Divine Rite, or Just Wide Right? : College football: Florida State misses a chance to tie Miami on a last-second field goal, losing to the Hurricanes for the seventh time in the last eight games, 19-16.

And now, presenting the latest theory for Florida State’s annual gag-a-thon against Miami, a nasty little streak that grew by one after a missed last-second Seminole field goal--yes, another one--provided the Hurricanes with a 19-16 victory Saturday at the Orange Bowl:

“It has something to do with God,” Florida State defensive end Carl Simpson said.

Simpson wasn’t real specific, but then again, God works in mysterious ways.

After all, how else do you explain the stranglehold Miami has on Florida State, which has lost three in a row and seven of its last eight games to these blessed Hurricanes? And what exactly did Seminole Coach Bobby Bowden do to deserve a lifetime of mediocre placekickers?

Last season, with Miami ahead by one point, Bowden watched in disbelief as Florida State walk-on Gerry Thomas barely missed a 34-yarder at game’s end. It was, Bowden would say later, one of the most painful losses of his career.

That was before Saturday’s game. This time Bowden received a sideline view of Dan Mowrey missing a 39-yarder that would have salvaged a tie between the No. 2-ranked Hurricanes and the No. 3-ranked Seminoles. Instead, Mowrey’s attempt, which came as the scoreboard clock clicked toward zeros and the crowd of 77,338 was on its feet, was hardly within camera range of the uprights.

“It wasn’t even close,” said a glum Mowrey, who missed three of six attempts and is eight for 14 this season. “I just missed it. Wide right . . . Geez!”

Mowrey’s teammates did what they could. As he sat stone-faced in front of his locker, several Florida State players stopped and patted him on the head, shook his hand or whispered words of encouragement.

But postgame gestures only go so far. The Seminoles (4-1) were frustrated, enough so that several starters questioned Mowrey’s nerve, to say nothing of Bowden’s decision to kick rather than squeeze one more pass play out of the last eight seconds.

“It didn’t seem like (Mowrey) had much confidence,” Simpson said. “I don’t think he was really ready for it. I think he had too much pressure on him. He was thinking about last year. He was worried about making it too much. He was nervous. Too nervous.”

And this from cornerback Clifton Abraham, who was none too thrilled to see Mowrey jog onto the field: “I thought personally we should have went for the touchdown.”

Abraham was bright enough to share the blame. He reminded everyone that he allowed Miami receiver Lamar Thomas to catch a 33-yard touchdown pass with 6:50 to play. The extra point gave the Hurricanes a 17-16 lead.

And who can forget Florida State cornerback Corey Sawyer’s disastrous decision to return a punt from his one-yard line with 2:59 to play. Sawyer had three choices as Paul Snyder’s 50-yard punt fell toward him: Down the ball at the one. . . . Let it bounce harmlessly into the end zone. . . . Run.

Sawyer ran, but not very far. As he tried to make a wide turn through the end zone, Miami’s Malcolm Pearson tackled him for a safety. Sawyer tossed the ball forward, but the would-be throw was ruled an illegal forward pass.

“It’s going to be the big question if I cost us the game or not,” Sawyer said. “If I would have been smart, I would have let it go into the end zone.”

He didn’t, and the mistake added two points to Miami’s lead.

“I don’t feel like I really cost us the game,” Sawyer said. “We needed scores, scores and more scores. We just got field goal, field goal, field goal. We don’t need that.”

Translation: Florida State needed a big play, just like the one it got on the opening kickoff, when freshman receiver Tamarick Vanover returned the ball 94 yards for a touchdown.

No such luck. Sawyer couldn’t escape Pearson’s grasp. Florida State’s offense couldn’t score a touchdown. Mowrey couldn’t make the kick that counted.

Miami’s victory came a week after the Hurricanes sneaked past unranked Arizona, 8-7. Ranked first in the nation at the time, Miami quickly fell to No. 2 in both polls.

Equally unsettling was the loss of star defensive end Rusty Medearis to a knee injury that required surgery and the inability to mount any sort of rushing attack against the Wildcats (22 carries, two yards). And with Florida State coming to town, there was talk of Miami’s assorted streaks coming to a quick and decisive end.

In jeopardy was the Hurricanes’ 21-game win streak--the longest in the nation--and their 47-game win streak at home, which ranks second in NCAA history. Also in jeopardy was a 109-week period in which Miami has been ranked in the top 10.

The Hurricanes (4-0) can rest easy. The streaks live, as do Miami’s chances for a second consecutive national championship.

“We were never gone,” Miami linebacker Micheal Barrow said. “We just needed to correct some minor things.”

So they did. Granted, the Miami running game remains suspect (65 net yards), but the Hurricanes did get a wonderful performance out of Medearis’ replacement, Kevin Patrick. Patrick finished with seven tackles, three of them sacks of Charlie Ward. After one such tackle, Patrick turned to the closest television camera and began pointing at the No. 98 decal on the side of his helmet.

That is Medearis’ jersey number.

“I was thinking, ‘For all those doubters out there, that’s for him,’ ” said Patrick, who spoke with Medearis by phone after the game. “Rusty believed in me. He always told me, ‘You’re probably a better athlete than me.’ ”

Medearis was at the Orange Bowl for the opening introductions, but returned to his hospital bed shortly after kickoff. He wouldn’t be alone for long. Patrick and several other teammates hurried to the hospital after the game.

Bowden might need medical attention one of these days if the Seminoles don’t figure out a way to beat Miami. The heart can only take so much and so far, Bowden’s has nearly been broken by the cruelest of mistakes.

Saturday he endured the continued growing pains of Ward, the first-year starter who completed 20 of 40 passes for 261 yards and two interceptions. Miami’s more seasoned Gino Torretta struggled, too, but unlike Ward, he was able to add two touchdown passes to an afternoon when he completed only 20 of 48 passes for 252 yards and one interception.

Bowden can handle Ward’s mistakes (10 touchdown passes, 11 interceptions in five games) and Torretta’s fourth-quarter heroics. But to relive the ghost of Gerry Thomas isn’t so easy to stomach.

“Wide right? Wide right is what has saved Miami’s life three times: two times against us and once against Arizona,” Bowden said. “If we kick better, we win.”

Instead, Florida State lost to the Hurricanes--again. It is a legacy that will forever stay with Bowden, so much so that he once said his tombstone would one day read: “But that he played Miami.”

Then again, maybe there is something to all of this talk of divine intervention. When Arizona missed a last second field goal a week ago, Barrow told reporters, “There’s a God.”

And this time?

“Same thing: there is a God,” Barrow said. “God II.”