Senior quarterback Chad Kelly had found his groove, completing 14 of his first 17 passes of the evening.
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Francois added 59 rushing yards to finish with 478 yards of total offense in the season opener. FSU was trailing 28-13 at the time and looked destined to begin the season 0-1. FSU also overcame a first-and-25 and a second-and-16 earlier in the drive. Some critical passes floated high, some fell short and the fourth-ranked Seminoles trailed No. 11 MS by 22 points before the end of the first quarter in Orlando, Fla.
The overpowering second half emergence of defense end Walker and the halftime locker room development of redshirt freshman quarterback Deondre Francois quieted FSU critics and change the moods of fans.
But once momentum switched to Florida State’s side, Ole Miss appeared shell shocked. It was the largest comeback in FSU history.
“We did not deserve to win the game the way we played the second half”, Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said.
Several shortcomings cost Ole Miss, but nothing hurt more than having its up-tempo offense essentially slowed to a halt.
Trying to extend a play while defensive end Demarcus Walker was bearing down on him, Kelly instead coughed it up with several garnet jerseys around him, handing the Seminoles possession at the 11-yard line.
Four members of the Florida State football team earned player of the week honors from the Atlantic Coast Conference on Tuesday. Unfortunately, we made too many bad decisions.
FSU was 9-of-18 on third down behind true freshman quarterback Deondre Francois, who was making his first college start in his hometown. Five Seminoles caught a pass that quarter – Wilson, Cook, Whitfield, Ryan Izzo and Da’Vante Phillips.
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Losing in the fashion that Ole Miss did is as crushing a start to the season as one can imagine. In the second half it was one of those deals where the throw may have been a little off, the protection wasn’t as good, the quarterback got hit some and had some drops … The Seminoles host Charleston Southern on Saturday and then face another tough test on September 17 at No. 13 Louisville. “They came out with a great game plan, executed it and made us have to make decisions throughout the course of the game”.
