Deondre Francois threw for 419 yards and two touchdowns, and Ricky Aguayo set a school record, and FBS freshman record, with six field goals as the No. 4 Seminoles rallied from a 22-point deficit and opened the season with a 45-34 win over No. 11 MS at Camping World Stadium.
Advertisement
Francois, making his college debut, looked like Jameis Winston 2.0 as he passed for 419 yards, completing 33 of 52 passes, and made several big-time throws in a remarkable turnaround for one of the nation’s elite programs. On the defensive side of the ball, DeMarcus Walker recorded four sacks while his defensive brothers chipped in with three interceptions and a forced fumble. But a touchdown before halftime cut into the deficit, and within a few minutes of the start of the fourth quarter, the Seminoles were on a 33-0 run that actually gave them the lead – a lead they would never relinquish.
FSU scored on its first seven possessions of the second half, and what had been a 22-point lead for Ole Miss ended up being an 11-point loss, 45-34.
Heisman candidate and Florida State running back Dalvin Cook started off with a rough night in the first half which was evident on one play in the second quarter. A photo was taken by a school resource officer and was widely circulated on social media as was Leah Paske’s Facebook post thanking Rudolph.
And he tossed his third scoring strike of the half to tight end Evan Engram, who caught a 21-yard touchdown pass. He caught seven of those throws for 73 yards and a touchdown.
So what happened at halftime that led Florida State on that furious rally? The latter was Ole Miss’ undoing.
“It was a nightmarish second half”, Rebels coach Hugh Freeze said.
Florida State receiver Travis Rudolph (15) catches a pass for a touchdown in front of MS defensive back Tony Conner during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Orlando, Fla., Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. That eventually caught up to the defense, which lost starting corner Ken Webster to a left knee injury in the first quarter.
Florida State opened the second half with a field goal and then got the ball back off a tipped interception. Taking too many risks led to some costly turnovers that allowed Florida State back into the game.
Francois looked rattled in his first collegiate game as the Ole Miss defense swarmed him.
Advertisement
Florida State heads back to Tallahassee next week to take on Chattanooga in their home opener at 12:30 p.m. ET.
