No. 21 Miami, FIU set to renew South Florida rivalry — minus the fireworks, they say

Their campuses are located just 8 miles apart and their rosters are filled with dozens of former South Florida high school football standouts — players who know each other, have competed against each other and have, in some cases, grown up together.

And yet, for more than a decade, the two have not met on the field.

That will change Saturday when, for the first time since 2007, No. 21 Miami and Florida International University will renew their rivalry with an afternoon showdown at Hard Rock Stadium, the Hurricanes’ home field.

For Miami, it will be a chance to build on a two-game winning streak before the Hurricanes turn their focus to ACC play. For FIU, it’s a chance to try and notch a program-defining upset as the Panthers look to take another step forward under second-year coach Butch Davis.

Those aren’t the only things at stake, though.

For both the Hurricanes and Panthers, Saturday’s matchup will be another opportunity to move past the ugly incident that defines the short rivalry — a benches-clearing brawl in 2006 that resulted in the ejection of 13 players from that game at the Orange Bowl and later resulted in suspensions for a combined 31 players from both teams.

The melee — which included players throwing punches, swinging helmets and stomping on each other — made national headlines and was an embarrassment for both schools who opted after a second meeting in 2007 to discontinue their series for a while.

Eleven years, it seems, has been long enough.

Now, as both Miami and FIU prepare for what they expect will be another emotionally-charged game because of all the local connections, the Panthers and Hurricanes say it’s essential all of their energy is channeled the right way — on the field.

And both teams’ coaches are confident that will happen.

“Everybody knows everybody. … It’ll be an emotional game, for sure,” Hurricanes coach Mark Richt said. “But that’s where everybody has to be disciplined and do a good job. If you look at their team, and the number of penalties they’ve had all year long, it shows discipline, to me. Even us, a week ago, [we] had no penalties. That’s important.

“There will be guys getting their blood pumping, which should happen in the game of football. It’s a game of adrenaline and a game of guys physically getting after each other. But everybody knows that if you do something stupid, then you don’t get to play. That’s the way football is and the way it should be. I don’t anticipate anything foolish.”

Added Davis, “Anytime you play another school within the state of Florida, there’s always going to be guys that played together on high school teams, or played against them in high school. There’s relationships and familiarity. That obviously raises the level of excitement. But the reality of it is, if you’re really doing your job as a coach and as a staff and as a team, you’re trying to make sure your level of preparation is exactly the same every single week.”

The Hurricanes (2-1) have won two straight and are looking to build on their success against Savannah State and Toledo before turning their focus to ACC play next week.

Miami will be without two of its top players in receiver Ahmmon Richards and safety Jaquan Johnson due to injuries. But several of the Hurricanes’ young standouts — including receiver Jeff Thomas and running back DeeJay Dallas — have blossomed in recent weeks, giving quarterback Malik Rosier more offensive options.

FIU (2-1) is coming off a 63-24 win over UMass in which the team tied a school record for points scored. The Panthers scored on offense, defense and special teams in the win, with Maurice Alexander — who shifted from quarterback to wide receiver this season — scoring on both a touchdown catch and punt return.

“This is going to be a big game for us. We’re excited,” Hurricanes offensive lineman Tyree St. Louis said. “People will love this matchup, backyard brawl, pretty much. And we’re going to show what Miami’s about.”

St. Louis then realized what he’d just said and shook his head.

“I just said backyard brawl,” he laughed. “We’re not going to have that again.”

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