthy. Restrepo returned in limited reps last week, but I would expect to see him get a bit more playing time against FSU this week. Jacolby George returned from his hand injury a couple weeks ago, and Brashard Smith returned last week from a minor injury that kept him out, so as far we know, the UM receivers are good to go.

Q: On the defensive side, the Hurricanes have been solid, what has gone right for the program in that phase of the game?

Lichtenstein: The defensive line has been a major strength for Miami this year. The Hurricanes brought in a bunch of transfers -- Mitchell Agude, Akheem Mesidor, Darrell Jackson, Jacob Lichtenstein and Antonio Moultie -- and all of them have been solid contributors. Combine them with returners like Jahfari Harvey and Leonard Taylor, and you've got a group that's tied for fifth in the nation with 29 total sacks.

Taylor, in particular, had a dominant game last week, getting four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks against the Cavaliers last week.

Q: Akheem Mesidor left the Virginia game early… What’s his status? Any other key injuries?

Lichtenstein: Cristobal has not mentioned Mesidor's status since after last weekend's game, but it seemed like Mesidor was trying to push through an injury that ultimately became too much to play through. I would expect him to play this week, but we'll find out Saturday.

Miami's main injuries are on the offensive line, as tackle Zion Nelson has not played since Sept. 17 after suffering a setback to a knee he had surgery on in the offseason. Additionally, starting guard Justice Oluwaseun has been out since the North Carolina game last month with an injury.

UM is also down at least one linebacker, as Waynmon Steed Jr., who was a starter earlier in the year, has missed a couple games with an injury. True freshman linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, who the coaches are high on, missed part of the Virginia game with an injury, but it seems like he should be ready this week.

Q: Assess the first year under Mario Cristobal on the field? Has he met expectations?

Lichtenstein: I would not say Cristobal has met his or most other people's expectations on the field this year. Miami was picked to win the ACC Coastal and compete for a conference title this season, but that's not happening. Whether those expectations were too high or it's a case of the team underperforming, not many people expected the Hurricanes to be fighting for bowl eligibility.

Q: Cristobal has been killing it on the recruiting trail. How big of a shock was the commitment of 5-star cornerback? How have recruits reacted to the season?

Lichtenstein: Getting Cormani McClain was a huge pickup for the Hurricanes, whose class was previously a little short on defensive backs. It was a massive recruiting victory over Florida and Alabama, and it was one of the bigger recruiting surprises I've seen in a while.

So far, Miami's recruiting class has stuck together despite the rough start. Everyone in the class is saying all the right things about how they want to be the ones to turn things around. Unless the Hurricanes absolutely implode in the next month, I would expect the class to stay together. You can never rule out a decommitment, especially when several of the players are such highly rated prospects, but UM has put together a really good class.

Q: Predictions for the game?

Lichtenstein: 27-20 Florida State.

The Seminoles have one of the best offenses the Hurricanes have faced this year, but I think the defense should be good enough to keep UM in the game. The question is how the Miami offense performs. The Hurricanes would almost certainly be better off if Van Dyke is able to return, but it's not like the Miami offense had been fantastic with him at quarterback this year.

With Garcia at quarterback last week, the Hurricanes could not score one touchdown. I would expect them to do better than that this week, regardless, but it's tough to expect a lot after they struggled so much last week.

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GAME INFORMATION

Who: FSU (5-3, 3-3 ACC) vs. Miami (4-4, 2-2)

When/where: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens

TV/Radio: ABC/94.9 FM

Live game updates: www.Tallahassee.com; @CarterKarels on Twitter; @Ehsan_Kassim on Twitter; @JimHenryTALLY

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Seminole football: Opponent preview with Miami beat writer Adam Lichtenstein