Seminoles crown themselves state champs

With another regular season in the books, some may think this Florida State team fell short of expectations. While that may be the case, this marks the FOURTH straight year of this team earning themselves the coveted title: Chief of State. While the spear fell short for both Clemson and Louisville, the Seminoles have managed to rain on their in state rivals’ respective parades. On paper, the game looked the part of an instant classic. On one hand you had the two-loss Gators with plenty of hope. On the other hand, the three-loss Noles have looked better than their record suggests. One would think a matchup between number 14 and 15 would be close, but the Noles did everything they could to prove they were the better team.

Riding a three game winning streak, the Seminoles stormed out of the gates. The man of the year, Dalvin Cook, set the pace early with a 17-yard scamper across the goal line. In what ended up being a slow half, the ‘Noles went into the half with a modest 10-3 lead. It wasn’t until midway through the third quarter that the Garnet team struck gold again. Travis Rudolph’s 46-yard catch from Deondre Francois was like poetry in motion, giving the Seminoles a 17-6 lead. Shortly after, Freddie Stevenson did his best Dalvin impression with a 27 yard run to the end zone. With a commanding 24-6 lead, the Seminole’s defense once again stopped the futile Gators offense. The only moment of satisfaction for the Gators came when Nyqwan Murray muffed the punt, only to be recovered by the Gators for a touchdown. The next drive, another turnover kept the outcome in question. Francois was hit viciously. Now just an 11-point deficit, this was Florida’s chance to make things interesting. However, the Florida State defense left no doubt. After another aggressive stop, Deondre Francois iced the game, marching us down the field and even sealing the deal with a touchdown run of his own.

The most notable part of FSU’s dominance was certainly the resilience of the defense. Demarcus Walker and Josh Sweat were huge X factors in the trenches, finishing with a combined 4.5 Tackles for Loss (3 of which were Sacks). Arguably the biggest leader on the defensive side of things, Demarcus Walker also recovered two fumbles in the Seminole victory.

The seniors who have been with us for four whole years felt the most glory. It’s not every day you shut out your Floridian Rivals all four years. Finishing off their careers at Doak Campbell Stadium was certainly an emotional moment for those seniors. Another storyline to watch is that of Dalvin Cook. The Heisman hopeful solidified his campaign with 153 yards and a touchdown. All that’s left for Florida State is bowl season.