Most were already familiar with the storied history shared between the Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes coming into Saturday night’s contest. Despite that impressive list of epic battles in the past this rivalry has lacked the pizzazz of yesteryear for much of the past decade. And following the Seminoles’ dismantling of Miami on national television it may be awhile before that air of importance returns to this intrastate clash.

The bulk of the attention coming into this game was focused on FSU quarterback Jameis Winston and his improbable rise from relative unknown to Heisman Trophy front-runner. While Winston was plenty deserving of the spotlight it seems some forgot just how impressive the entire Seminoles team was heading into this game.

Obviously the BCS was one of the entities discounting the rest of the Florida State squad with its complex formulas and completely backwards tactics having the Oregon Ducks jumping them in this past week’s standings. It seems safe to say that after the Seminoles’ impressive showing in a rivalry game in front of a national audience this team should return to its deserved spot at No. 2 in the standings.

Apparently someone forgot to tell Stephen Morris and the Hurricanes that Florida State has a pretty decent defensive unit as well. That defense stifled the Canes offensively and held them to just 275 total yards in addition to forcing two big turnovers. The defensive performance combined with an impressive rushing effort in a clock control offense powered the Seminoles to an easy 41 to 14 victory. Their time of possession edge was staggering in the contest with 38:33 of game time spent with the pigskin as opposed to Miami’s meager 21:27.

Devonta Freeman led the Noles on the ground with 23 carries for 78 yards, but James Wilder Jr. added nine totes for 42 yards along with Winston’s solid six rushes for 27 yards to aid the cause for FSU. This certainly wasn’t the type of game the Heisman contender was looking for with two interceptions, but whether they should or not wins count to the majority of voters. As long as he keeps his team unblemished you can expect to see Winston at least in attendance for the most decorated award in college football next month.

The game may not have lived up to the billing with two teams ranked in the top 10, but at least the ACC can hang its hat on Florida State being a serious national title contender.

Anthony Blake is a Senior Writer/Copy Editor for Rant Sports. You Can Follow Him on Twitter, on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

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