MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- An unlikely kick a week ago doomed Florida State.An unlikely blocked kick now might have saved the Seminoles season.DeMarcus Walker pushed through the line and blocked Miami kicker Michael Badgleys point-after attempt with 1:38 remaining, and that was the difference as No. 23 Florida State escaped with a 20-19 victory over the 10th-ranked Hurricanes on Saturday night -- the Seminoles seventh straight win over their archrival.Thats a Florida State-Miami game, Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher said. Its great competition. Heck of a game.Heck of a finish, too.Walker is from Jacksonville, Florida -- which was hit hard by Hurricane Matthew, and that was on the Florida State stars mind as he lined up for that crucial point-after play.I was just so heartbroken with everything that happened, Walker said. I did it for them.Dalvin Cook and Kermit Whitfield had touchdown catches in the third quarter. Deondre Francois, who left in the first half after being shaken up, came back and ended up with 234 yards passing for Florida State (4-2, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference).My team needed me, Francois said. The trainers got me right.The Hurricanes (4-1, 1-1) were in position to tie it after Brad Kaaya connected with Stacy Coley on an 11-yard touchdown pass. But the 6-foot-3 Walker pushed through some blockers and got his arm outstretched just enough to knock away what would have been the tying point from Badgley.So once again, in a series defined so many times by missed kicks by the Seminoles -- like Wide Right I in 1991 that wound up helping Miami win the national championship, an accomplishment the Hurricanes celebrated the 25th anniversary of Saturday -- theres now a new piece of lore.Not being able to protect well enough to kick an extra point is tough, Miami coach Mark Richt said. Tough for everybody. But, to their credit, somebody cared enough to blast through and get it. It was a great effort on their part.Florida State saw its 22-game home winning streak end last weekend when North Carolina connected on a 54-yard field goal as time expired. But the streak over Miami lives on.Cook finished with 150 yards rushing and had a 59-yard scoring catch to spark the Seminoles second-half surge, and Whitfields 20-yard catch on his 23rd birthday put Florida State ahead for good.Coley caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Kaaya to help Miami take an early 13-0 lead. But for the third straight year, the Hurricanes saw a second-half lead slip away. Braxton Berrios set up Coleys second TD catch with a punt return inside the Florida State 20, but it wasnt enough.Its a heartbreaker, Kaaya said.Kaaya lost a molar in the third quarter when he took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Florida States Matthew Thomas, who was ejected for targeting -- the second straight year a Seminoles player was tossed for targeting the Miami quarterback. And in the fourth quarter, Miamis Jamal Carter was thrown out for a targeting hit against Whitfield.Some Miami fans showered the field with debris at that point, and Richt wasnt happy either.But in the end, it was a kick that decided everything -- and the break went Florida States way.This just shows the character and fight these guys have, Cook said. Hats off to Miami. Great team. They battled.THE TAKEAWAYFlorida State: Cook has two career touchdown catches -- both against Miami. ... The Seminoles lost safety Nate Andrews in the first quarter, who was hurt on a play where he tackled Miamis David Njoku. ... Florida State now has a pair of seven-game winning streaks against Miami, this other coming between 1963 and 1972. ... The Seminoles are now 13-2 under Fisher when playing in NFL stadiums.Miami: The Hurricanes went 281 minutes, 28 seconds this season without trailing. They came into the night as one of only two FBS teams who hadnt faced a deficit this season, with Boise State now alone on that list. ... RT Sunny Odogwu got hurt in the fourth quarter, on a drive where the Hurricanes allowed back-to-back sacks of Kaaya at a critical time. Odogwu was taken off the field on a cart after time expired.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe second-longest active streak of AP Top 25 poll appearances will live on -- since Florida State surely will hold a spot for the 76th straight week after this comeback win. Miami likely would have climbed a spot or two with a victory, though now the Hurricanes will drop several spots when the next installment of the poll comes out Monday.UP NEXTFlorida State: The Seminoles host Wake Forest on Oct. 15, looking for their fifth straight win in that series. Score of the last four matchups: 178-22, though last year was 24-16.Miami: The next two games will likely decide Miamis fate in the ACC Coastal race. North Carolina visits the Hurricanes on Oct. 15, five days before Miami goes to Virginia Tech.Alec Martinez Kings Jersey . