Second-ranked Florida State hasn’t made much look easy in 2014, but through nine games, the Seminoles remain unblemished and in a position to challenge for a second straight national championship.

Florida State has Boston College on the slate for its ACC finale and in all likelihood, a third straight December trip to Charlotte for the ACC Championship, but the biggest stumbling blocks between the Seminoles and a spot in college football’s first playoff may be its two biggest rivals, who happen to be playing their best football.

This week’s opponent, Miami, is starting to show why it was picked to win the ACC Coastal prior to the season. Since a 3-3 start, Miami has won its last three games by an average of 24 points-per-game.

Freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya has settled in with seven touchdown passes and no interceptions over that span while junior running back Duke Johnson continues to be one of the more explosive players in the country.

On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Denzel Perryman and cornerback Tracy Howard headline a unit that continues to improve each week.

Florida State will enter Saturday’s contest winners of four straight over the Hurricanes. Under head coach Jimbo Fisher, the Seminoles are beating Miami by an average margin of 18 points-per-game.

In last season’s match-up of top 10 teams, Florida State pulled away from Miami in a 41-14 victory at Doak Campbell Stadium. As was the case for the Florida State faithful for a number of years, Miami fans are anxiously awaiting a return to amongst college football’s elite. For Miami to eventually get there, beating its rival to the north and the defending national champions would be a promising first step.

In 2013 as Florida State was enjoying its best season perhaps ever, its biggest rival, Florida, was enduring its worst campaign in three decades, finishing just 4-8.

The 2014 season looked to be heading in a similar direction for the Gators after Florida followed up a heartbreaking loss to LSU with a home performance against Missouri in which it was routed 42-13 despite yielding just 119 yards of offense.

After what looked to be another season headed for turmoil, Florida rushed for over 400 yards in a dominating 38-20 victory over Georgia before gradually wearing down Vanderbilt in a 34-10 victory this past Saturday.

The insertion of freshman quarterback Treon Harris into the starting lineup over the turnover-prone Jeff Driskel has also helped ignite a spark. At 5-3, the prospect of missing a bowl game is no longer in question and fans in Gainesville are even holding onto dreams of playing for a SEC Championship.

Florida will visit Tallahassee on November 29th where it won 37-26 two years ago in its last visit. Florida State has not lost a game since.

While Miami and Florida are playing quality football, the team that will determine whether or not Florida State is a part of college football’s first playoff will ultimately be the Seminoles.

Though FSU has made little easy to this point in the season, key freshmen have begun to emerge on both sides of the football. Despite his recent struggles, Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jameis Winston remains one of the best passers in the country.

The running game has begun to make big plays in recent weeks and defensive stars like Mario Edwards Jr. and Terrance Smith are finally beginning to live up to their lofty billings.

Perhaps most importantly, the vast majority of the Florida State roster has championship experience as FSU went 14-0 last season before downing Auburn in the final BCS National Championship. No player for either Miami or Florida has ever played for as much as a conference championship for their current school.