MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – A state championship wasn’t what Miami expected this season. Still, it was something Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal could enjoy.

At least for a moment.

Cam Ward passed for 208 yards and caught a touchdown pass, Damien Martinez ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns and No. 6 Miami remained undefeated by defeating rival Florida State 36-14 on Saturday night.

Mark Fletcher Jr. rushed for a score and Andres Borregales hit three field goals to help Miami (8-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) snap a three-game losing streak against the Seminoles (1-7, 1-6). .

“It’s critically important to go out there and beat this program and go undefeated at Florida State,” said Cristobal, whose team improved to 4-0 in in-state games this season — after defeating Florida, Florida A&M, South Florida and had now defeated Florida State. “I think it sends a strong message. All recruits at home and abroad can now clearly see the progression of this program compared to the progression of the other programs.”

And with that he slammed the lectern for emphasis, the final blow of an evening that Miami controlled.

The Seminoles, who started 13-0 last season and won the ACC, are all set to experience their fifth losing season in the last seven years, their third in five seasons under coach Mike Norvell. Luke Kromenhoek took over at quarterback from the bench and rushed for 71 yards.

“Just a disappointing result in this game,” Norvell said. “The game means so much to this program, our university, former players and all Seminoles. I apologize for the outcome of this game.”

Fletcher scored first for Miami with a 1-yard run, capping a 67-yard drive – an emotional moment for the sophomore whose father died this week. He crossed the goal line, knelt and pointed to the sky as a sign of his appreciation.

Martinez made it 14-0 with an 18-yard run at the start of the second quarter. Miami didn’t find the end zone again until the 4:32 mark when tight end Elijah Arroyo connected with Ward – two Texas natives on a play Miami calls “Texas” – for an 8-yard touchdown pass.

Martinez scored again with 1:51 left, running in from 12 yards out. His 148 yards were the second-most of any Miami rusher in the rivalry series; Stephen McGuire ran for 176 in 1990.

“He’s a very physical, tough guy who’s hard to beat,” Cristobal said. “You won’t attack him with your arm.”

The Seminoles handed their hopes over to Kromenhoek in the first half. The true freshman’s numbers coming into the game: 3-for-7 passing for 19 yards, seven carries for minus-2 yards, all in his collegiate debut last week against Duke.

He made an immediate impression.

Kromenhoek ran 14 yards for a first down on his first run, somehow slipped out of a crowd on fourth-and-1 for a 42-yard keeper to keep the drive alive, then added a 12-yard run for the 1 .Pass added Caziah Holmes stormed in in the fourth period and finished what Kromenhoek started, putting FSU up 14-7 midway through the second quarter.

But the Seminoles didn’t score again until 18 seconds left, when Brock Glenn hit Malik Benson on a 5-yard pass. It was just Florida State’s 13th touchdown of the season.

The takeaway food
Florida State: The Seminoles are still the only FBS team to score more than 21 points so far this season. They have not scored more than 16 goals in any of their last nine games in the United States; The 21-point win came in Ireland’s season opener against Georgia Tech.

Miami: WR Xavier Restrepo passed Michael Irvin and Reggie Wayne on the same play. A 13-yard catch in the third quarter pushed Restrepo to 174 catches (passing Wayne for second on Miami’s career list) and 2,427 yards (passing Irvin for third on Miami’s career list).

Impact on the survey
The Hurricanes will stay somewhere at No. 6. Miami will be on track to be in the poll from start to finish for the second time since 2005; the last time it happened was in 2017.

Next
Florida State is home for the first time in nearly a month, hosting North Carolina on November 2nd. Miami welcomes back former coach Manny Diaz when Duke visits on November 2nd.

——

Get AP Top 25 poll alerts and updates throughout the season. Sign up here. AP College Football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football