Florida State football was looking to put together a complete game from start to finish entering Saturday’s home showdown against Syracuse.
The No. 4 Seminoles finally accomplished that goal in their 41-3 victory over ACC rival Syracuse at Doak Campbell Stadium in front of a sellout crowd of 79,560.
Coach Mike Norvell and FSU (6-0, 4-0 ACC) have won 12 straight games dating back to last season. The Orange (4-3, 0-3) have lost three straight games to Clemson, North Carolina and FSU on the road after a 4-0 start to the season.
The Seminoles are 6-0 for the first time since the 2015 season, in which they also began the season with six straight wins.
“All in all, it was a good team win,” Norvell said. “For us to be able to continue to take positive steps for ultimately where we’re trying to get to, just that continued improvement.”
Here are our grades for FSU against Syracuse.
Offense: A-
The Jordan Travis–Keon Coleman connection was strong from the first snap. Coleman and Travis hooked up four times on the opening drive which ended in a Travis touchdown run from a yard out.
Coleman finished with nine receptions for 140 yards and a touchdown, in the absence of fellow star wide receiver Johnny Wilson. His performance included a ridiculous one-handed catch in traffic in the first quarter.
Travis finished 23 of 37 passing for 284 yards, the passing touchdown and two scores on the ground.
Travis – who left the first half early with an apparent hand injury – was removed from the game following a 50-yard touchdown run from running back Lawrance Toafili. Tate Rodemaker came on in his stead and completed two passes for 50 yards, including a 44-yard TD to freshman Hykeem Williams – the first of his career for Williams.
While the FSU offense put up 41 points, it’s also fair to point out that the Seminoles left points on the board. They had two failed fourth down conversions from Syracuse territory – including one from the four-yard line – and settled for a field goal following a Coleman 72-yard punt return to the five-yard line.
Wide receiver Ja’Khi Douglas also had a key drop on a third down which stalled a drive and led to a field goal.
Defense: A
The Orange had 212 yards of offense before the Seminoles jumped ahead 34-3 and started playing backups with eight minutes remaining in the game. They had just 108 yards passing and 104 yards rushing.
Syracuse quarterback starting quarterback Garrett Shrader was limited to just 9-of-21 passing for 99 yards and was sacked twice, finishing with seven rushes for negative 10 yards. He was eventually benched for backup Carlos Del Rio Wilson.
The biggest difference maker for the Seminoles early and often was safety Shyheim Brown. Brown recorded half a sack – along with linebacker Kalen DeLoach – on the first offensive snap for the Orange. That set the tone for the game.
Brown later added another sack in the third quarter. He also batted a pass down from Shrader. He led the team with seven blocks.
The three points allowed are the fewest the Seminoles have allowed since last November in a 38-3 victory at Syracuse.
“That was a great performance. I thought they battled throughout, made the plays that were necessary, were able to create some takeaways,” Norvell said. “Just really played at a high level.”
Special teams: A-
Just like on offense, Coleman was the star of this unit. He had six punt returns for a total of 107 yards, giving him 247 total yards for the afternoon.
He returned a punt for 72 yards in the third quarter, coming a shoestring tackle away from potentially returning a punt for a touchdown for the first time in his career. He added a 13-yard return in the fourth which he broke a couple of tackles on.
Coleman could have had an even bigger day on special teams but had a 30-yard punt return called back due to a holding on freshman corner Conrad Hussey. Making matters worse, Hussey was also called for a facemask on the play, moving the ball from inside the red zone to the FSU 40 for starting position.
The Seminoles ended the drive with a turnover on downs from the Orange 26. That mistake and another penalty on another punt keep the Seminoles from a stronger grade.
Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald hit his field goal attempts from 48 and 29 yards, as well as his five extra point attempts to remain perfect on both this season. The 48-yard field goal is a season-high.
Punter Alex Mastramanno had four punts for 180 yards, with an average of 45 yards per punt. He had three punts land inside the 20 and a long of 51.
Coaching: B+
Just like the offense, there are likely calls and plays Norvell and offensive coordinator Alex Atkins are going to want back.
First the good, Norvell’s decisions on two key fourth down were the right decision. On the first one, FSU was faced with a fourth and six from the 30-yard line. He opted for a Fitzgerald kick and it worked.
The second decision was to go for it on fourth and goal from the four with a 17-3 lead midway through the second quarter. Travis ended up throwing an incomplete pass to Destyn Hill, which resulted in a turnover on downs.
That did not work out but it was the right move. The aggressiveness is something Norvell likes to do and is part of his DNA.
However, setting up that fourth and goal, the Seminoles made a few curious decisions by not running the ball with their backs at all in the sequence. Instead, a first down run to wide receiver Deuce Spann was stuffed and then Travis threw three straight incompletions.
“Offensively there were some moments we weren’t as efficient as we needed to,” Norvell said. “Great in the red zone this year, had a couple of opportunities. I’ve got to be better. I told the offense, it was on me. We’ll be better when we’re in there because we’ve done a great job throughout the course of the season. There can’t be a time we get down there and don’t score.”
Overall: A
Overall, this was the best performance for FSU this season, including a dominant 45-24 season-opening victory over then-No. 5 LSU.
The Seminoles jumped out to an early lead and never gave Syracuse a chance to get back into the game.
The final play on defense to seal the victory was cornerback Greedy Vance Jr. picking off a fourth down pass attempt from Del Rio Wilson.
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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