No. 2 Seminoles Defeat SU, 59-3

Saturday, November 16

Tallahassee, FL

3:30 p.m.

Syracuse University

5-5 , 3-3

Florida State

10-0 , 8-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Syracuse

Florida State

Devante McFarlane rushed for a career-high 81 yards Saturday at Florida State.

Photo by: Charles Wainwright

11/16/2013 4:07:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Final Stats | Notes | Coach Shafer Quotes | Photos
VIDEO: Syracuse Press Conference

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — No. 2 Florida State (10-0, 8-0 ACC) snapped Syracuse's two-game winning streak with a 59-3 win on Saturday afternoon in front of 74,491 fans at Doak Campbell Stadium. The game represented the second time this season the Orange (5-5, 3-3 ACC) faced a top-five opponent.

Syracuse two young running backs paced the offense. Redshirt freshman Devante McFarlane led SU with 81 rushing yards on a career-high 13 carries (6.2 yards per carry). Classmate George Morris II set personal bests for both carries (21) and yards (67). Morris also had two kickoff returns for 42 yards.

SU used three different quarterbacks in the game, with starter Terrel Hunt playing the entire first half and part of the third quarter. Hunt completed 10-of-18 passes for 75 yards.

Drew Allen replaced Hunt midway through the third quarter and completed 5-of-9 passes for 29 yards. Allen led the only SU scoring drive of the game, a 20-play march that covered 66 yards and resulted in a 32-yard field goal by Ryan Norton.

Charley Loeb finished up attempting on pass on the game's final possession.

Dyshawn Davis and Durell Eskridge each had a team-high seven tackles, including one tackle for loss each. Eskridge also recorded his team-leading fourth interception of the season, snagging a Sean Maguire pass in the end zone late in the third quarter.

Seminole starting quarterback Jameis Winston completed 19-of-21 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns before being replaced by Maguire in the second half. Maguire completed three passes on five attempts for 21 yards and a touchdown.

Kenny Shaw led the receiving corps with seven catches for 99 yards and Karlos Williams led all FSU rushers with four carries for 78 yards. James Wilder Jr. had three carries for 52 yards and two touchdowns.

The Seminoles dominated the first quarter, scoring four touchdowns on four drives. The first came 2:31 into the game on a three-yard rush by Wilder Jr. into the end zone. On the next FSU possession, Kermit Whitfield sprinted 74 yards for a touchdown on the first play to give the hosts a 14-0 lead with 10:41 remaining left in the quarter.

Florida State scored again six minutes later on a four-yard run by Devonta Freeman, making it 21-0. The Seminoles closed the first-quarter scoring with a six-yard touchdown pass from Winston to Rashad Greene to claim a 28-0 advantage.

FSU added a touchdown and a field goal in the second quarter to take a 38-0 lead at the half.

The 'Noles added to their lead on their first drive of the second half, capped by a 37-yard TD run by Wilder Jr. to go up 45-0 with 10:51 remaining in the third stanza. A Nick O'Leary 17-yard touchdown reception less than two minutes later increased the margin to 52-0 with 9:16 left in the third.

Florida State scored for the last time five plays later when Chris Casher stripped the ball from Hunt and ran it back 31 yards for a touchdown and a 59-0 Seminole advantage.

The Orange controlled the ball for 18:13 of the final 20 minutes and 47 seconds of the game to prevent any more Seminole scoring.

Syracuse notched the game's final points on Norton's field goal with 7:42 left. Allen completed 5-of-7 passes on the drive to help get Norton in range.

The Orange finishes the regular season with two home games, starting with Pittsburgh on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 12:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome (ACC Network).