The path to the top of the AP Top 25 poll has been cleared for Miami, which had to traverse a very rocky road to get there Saturday night.

The No. 3 Hurricanes beat Florida State 43-35 in double overtime in a game that ended with two controversial fourth-down calls that nullified potential game-tying touchdowns by the Seminoles.

“This is what great teams do, find a way to win,” said Miami quarterback Darian Mensah, who passed for 326 yards and three touchdowns.

Coupled with losses by top-ranked Georgia and No. 2 Notre Dame, Miami (4-0 ACC, 6-0 overall) is the highest-ranked remaining unbeaten team.

“We have a good enough sample size of 2026 to know that’s absolutely insignificant and irrelevant with the changing of the guard from week to week,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “It just has no value to our processes and whatnot. I’ll real ‘1' that’s important: the 1-0.”

The Hurricanes’ final score came on a 3-yard catch by Malachi Toney, who had 11 catches for 154 yards and also thew for a two-point conversion to Cooper Barkate.

“This rivarly is bigger than me,” Toney said. “I haven’t been alive for half of it, but I’m still playing for the standard that the generations before me created.”

This game will go down as one of the greatest in Miami-Florida State lore not just for the finish but how close Miami came to becoming the sixth team in the top seven to fall Saturday.

Miami rallied from a seven-point deficit to take a 28-21 lead with 2:49 remaining in regulation. On the next play, Daniels connected with Robinson for a 75-yard touchdown reception that sent the game into overtime. Florida State immediately took a 35-28 lead on a 20-yard touchdown catch by Robinson from Daniels.

But Miami responded with a 25-yard rushing TD by Javian Mallory, who led the Hurricanes with 108 yards on 13 carries.

On a fourth and 21 in the second OT, Florida State quarterback Ashton Daniels completed a 36-yard TD pass to Micahi Danzy, but the play was nullified by a holding penalty.

Then on fourth and 31 from the Miami 46, Daniels heaved another pass to the end zone for Duce Robinson. After a lengthy review, officials ruled that the ball was intercepted by Bryce Fitzgerald, though the Seminoles claimed they had scored.

“I thought it was a touchdown, but we’re not the ones out there calling the shots,” said Daniels, who passed for 298 yards and four touchdowns. “We can’t control the decisions and all that. We don’t understand it. It hurts, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Florida State coach Mike Norvell disagreed with both calls. “Go watch the film,” he said. “Since the start of football, if it’s a tie, it goes to the receiver. I guess they had a different angle.”