The Sports Xchange
Oct 31, 2015
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Despite being down six starters for its ACC showdown against Syracuse, No. 17 Florida State cruised to its 19th straight home win 45-21 on Saturday.
Seminoles backup quarterback Sean Maguire, making his second career start, threw for a career-high 348 yards and three touchdowns in place of injured starter Everett Golson (concussion), while star receiver Travis Rudolph and backup running back Jacques Patrick also had career days in the win.
Rudolph finished with five catches for 191 yards and three touchdowns, while Patrick -- making his first career start in place of injured Heisman contender Dalvin Cook (ankle) -- rushed for 162 yards on 24 carries and scored three touchdowns. The output by the duo marked the first time in school history a running back and receiver both had three TDs apiece in a game.
Florida State is now 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the ACC. Syracuse dropped to 3-5 overall and 1-3.
The Orange lost their fifth straight game and became the Seminoles' latest conference victim at home Saturday. The Seminoles have now won 15 in a row against ACC foes at Doak Campbell Stadium.
The Orange, who would have been shut out in the second half Saturday if not for receiver Brisly Estime's 59-yard punt return for a touchdown with 1:20 remaining in the game, also fell to 1-8 all-time against the Seminoles.
Syracuse hasn't beaten Florida State since their first-ever meeting in 1966.
Freshman quarterback Eric Dungey scored both of the Orange's offensive touchdowns Saturday, but he fumbled during a key third-quarter drive and passed for just 120 yards in the loss. Running back George Morris was Syracuse's top rusher with 55 yards. Dontae Strickland led the Orange in receiving with 62 yards.
The offensive production Florida State lost when Cook and Golson were both ruled out was significant -- the Seminoles have scored 25 offensive touchdowns this season, and Cook has 12 of those to go along with 1,037 yards rushing. Golson has thrown 11 of those touchdowns and his 1,659 passing yards this season is second in the ACC.
Maguire and Co., however, more than filled the void Saturday. The junior quarterback's 302 first-half yards was the most by a Florida State QB in the opening two quarters since 2000. And his third TD pass of the game was a beauty in the back of the end zone to a double-covered Rudolph from 19 yards out.
The last time Florida State fans saw Maguire, he led the Seminoles to a 23-17 overtime win in 2014 against Clemson. But after Saturday's performance, he may have very well played himself into a quarterback controversy this week as the Seminoles prepare for a mammoth game next week against No. 3 Clemson in Death Valley.
The Seminoles' defense was led Saturday by 12 tackles each from defensive back Derwin James and linebacker Reggie Northrup. Two of James' tackles were for a loss and he also forced a fumble. Defensive linemen Derrick Nnadi and Demarcus Walker both recorded sacks in the win for Florida State.
Syracuse's defense got a sack from Ron Thompson, who came into the game second in the ACC in sacks, and a team-high nine tackles from linebacker Zaire Franklin.
The Seminoles jumped ahead 28-14 at halftime, but only after Syracuse struck first on its second drive of the game.
Dungey capped off a three-play, 66-yard drive with a 1-yard TD scamper into the end zone to give Syracuse an early 7-0 lead. The march was highlighted by a 64-yard screen pass from Dungey to Strickland down to the Florida State 4-yard line.
The Seminoles responded one play later -- and never looked back.
Maguire's first pass of Florida State's third drive -- after the first two ended in punts -- went 75 yards to Rudolph, who snatched it out of the air from two Orange defenders just beyond midfield then maneuvered his way to the end zone to tie the contest at 7-7.
But Maguire-to-Rudolph was just getting warmed up.
Florida State took a 14-7 lead on its next series as Maguire found Rudolph again for a long score, this time from 45 yards out.
The Seminoles grabbed a 21-7 edge with 12:55 remaining before halftime when their third straight drive also ended with a touchdown. Patrick recorded that score, a 2-yard dive that marked his first career TD in a Seminoles uniform.
Both teams scored again just before the half with Dungey rushing for his second 1-yard score and Patrick doing the same. Patrick's second TD of the game with 9 seconds remaining before intermission.
Florida State's streak of being scary-good on Halloween continued Saturday. The Seminoles are now 8-1 all-time in games played on the national holiday, with their last Halloween victory prior to Saturday was a last-minute, 45-42 thriller of a win against N.C. State and now-NFL star quarterback Russell Wilson in 2009.
NOTES: Calling Saturday's game in the broadcast booth for ABC was Sean McDonough, a graduate of the Orange's famed School of Broadcast Journalism. ... WR Travis Rudolph's 172 yards at halftime was the most in a first half by a Seminole since 2000. ... Midway through the second quarter Saturday, Florida State's offense already had 291 yards, compared to just 280 yards the Seminoles had total in last week's loss to Georgia Tech. ... Two Syracuse players left the game with upper-body injuries and did not return: DE Luke Arciniega and LB Paris Bennett. ... In addition to QB Everett Golson and RB Dalvin Cook, the other Florida State starters out for Saturday's game were OLs Ryan Hoefeld (shoulder), Cole Minshew (concussion) and Derrick Kelly (knee); and LB Terrance Smith (ankle). ... Saturday's attendance was 67,630.
