“It was a nightmarish second half”, said Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze.
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Then in the second overtime, Notre Dame was limited to a field goal before Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes scored on a lunging 6-yard touchdown run to win it for the Longhorns. 419 yards in the air – along with 59 on the ground – later, there weren’t many questions left to be answered.
Sep 5, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Deondre Francois (12) throws the ball in the second quarter against the Mississippi Rebels at Camping World Stadium.
The final game to signal the opening of the college football season kicks off Monday night in Orlando as the 11th ranked Ole Miss Rebels are set to tangle with Number 4 Florida State.
You have to give plenty of credit to Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher. “That’s our motto this year: ‘Just keep chopping'”. After Wofford, Ole Miss will face a hungry Alabama team looking for revenge. The Seminoles forced Kelly into back-to-back turnovers early in the third quarter on an interception and a fumble on a hit by Walker. Leading 28-6 at halftime, FSU scored 33 unanswered points to capture a come-from-behind win over the Rebels.
Francois’ opener began the way you might expect from a first-time college starter playing in front of a hometown crowd.
Week one of the college football season is a huge opportunity for players to make a name for themselves, and senior pass rusher DeMarcus Walker of Florida State did just that. After falling behind by 17 points at halftime, things got worse and Miami handed Florida State a humiliating 31-0 defeat. Duke’s Dave Brown (1989) and Clemson’s Charlie Whitehurst (2002) also threw for over 400 yards in their first start but they had played as freshmen. 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. He pulled the Rebels within 39-34 early in the third quarter with his fourth TD pass of the game on a pretty 20-yard fade route to receiver Van Jefferson, but Ole Miss would never get closer.
Logan Tyler averaged 44 yards a punt and notched five touchbacks on kickoffs, while the MVP for the Seminoles may have been true freshman kicker Ricky Aguayo.
Why? He did it all when Cook was not as his best, though he still rushed for 91 yards, caught seven passes for 101 yards and iced the game away when his team needed him most. That eventually caught up to the defense, which lost starting corner Ken Webster to a left knee injury in the first quarter. Florida State dominated the second half of the game.
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Ole Miss will be looking to rest some of the injured players, but the Rebels will also have to find replacements for a few other players.
