Seminoles Spear the Eagles
The 20th ranked Florida State Seminoles (7-3, 4-3) beat up on the Boston College Eagles (4-6, 1-6) 45-7 Friday night in Tallahassee. FSU played outstanding on both sides of the ball with 416 yards of offense and only allowing 146 yards on defense.
FSU quarterback Deondre Francois was outstanding completing 16-24 for 183 yards and 3 touchdowns in just over three quarters of work. Francois left the game with a shoulder contusion in the fourth quarter. The injury did not appear to be serious and he was most likely kept out of the game as a precaution since the game was already out of hand.
Dalvin Cook ran for 108 yards and a touchdown, but finished the night 19 yards short of becoming FSU’s all-time leading rusher. He was taken out of the game around the same time Francois went out, likely for the same reason Francois was kept out.
Noles wide receiver Auden Tate put on a show bringing in six receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Tate had some highlight reel catches, really showing off his ability to make catches many receivers would not be able to make at the level.
The Seminoles offense wasn’t the only part of the team that shined. Their defense dominated the Eagles offense. The Eagles didn’t convert on a third down until late in the game, finishing 1-12 on third downs in the game. There was a stretch of the game from the end of the first quarter until late in the fourth quarter where FSU held Boston College to nine straight three and out possessions.
The game started off great for FSU when they jumped out to a quick 14-0 leading, scoring with two touchdown passes by Francois on their first two possessions. Cook ran the ball into the end zone from 19 yards out with 2:50 left in the second quarter to give the Noles a 21-0 halftime lead. With just under four minutes left in the third quarter, Francois found Travis Rudolph for a 20 yard touchdown.
On the Noles next possession, Boston College was tagged with a roughing the passer penalty for a late hit on Francois. This is when Francois left the game and backup Sean Maguire entered the game. Maguire added two passing touchdowns of his own. By the end of the game, FSU had their backups in and the Eagles ended a nine play, 75 yard drive with Richard Wilson plowing into the end zone for their loan touchdown of the day.
Florida State has over a week to prepare for the long trip to the Carrier Dome where they will take on the Syracuse Orange.
