On the first snap of the game the Noles found the end zone with a 75-yard rushing touchdown from Dalvin Cook.
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Was he slowed by 10 pounds of added muscle?
Mack led the American Athletic Conference in rushing each of the past two seasons and entered Saturday averaging 9.6 yards per carry.
Will Florida State’s defense rebound from an ugly performance last week at Louisville when the Seminoles visit South Florida at 12:00PM ET on Saturday?
FSU is coming off of one of its worst losses in school history and the worst under head coach Jimbo Fisher as the Seminoles gave up a school-record 63 points in a 63-20 throttling at the hand of Louisville. “The [54] yards he got [against Louisville], I thought he ran pretty daggone good”.
“I know our guys will be excited to walk into Ray-Jay and see that place packed”.
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Cook had struggled to get anything going on the ground through the first three games. In the past Cook has had success against South Florida. University of South Florida football coach Willie Taggart said about his team’s first offensive play from the line of scrimmage. “So when that happened, we just knew he had to respond”.
It began with a flurry. They scored an 84-yard touchdown on their very first play when Quinton Flowers picked out Rodney Adams.
USF (3-1) is off to its fastest start since 2011, but the Bulls were no match for a talented bunch that began the season with expectations of contending for its second national title in four years.
Florida State refused to relent against USF, even when the Seminoles had a three-touchdown lead late, giving the ball to Cook throughout the contest. “This is about finding our identity, as competitors and people”, is part of what Fisher had to say. The 213-pound junior’s rushing total on 28 carries topped his previous best of 266 yards against South Florida a year ago.
“It’s just about us, ” Cook said.
“We’ve got to coach better, and we’ve got to play better”.
Maybe it was a big presumptuous to dismiss FSU, too. But Dalvin Cook is the difference in this one after being held in check by Louisville last week.
Here’s the deal. If Clemson defeats visiting Louisville next Saturday – and FSU downs visiting Clemson on October 29 – there’s the potential for a three-way tie in the ACC Atlantic.
The setback last week means the success of the Seminoles season now also counts on other teams losing.
Cook cautioned against looking ahead. “We have a long way to go”. “Now it’s next game up, North Carolina”.
“As time went by he saw the door closing. That’s all we can do”. Florida State went with rush-heavy offense Saturday (19 passes as compared to 60 rushes) and with the results, it may be the ideal formula. Trailing 38-14, USF’s chances of winning ended early in the third quarter after Auggie Sanchez recovered a fumble at the FSU 48-yard line.
With a combined 90 points and 1,097 yards of offense, it wasn’t what Fisher had in mind.
“We’re very disappointed, and that’s my fault”, Fisher said “We have to move on, but at the same time we have to look at those disappointments, own them and make some adjustments”. “We got a victory”.
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Of course, Dalvin Cook hasn’t been flawless this season.
