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Random Canes Ramble: Remembering When Gregory Rousseau Went Off Against FSU

One day in Tallahassee in 2019, Gregory Rousseau was simply unblockable

By marshthomas
247 Sports

In case you forgot, the Hurricanes have defeated their arch-rival Florida State four years in a row. Over those four matchups, we’ve seen some great endings, a historic comeback, as well as a historic beatdown in 2020. We’ve also been able to witness some memorable individual performances by certain Canes.

Of those performances during the win streak, no Hurricane had a bigger day against the Seminoles than Gregory Rousseau in 2019.

The 2019 Miami-FSU matchup was met with nearly no national hype, both teams were stumbling into the November showdown with 4-4 records. It was one of the more strange “build-ups” for a Canes-Seminoles game I had ever seen.

Though heading into Tallahassee, Miami did have one thing going for them, and that was redshirt freshman defensive end Greg Rousseau. Since the very first game of that 2019 season, Rousseau had made it clear, he was a superstar.

The week prior against Pittsburgh on the road, Rousseau tallied 3 sacks and 7 tackles, as the Canes won in the final minute.

Going up against a weak Florida State offensive line, Rousseau knew he could potentially have a big game, and he did not disappoint.

Rousseau terrorized the Seminoles all day long, constantly swarming quarterback Alex Hornibrook. Greg’s stat line read: 4 sacks, 8 tackles and 5 TFLs, in a 27-10 Hurricanes victory.

Miami scored early on, but until the fourth quarter, Rousseau’s domination kept me from going crazy watching the Dan Enos offense (the horror) struggle to move the ball. Thanks to Greg and the rest of the Canes defense, FSU didn't have much luck either. It was a funny game as a football fan, because I just wanted Miami’s offense to get off the field, so we could all keep watching Rousseau get another sack.

That game you could say was Rousseau’s coming out party to college football, because prior to that, it seemed only Miami fans were talking about #15 for the most part. But after a 4 sack day in a rivalry game on ESPN, that’s when the rest of the country realized how good Rousseau was.

With 4 sacks against the Noles, Rousseau had compiled 7 sacks in just the last two games for Miami. For his play in Tallahassee, Rousseau earned Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week and the ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week.

He finished 2019 with 15.5 sacks, 19.5 TFLs, 54 tackles and 2 forced fumbles, earning second-team All-American honors.

In a season where our frustration reached a new high as Miami fans, where the Hurricanes ultimately finished with a 6-7 record, Rousseau was a constant bright spot, him and Jimmy Murphy.