The Sports Xchange
Oct 17, 2015
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- No. 11 Florida State surged in the second half to beat Louisville, 41-21, on Saturday while also extending its Atlantic Coast Conference winning streak to 28 games -- one shy of the record.
The Seminoles, who set that record with 29 straight conference victories from 1992-94 right after joining the ACC, got big play after big play in the second half after falling behind, 7-6, at intermission.
It began less than two minutes into the third quarter with a 54-yard touchdown run by running back Dalvin Cook, then continued one drive later with a 70-yard scoring pass from quarterback Everett Golson to wideout Kermit Whitfield.
And when Seminoles defensive back Derwin James strip-sacked Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson on the Cardinals' second possession of the second half, Cook cashed it in with a 14-yard run to the end zone for his second score of the game, and the rout was officially on.
Cook, Florida State's prized Heisman contender, finished the game with 163 yards rushing on 22 carries, and also caught four passes for 60 yards.
It marked Cook's fourth rushing game of more than 100 yards and the ninth of his Florida State career -- tying for sixth all-time in school history -- and he has 855 yards rushing this year through six games.
Golson, who completed 13-of-20 passes with two sacks in the first half, continued his pattern this season of really shining in the second half. He finished the game 26-of-38 with three touchdown passes.
The 70-yarder to Whitfield was the longest of his short Florida State career, while his second went to Travis Rudolph from 13 yards with 12:44 left in the game to put the Seminoles up, 34-14, to all but end it.
Golson's second-half numbers for Florida State (6-0, 4-0 in the ACC) this season have been impressive, to say the least: 63-for-92, 873 yards and nine touchdown passes
Louisville (2-4, 1-2) led the Seminoles on Saturday for 17 minutes and 20 seconds -- longer than any other Florida State opponent this season -- and got another big day from its exciting freshman quarterback, Jackson, and a career day from receiver James Quick.
Jackson passed for 307 yards and three touchdowns. But the quick legs of Jackson, which helped carry Louisville to recent back-to-back wins, failed him against Florida State.
The Seminoles held the Cardinals to 99 yards rushing, and Jackson -- the nation's third-leading freshman rusher, managed only 32 yards on 19 carries.
Louisville answered Florida State's first third-quarter score with one of its own to briefly retake the lead, 14-13, when Jackson found a wide open Quick for this second touchdown of the game.
Jackson would find Quick again in the end zone early in the fourth quarter on a gorgeous 39-yard touchdown bomb. Quick finished the game with four catches for 124 yards -- three going for scores.
Florida State's defense, led by seven tackles and two sacks from linebacker Jacob Pugh, stymied the Cardinals most of the second half.
Seminoles defensive end Josh Sweat recovered Jackson's fumble following the sack by James in the third quarter.
The Seminoles even got a third-quarter interception by an unlikely hero, defensive back Javien Elliot, a 5-foot-11, 176-pound walk on who recently was awarded a walk-on scholarship.
Elliot was mobbed by the entire defense, which responded with a mid-game dog pile, following the Seminoles' second forced turnover.
James, along with defensive linemen Demarcus Walker and Niles Lawrence-Stample, each had a sack. The five sacks by the Seminoles was their highest sack total in almost two years.
Louisville could've struck very early and set a much different tone, but on third down and three from the Florida State 30-yard-line on its opening drive, Pugh sacked Jackson and knocked the Cardinals out of field goal range.
Pugh had two tackles and that sack on the opening Cardinals' drive, setting the stage for his big day.
The Seminoles instead opened the game's scoring with a long drive that culminated in a 43-yard field goal by Roberto Aguayo, his longest of the season.
The Cardinals would answer the Seminoles' score immediately and take the lead in the first quarter, needing only five plays and 1:41 to march 79 yards for the game's first touchdown.
Sixty-six of those yards came on two pass plays from Jackson to Quick, whose second catch on the drive was an 18-yard touchdown that put Louisville ahead, 7-3.
The Seminoles responded early in the second quarter with another field goal from Aguayo, this one from 32 yards to trim the lead to 7-6 -- and that was all the scoring either team could muster in the first two quarters.
Louisville fell to 2-14 all-time against Florida State, including two straight losses, and still hasn't won in Tallahassee since 1952.
NOTES: Florida State has won 18 straight home games and is 37-1 in its last 38 contests dating to 2012. ... Saturday's attendance was 71,225 -- some 12,000 less fans than turned out for last week's state rivalry battle between Florida State and Miami. ... Louisville QB Lamar Jackson's 48-yard pass to James Quick in the second quarter was the longest of his young career. ... Florida State lost DB Trey Marshall in the first half for the second straight week, this time because of an arm injury. Marshall went down late in the first quarter and was immediately taken to the locker room. Last week against Miami, Marshall was ejected in the first half for targeting. ... Speaking of ejections, Louisville LB Keith Brown was hit with a targeting penalty late in the third quarter on Seminoles wideout Travis Rudolph and was ejected. He will miss the first half of the Cardinals' next game against Boston College. ... Florida State's honorary captain for Saturday's game was a special treat: legendary defensive end and former pro wrestling star Ron Simmons.
