Kelly threw a bomb to Engram for 42 yards to get the Rebels into Seminole territory, and a 20-yard pass to Van Jefferson resulted in a touchdown.
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Senior defensive end DeMarcus Walker, who had 4.5 sacks in the second half, earned defensive lineman of the week honors while Derwin James claimed defensive back of the week after leading the Seminoles with eight tackles and an interception. Some sloppy defense and a costly fumble at the 3-yard line left the Seminoles scrambling for answers with a half left to play. After another, long 31-yard scramble, the redshirt freshman followed that up with two passes to tight end Ryan Izzo for 31 yards, the second being a touchdown to put the ‘Noles back up 36-28.
The theme of the night was all about momentum. Per Chase Goodbread of NFL.com, Florida State’s second-half comeback of 33 points with 26 scored in the third quarter was the biggest in the school’s history. The miscue led to the Seminoles settling for a field goal. “They came out with a great game plan, executed it and made us have to make decisions throughout the course of the game”. Ole Miss countered another Florida State score with a touchdown as Judd rumbled 11 yards to make it a 22-point game.
Francois, making his college debut, looked like Jameis Winston 2.0 as he passed for 419 yards, completing 33 of 52 passes, and made several big-time throws in a remarkable turnaround for one of the nation’s elite programs. Smith was playing in his first game as the regular starter after the graduation of record-setting quarterback Keenan Reynolds. The Seminoles outscored the Rebels 39 to 6 after Ole Miss led 28 to 6 in the second quarter.
Ole Miss: The Rebels should drop some in the polls, but they may not fall far after losing in what was essentially Florida State’s backyard.
Ricky Aguayo, another freshman, converted an FSU-record six field goals on six attempts – breaking a mark shared by his brother Roberto. Things were looking very, very bad, and Florida State was looking at a blowout potentially the size of the 2014 Rose Bowl vs. Oregon. After getting by Wofford, Ole Miss has two pivotal game sin SEC play at home against Alabama and Georgia.
In a roller coaster of a season opener on Monday night, the Ole Miss Rebels went from on the cusp of emerging as a top national title contender to falling apart and surrendering a historic comeback in a matter of minutes. Right before the half, the Seminoles found the end zone to cut the deficit to 28-13 at halftime.
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If the coaching staff’s halftime words didn’t sink in for the Seminoles, perhaps Winston’s did.
