Keon County is becoming its own zip code as the star wideout caught nine passes to the tune of 140 yards and one touchdown as fourth-ranked Florida State (6-0, 4-0) dominated Syracuse (4-3, 0-3) 41-3. The win was FSU’s 12th straight and extended the NOLES’ streak of scoring 30+ points in a game to 12, 2nd longest streak in ACC history and currently only behind Penn State in the nation.
FSU came into the game down one of their starting wide receivers, Johnny Wilson, when it was reported a few hours before the game by ESPN’s Pete Thamel. But that didn’t stop its other star WR from showing the nation why Mike Norvell and Co went into the portal to get him from Michigan State.
On FSU’s first drive, Coleman made a spectacular one-handed catch for 27 yards, which put the NOLES in scoring position. FSU would cash in on that catch with a Jordan Travis QB sneak, and the Seminoles were off and running.
Or so we thought. For most of the second and third quarters, FSU’s offense seemed off-kilter. Travis had some inaccurate passes, combined with Trey Benson dropping three passes, including one on the goal line that would have given the Noles a 24-3 lead in the 2nd. FSU’s offense saw many promising drives stall out, leaving many wondering at sold-out Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium if they were in for a long afternoon.
Keon was having none of it. In the second quarter, Coleman took a deep throw from Jordan Travis 58 yards for the score. But he wasn’t done yet! In the third quarter, Coleman took a Syracuse punt and returned it 72 yards to electrify the crowd. Coleman finished the day with 247 all-purpose yards. FSU would eventually settle for a Ryan Fitzgerald 29-yard field goal. Fitzgerald was 2 for 2 on FG attempts today. FSU would go into the half up 17-3.
Speaking of throws from Travis, the trigger man for Mike Norvell’s offense was 23 of 37 for 287 yards and three total touchdowns (1 passing and two running). Travis was injured on a play near the end of the first half but returned in the second half and played well into the fourth quarter before giving way to Tate Rodemaker for mop-up duty.
The run game was decent today as well. Lawrence Toafili ran for 93 yards on seven carries, including an electric 50-yard scamper that put the Noles up 34-3 mid-4th quarter. Trey Benson, outside of the drops, had a decent day running for 74 yards on 14 carries.
The star unit of the day has to be Adam Fuller’s defense. After holding Virginia Tech to one offensive touchdown, Florida State’s defense picked up where it left off by not allowing Garrett Shrader and the Orange’s offense to get into the end zone. Shrader was 9 for 21, 99 yards, no touchdowns (passing or rushing), and was sacked three times.
The only bright spot for the Cuse was LeQuint Allen and his ability to run for 110 yards on 19 carries. Outside of that, FSU’s defense dominated the day. Greedy Vance Jr. had an interception as Syracuse was driving to try to get into the end zone as the game was coming to an end.
Mike Norvell was pleased with the dominant defensive performance and started his postgame press conference talking about that defense. “Start talking about our defense, that was a great performance. I thought they battled throughout, made the plays that were necessary, and were able to create some takeaways. Just really played at a high level.” FSU held Syracuse to 267 yards on the day.
Florida State (6-0, 4-0) returns to the field next Saturday at home against Duke. That game is sold out and is scheduled to be a night game under the lights at Doak Campbell Stadium. It will either kick off at 7:30 pm on ABC or 8 pm on The ACC Network. Tune into Plant The Spear for all your Seminoles Football Coverage. Thanks for reading and Go Noles!
Quotes from coaches, players, and stats were provided by seminoles.com
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