Written by Jon Soloman at CBSSports.com
Any minute now, Ole Miss will self-impose a second-half ban.
What was that, Ole Miss? “It was a nightmarish second half,” a devastated Rebels coach Hugh Freeze said.
Where did you come from, Florida State? “Momentum is something that we don’t talk about in sports enough,” Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher said. “We all want the reasons why, but once momentum swings, sometimes it just goes. It takes a heck of a group of kids to turn it back.”
Around America, college football fans went to bed early Monday night believing they’d wake up the next day able to mock Dalvin Cook’s bumbling fumble. What are the odds a couple AP Top 25 voters hit send on their ballots early with Ole Miss in the top five and Florida State buried?
Good morning. How did you sleep?
Say hello to a star quarterback. His name is Deondre Francois, not Chad Kelly. Say hello to Florida State 45, Ole Miss 34 after one of the biggest all-time meltdowns you’ll ever see.
In something straight out of a basketball game, Florida State scored 33 straight points after trailing 28-6. The Seminoles went on a 30-0 run in less than 15 minutes. Total yards in the third quarter: Florida State 214, Ole Miss -7.
Week 1 in college football was one giant emoji with a shoulder shrug and smiley face. I don’t know what the hell happened either, but please give us more.
At first blush, Francois’ 16-yard touchdown pass 28 seconds before halftime, which he got off milliseconds before getting drilled, looked harmless. (Well, it wasn’t harmless for Francois, who stayed down for a while appeared to have his arm looked at by trainers on the sideline.)
“Hey, look at the Seminoles still fighting,” the thinking went. “At least they won’t fold like USC.”
Fold? These Seminoles showed heart they lacked at the Peach Bowl loss last year toHouston. They showed toughness they lacked when Clemson punched them in the mouth during the fourth quarter last season. For Francois, a redshirt freshman, to stand in the pocket and take shots without ducking, “that’s when those teammates respect you,” Fisher said.
Francois’ touchdown pass to Travis Rudolph started the avalanche. Then Ricky Aguayo — yes, Roberto’s younger brother — kicked a 40-yard field goal. Then Freddie Stevenson ran in from 1 yard out after a Kelly tipped-ball interception. Then Kermit Whitfield had a 3-yard touchdown run after a bad Kelly fumble. Then Ryan Izzocaught a 2-yard touchdown from Francois. Then Aguayo added another 40-yard kick.
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