Ole Miss, which had racked up 312 yards of total offense in the first half, exited the third quarter with 305 total yards of offense while the Seminoles had gained 214 in that quarter alone.
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Francois, the fourth freshman to start the season at quarterback in FSU history, brought the Seminoles back from 22 points down after a shaky start in the classic SEC-ACC showdown at Camping World Stadium.
The Ole Miss defense could not keep up with Deondre Francois.
The injuries occurred during the Rebels’ 45-34 setback to Florida State on Monday in Orlando, Fla.
It was a late touchdown by FSU that started the comeback, a 16-yard pass from Francois to Travis Rudolph. If the Seminoles’ defense plays like it did in the second half against Ole Miss, that October 29 showdown with Clemson could well be for an automatic CFP berth.
Kelly was 21-for-39 passing for 313 yards and four touchdowns and completed passes to seven different players including freshmen D.K. Metcalf and A.J. Brown.
The ‘Noles surged out of halftime to take its first lead over Ole Miss, and a commanding one at that. Protection along the offensive line, while still shaky, improved marginally.
“They played cover two”.
For the first 27 minutes, the Rebels thoroughly embarrassed No. 4 Florida State, building a 28-6 lead. Redshirt freshman quarterback Deondre Francois, senior defensive end DeMarcus Walker, sophomore defensive back Derwin James and freshman kicker Ricky Aguayo took home the opening week awards for Monday’s performance.
BREAKOUT PLAYER: The big question mark for Florida State was how redshirt freshman quarterback Deondre Francois would respond when the lights came on, particularly against a quality opponent like Ole Miss with plenty of speed and future National Football League talent on defense. Florida State dominated the second half of the game. Walker tallied six tackles and 4.5 sacks, all coming in the second half.
Francois fueled the Seminoles offense with 3 of 52 passes for 419 yards and two touchdowns while Aguayo set a new school record with six field goals in his debut.
“He’s a kid who loves his team”, FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said of Francois. The Seminoles host Charleston Southern on Saturday and then face another tough test on September 17 at No. 13 Louisville.
It’s just one game, but this one was big for a variety of reasons.
Both teams are working to look a lot sharper than they did in their season openers.
While the team disappointed, there were some cool pictures taken during the game.
Mad props need to be given to FSU fans that made it to Orlando for Monday’s showdown.
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Warning: The Seminoles are going to get better as he becomes more comfortable. “You’ve got to have the willingness to come back”.
