“We’re down 28-6, but I couldn’t let them see me down, so I had to portray an image like we’re not going to lose this game”.
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Francois made plays with his arm and legs while playing in front of his home crowd in Orlando.
It wasn’t pretty to start with (as head coach Jimbo Fisher will be the first to admit), but the Seminoles showed that they had no intention of giving up, even when it looked like the season was going to open with a loss for the first time since the 2009 season. “His teammates believe in him, and he’s a fighter”.
Quarterback Chad Kelly performed well in the first half when he passed for 215 yards and three touchdowns.
Webster confirmed that his season is over through social media while Swinney’s absence was confirmed by coach Hugh Freeze to ESPN.com on Tuesday.
Z-receivers and tight ends did not contribute enough to last year’s offense, and FSU was forced to rely more on the X-receiver, the slot, and running back Cook. “And man the confidence he has in the huddle, you have no choice but to go out and execute for him”. A Kelly pass that should have been intercepted instead became a touchdown to D.K. Metcalf.
So where does Ole Miss go from here?
For Ole Miss to have kind of success this season, Conner will have to get healthy.
Florida State: The Seminoles won the time of possession battle 42:39 to 17:21. The former Florida State quarterback gave his former teammates a pep talk during the Ole Miss contest.
His touchdown to end the first half – a 16-yard laser to Travis Rudolph – required him to stand in there and take a heavy hit from defensive end Marquis Haynes that left him staggered after the play.
Led by redshirt freshman Deondre Francois, who stepped into the starting quarterback role with senior Sean Maguire recovering from a broken foot, Florida State proceeded to score 33 unanswered points.
Engram was the intended target on nine of Chad Kelly’s passes in the first half against No. 4 Florida State. At that point, Francois had notched over 300 yards passing. 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. He also took off for two runs of 31 yards, finishing with 51 net rushing yards, to extend scoring drives for the Seminoles.
Whitfield didn’t have to reach the end zone to extend the Florida State drive, but the Seminoles were dead set on making a statement to the Rebels in the early part of the second half.
The Rebels’ offense held the ball for 13:02 of game time in the first three quarters. After falling behind by 22 points, getting dominated on both lines of scrimmage and making insane mistakes like Dalvin Cook fumbling away the easiest touchdown he could ever score, it would have been easy for the Seminoles to say it wasn’t their day. In the process he eclipsed Jameis Winston’s debut numbers from two years ago completing 33 of his 52 attempts for 419 yards and two touchdowns while adding 59 yards on the ground as well.
Winston was particularly hard on FSU’s offensive line, which was having a awful time in regards to blocking.
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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.