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. Trevor Lewis Jersey . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. http://www.kingsauthentic.com/authentic-jeff-carter-kings-jersey/ . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Anze Kopitar Kings Jersey . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Jeff Carter Kings Jersey .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA.GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Virginia coach Tony Bennett didnt know exactly what to expect in the eighth-ranked Cavaliers season opener, between being down two forwards to losing so much from the team that made a deep NCAA Tournament push.When it was over, he saw the Cavaliers have some balance and depth to work with, along with a defense that looked ready from the tip.Marial Shayok scored 15 points to lead the offense in Virginias 76-51 win against UNC Greensboro on Friday night. Meanwhile, the defense -- the bedrock of Bennetts program -- held the Spartans scoreless for more than 11 minutes spanning halftime as the game turned into a methodical rout.With this team and us this year, I think theres even more unknowns because of the amount of newcomers, the lack of experienced guys, Bennett said. So we just didnt know what to expect. I just want them to battle and play hard each possession. It was a welcome first step for a team that lost a lot of production from its first trip to the NCAA Tournaments Elite Eight since 1995. London Perrantes was the only returning player to average at least five points per game, but Virginia had four players hit double figures Friday night.Virginia ran off a 22-0 run to blow the game open, shot 52 percent and made 8 of 16 3-point attempts with a juggled rotation with the absences of Memphis transfer Austin Nichols and Mamadi Diakite inside.Honestly I didnt know what to think coming in (defensively), said Isaiah Wilkins, who had 10 points and nine rebounds. Well take this as a marker and try to improve it on Tuesday.Francis Alonso scored 14 points for UNCG, which shot 37 percent. It marked the first time the program has hosted a ranked opponent in a season opener, though the Spartans ended up falling to 2-55 all-time against Atlantic Coast Conference teams.We just ran into a buzzsaw tonight, sixth-year UNCG coach Wes Miller said. I think its something we can learn from and grow from.BIG PICTUREVIRGINIA: The Cavaliers were thin inside with Nichols out due to a violation of team rulles, and Diakite sitting due to an NCAA review of his amateur status.dddddddddddd That gave Bennett an extended look at some players who have spent time developing within Virginias program. Of note: 6-foot-11 redshirt sophomore Jack Salt got the start and had seven points in 27 minutes as he tries to earn steady rotation minutes and provide interior depth this season.UNCG: Picked to finish fifth in the Southern Conference, the Spartans quickly fell behind by double figures and made what amounted to only a 2-minute flurry of resistance. Hardly the start that Miller wanted from a team with four returning starters.My biggest disappointment was I think when it got away from us ... we were frustrated and disappointed and we let that affect us in the next possession, Miller said, adding: Were too mature, we have too much experience to let being down 15 points affect who we are on the next possession.POLL IMPLICATIONSBennett has described preseason rankings as more of a compliment for what the program has done in recent years as opposed to a measure of the current teams standing. But Miller was sold on the No. 8 team in the AP Top 25 , noting, We can talk for days about their defense.WING OPTIONSBehind Shayok, Darius Thompson scored 12 points with three 3-pointers, while Perrantes had 10 and freshman guard Kyle Guy scored seven on 3-for-5 shooting in his college debut.Guard-wise, I feel like we dont have certain starters every night, Thompson said. Anybody can come in and contribute ... so really it shows how deep we can be.UP NEXTVIRGINIA: The Cavaliers should get their first chance to integrate Nichols into the lineup Tuesday against St. Francis Brooklyn.UNCG: The Spartans play at home Monday against Presbyterian.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org or http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '