After a horrific start in which they looked overmatched against Ole Miss, the Seminoles expedited the adjustment process and instead went from pretender in the first half to expected national championship contender in the second half of a 45-34 comeback win over the Rebels in Orlando.
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Traffic in downtown Orlando is expected to be heavy for the Labor Day game between FSU and Ole Miss.
The crowd was loud, really loud.
Undermanned after losing starting cornerback Ken Webster to a brutal leg injury in the first quarter, the Rebels’ secondary was put on blast during a 419-yard passing night by Francois – the second-most prolific passing performance ever by a Florida State freshman.
Well, not sure I can argue with you Hugh. “But that shouldn’t have to with anything”.
Engram and Kelly showed a better rapport in the Sugar Bowl when the tight end caught six passes for 96 yards.
Kelly, the SEC’s leading offensive player a year ago who broke 14 single-season school records, finished with 313 yards passing, four touchdowns and three interceptions in defeat Monday. “And we did not deserve to win the game the way we played the second half”. They played cover one. Florida State is relying on team star Dalvin Cook and freshman quarterback Deondre Francois along with head coach Jimbo Fisher. “It’s on me. They did the same stuff”.
The Florida State Seminoles are aiming for a shot at the college football playoff after only posting 10-3 (6-2 ACC) record last season. It also exposed its weaknesses.
“That was a nightmarish second half.”
“We have a lot of work to do”.
Ole Miss had him on the ropes, got continuous pressure in his face and didn’t let him comfortable until the final drive of the first half, when he capped off a nine-play series with a 16-yard strike to Travis Rudolph with 0:28 to go to trim Ole Miss’ lead to 28-13. The freshman did not throw an interception either. I mean, this guy’s a great play. Even more shocking is that the Seminoles did it after getting absolutely crushed the first 27 minutes of the game.
Just as the offense looked completely and newly invigorated, Florida State’s defense looked like the unit that it had been described as all season. Kelly was sacked five times. Either way, FSU roared to the biggest comeback in school history with 33 unanswered points, 26 of them to begin second-half scoring.
Kelly pulled the Rebels to 39-34 with 12:09 left in the game, but Aguayo added two field goals to give FSU a bigger cushion.
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For Ole Miss, on the other hand, this isn’t just any loss.
