To say the No. 4-ranked Florida State Seminoles came out inspired in the second half of their game against the Ole Miss Rebels last night would be a huge understatement. Once the Seminoles got rolling offensively, the Ole Miss defense that did not allow a touchdown until the final minute of the first half began to fall apart at the seams.
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Derwin James looked in top form, getting the first interception of the game as well as several crucial tackle for losses, and the re-ermergence of Mathew Thomas was one of the best storylines of the game.
Defensively, Ole Miss football yielded 258.8 yards in passing and 127.1 yards in rushing.
Oh, perhaps you thought it would be Dalvin Cook. Showtime is following Florida State football this season, so it’s highly possible Winston put on a brief, dramatic show for cameras he knows are in the locker room.
In the meantime, FSU should savor not only the greatest comeback in its history, but the promise of an even brighter future.
Monday night’s game set a new ESPN streaming record with a 5.3 overnight rating, the company announced Tuesday.
The Seminoles shook off a bad first half, rallied from a 22-point second quarter deficit and dominated in the second half to hold onto their Top 5 ranking for at least one more week. In fact, Ole Miss does not have a drive longer than 2 minutes and 19 seconds through three quarters of play. At the quarterback position, Sean Maguire is ready to take over after completing 59.3 percent of his passes for 1,520 yards and 11 touchdowns against six interceptions.
Florida State’s 2016 season-opening, come-from-behind win had a 2014 feel to it.
The Seminoles also hurt themselves with penalties in the first half with 11 flags for 97 yards. “We’ve played extremely well so far at home this season and fortune has not favored us”.
Ole Miss: The Rebels’ up-tempo offense is potent but big mistakes by Kelly under pressure took away any momentum.
The Rebels gave up 33 unanswered points over less than two quarters, turning a 28-6 lead late in the second quarter into a 39-28 deficit early in the fourth. But Cook didn’t get going until late. The younger Aguayo hit a school-record six field goals, making big kick after big kick as the Seminoles improved to 7-0 in openers under Fisher.
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.
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Determined not to go into the break trailing by a wide margin, Francois delivered the key moment of the game when he completed a nine play 75-yard series with a 16-yard pass to Travis Rudolph for a touchdown with 0:28 left in the first half.
