Jameis Winston was on the Florida State sideline for his alma mater’s game against Ole Miss on Monday night, and he may have helped wake the Seminoles up at halftime.
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Ole Miss marched straight down the field to begin the game, leaning on the strong arm of Kelly. Two plays later, Kelly found Engram down the seam for a 21-yard touchdown to give Ole Miss a 21-3 lead with 9:42 left in the first half. Redshirt freshman quarterback Deondre Francois connected with Travis Rudolph just before halftime to cut the deficit to 28-13. MS wide receiver D.K. Metcalf (14) celebrates his 3-yard touchdown reception against Florida State with tight end Evan Engram (17) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, in.
The crowd was loud, really loud.
Francois, the fourth freshman to start the season at quarterback at Florida State, led the Seminoles’ largest comeback ever – they trailed by 22 points in the first half – after a shaky start at Camping World Stadium.
“It’s improved dramatically”, Kelly said. “But that shouldn’t have to with anything”.
Florida State: The Seminoles almost became the third team in the top five to tumble, but instead they rallied for a huge neutral-site win.
Just when it looked as if No. 11 Ole Miss would become the fourth team to pull an upset over a top-ten team, the Rebels stumbled and let a 28-6 second quarter lead vanish away into thin air. With Louisville looming in under two weeks, that unit needs a fire lit under them. They played cover one. “We challenged him, as I know”. “It’s on me. They did the same stuff”. It also exposed its weaknesses. He started to settle down and went more to the check down receiver, which freed up more single coverage in the second half that the Seminoles took advantage of with more passes downfield. “We have a lot of work to do”.
Deondre Francois, who was making his first college start, guided FSU to scores on seven consecutive possessions in the second half. The freshman did not throw an interception either. Texas had a 17-point lead midway through the third quarter before seeing Notre Dame battle back and eventually get the game to overtime. “First part of the game he was not as accurate, but man he was pretty accurate”. Kelly was sacked five times. However, Ole Miss held its ground and forced FSU to settle for a 25-yard field goal. The No. 3 Seminoles beat Ole Miss 45-34 on Monday. Despite having little protection and no ground game in the first half, Francois stood in and made throw after throw, taking shot after shot while keeping FSU within relative striking distance. “Now we’re doing the same thing there”. With the likes of Alabama, Georgia and LSU still on the schedule, as well as a potential SEC Championship Game appearance, the Rebels have ample opportunity to climb into the College Football Playoff race.
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“Our September is very brutal”. What he said on Monday night was pretty special. It’s a long season. “Now we’ve got to get better and move on”.
