The Sports Xchange
Sep 10, 2016
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Even with only 4 1/2 days of rest in between games, No. 3 Florida State looked sharp Saturday in its home opener with a 52-8 rout of FCS foe Charleston Southern.
The Seminoles were likely still feeling some of the effects of an emotional and historic win Monday night in Orlando against Ole Miss, rallying from 22 points down to beat the Rebels 45-34 in what was the biggest comeback victory in school history. But that game actually ended Tuesday morning around 1 a.m., giving the team an unusually short week to prepare for the Buccaneers.
You couldn't tell Saturday.
The Seminoles (2-0) scored on five of their first six drives, mounting a 29-point lead over Charleston Southern (1-2) by halftime and a 49-6 edge by the end of the third quarter.
Florida State first-year starting quarterback Deondre Francois finished 25 of 32 for 262 yards and three touchdowns. Two of Francois' passing TDs went to receiver Travis Rudolph, who caught scores of 36 and 21 yards in the first quarter, while the other went to backup wide receiver Auden Tate late in the third quarter.
Rudolph was the Seminoles' leading wideout Saturday with seven receptions for 105 yards.
Heisman Trophy hopeful running back Dalvin Cook followed up his big game against Ole Miss -- in which he totaled 192 yards rushing and receiving -- with a solid, but quick, afternoon Saturday. Cook, who played the first and second quarters and then just one series in the second half, finished with 83 yards rushing on 11 carries. The junior scored Florida State's second and sixth TDs of the game before giving way to backup RB Jacques Patrick.
Patrick notched one TD on Saturday late in the second quarter.
While Florida State started hot in the two teams' second-ever meeting, it was the opposite for the Bucs, whose first five possessions ended in two fumbles and three punts. Florida State defensive lineman Demarcus Christmas recovered the first cough-up -- a botched snap by Bucs quarterback Robert Mitchell -- while fellow defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker forced the second fumble, which was recovered by defensive back Marcus Lewis.
On Charleston's second punt, Florida State returner Jesus Wilson took the kick back 89 yards for the touchdown to put the Seminoles ahead 28-0. The score marked Florida State's first punt return for a TD since 2012, and it was the third-longest scoring return in school history.
The Buccaneers finally got on the board late in the first half when Mitchell found a wide-open receiver Kameron Brown for a 57-yard score, but kicker Tyler Tekac's point-after attempt missed, leaving the score 35-6.
Mitchell was 7 of 20 for 142 yards in the loss. Charleston Southern's defense got a second-quarter interception by defensive back Seth Harrelson, while linebacker Solomon Brown led the Bucs with nine tackles and a sack. Defensive lineman Mike Taylor accounted for the Bucs' only other points when he dropped backup Florida State quarterback J.J. Cosentino for a safety early in the fourth quarter.
The Seminoles' defense was paced by backup linebacker Brian Burns with five tackles and two sacks, and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi added a sack of his own. Star defensive back Derwin James was carted off the field in the third quarter after suffering a knee injury. The severity of the injury was not immediately known, but James did not return.
Florida State will now have a full seven days to prepare for its ACC opener next weekend at No. 13 Louisville (2-0). Charleston Southern, meanwhile, closed a trying week for the entire football program, which suspended 14 players -- 10 of them starters -- on Friday before the game.
In all, 32 football players violated an NCAA financial aid rule related to school book purchases, earning each player a one-game suspension. The school, however, decided to stagger 16 of those suspensions over the first two weeks of the season, but suspended 14 for the Florida State game and said the remaining two players would serve their suspensions at a later date.
While most college football programs were playing just their second game of the season, Saturday marked Charleston Southern's third. The Bucs opened the year with an overtime loss at North Dakota State, then won their home opener last weekend against Kentucky State. Four of the Bucs' first five games are on the road as Charleston Southern gets a bye next week, then hits the road once again to face Monmouth on Sept. 24.
NOTES: Florida State K Ricky Aguayo, who broke the school record last week with six field goals against Ole Miss, drilled a 46-yarder in the fourth quarter in his only try to cap the scoring in Saturday's win. ... Saturday's game against Florida State marked the 18th FBS opponent Charleston Southern has played in school history, and the Seminoles were the third straight Top 10 team the Bucs have faced in the last two seasons (No. 9 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama in 2015). ... Florida State RB Dalvin Cook's 28th career TD on Saturday moved him to fifth all-time in school history. ... Attendance for the Seminoles' 2016 home opener was 75,831. ... Florida State was without starting OL Kareen Are (concussion) for the second straight game Saturday, while starting fullback Freddie Stevenson (ankle) -- who actually played and scored a touchdown in the opener against Ole Miss -- was also held out. ... Counting the final nine drives against Ole Miss and the first four Saturday against Charleston Southern, the Seminoles scored on 13 consecutive drives between the two games. ... Saturday was just the second time Charleston Southern and Florida had ever met, with the Seminoles now owning a 2-0 record thanks to a 62-10 win in Tallahassee in 2011.
