Seminoles have the Hurricanes in their sights

As fans charged the field at Virginia last Saturday night, celebrating the Cavaliers' upset victory over then-No. 8 Florida State in OT, one underlying question started to emerge:

Was the now-No. 18 Seminoles' early-season resurgence, highlighted by a convincing win against Alabama in the opener, just a mirage?

Word(s) to the wise: It wasn't.

Which is a good thing for FSU (3-1), its fans and the national TV audience likely to settle in for Saturday night's Sunshine State rivalry game with No. 3 Miami (4-0) set for 7:30 (ABC) at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, highlighting Week 6's edition of Upset Alert Saturday.

The Hurricanes come in favored by 4.5 points, having already beaten Notre Dame, South Florida and Florida, and are led by the most-hyped portal transfer of the offseason, QB Carson Beck.

Truth be told, Beck has been fine. Nothing more, nothing less. But Miami's defense has been stingy, allowing just 11.5 points per game, and its ground attack has been a pleasant surprise, averaging 180.5 yards per game, with bullish junior RB Mark Fletcher Jr. (388 yards, 5 TDs) leading the way.

But the Seminoles don't figure to be a pushover, despite dropping 10 spots in the AP poll. If anything, the loss to Virginia was the mirage. They outgained the Cavaliers, went up by a FG in the initial extra frame, had a TD pass in the second negated by a bobble, and only fell when Virginia's "team of destiny" reached the promised land with an INT on fourth down.

Two other things to keep in mind: FSU was facing the mental double-whammy of looking ahead and playing a team much better than most realized last week, and Seminoles QB Tommy Castellanos, even in defeat, looked pretty darn healthy.

Bitten by the injury bug earlier in the season, he threw for 254 yards and a TD against the Cavaliers and ran for 78 yards and a TD.

Now at home, with a chance to rebound from an emotional loss by beating its most bitter rival, FSU is a good play -- to win outright, not just cover.

As for the rest of Saturday's more intriguing matchups, see the following:

No. 14 Iowa State (5-0) at Cincinnati (3-1) -1.5, 12 p.m., ESPN2. The Rocco Becht-led Cyclones are experienced, battle-tested, unbeaten and ranked. Not sure why they're underdogs.

Wisconsin (2-2) at No. 20 Michigan (3-1) -17.5, 12, FOX. The Badgers are only 15-15 since Luke Fickell became HC. A big effort here would go a long way to showing his hire wasn't a mistake.

Clemson (1-3) at North Carolina (2-2) -14.5, 12, ESPN. At this point, why are the Tigers favored in any game? Not even the Bill Belichick cartoon playing out in Chapel Hill tops Clemson's freefall.

Wake Forest (2-2) at Virginia Tech (2-3) -6.5, 1, CW Network. Are we giving the Hokies a little too much credit for moving on from Brent Pry the past couple weeks?

No. 9 Texas (3-1) -4.5 at Florida (1-3), 3:30, ESPN. The QB showdown to determine who is the bigger bust, with the Longhorns' Arch Manning and the Gators' D.J. Lagway "starring."

Boise State (3-1) at No. 21 Notre Dame (2-2) -20.5, 3:30, NBC. Do oddsmakers realize the Irish are giving up more than 30 points per game?

No. 24 Virginia (4-1) at Louisville (4-0) -6.5, 3:30, ESPN2. QB Chandler Morris has displayed an inspirational touch with getting the Cavaliers to play over their heads.

Washington (3-1) at Maryland (4-0), 3:30 BTN. Might be time for the nation to get up to speed with the Terps and their star freshman QB Malik Washington.

No. 16 Vandy (5-0) at No. 10 Alabama (3-1) -11.5, 3:30, ABC. Flutie-esque QB Diego Pavia's big mouth and even bigger game should keep the Commodores close.