As Florida State football went deep into the night against Southern Miss Saturday, it went deep into its depth chart for a convincing 66-13 win in front of 74,467 fans at Doak Campbell Stadium,
The 66 points is the highest-scoring output for the Seminoles since a 77-6 win over Delaware State on November 18, 2017.
FSU (2-0) has scored 30-plus points in three straight halves for the second time in school history in wins over then-5 LSU a week ago Sunday and the Golden Eagles. It marks. The only other time it happened was in 1988.
Overall, it has scored 35 or more points in eight straight games, the longest active streak in the nation.
The Seminoles improved to 2-0 and have won eight consecutive games dating back to last season.
Southern Miss coach Will Hall was impressed with the Seminoles, even with their short week of preparation.
“Offensively, they’re so dynamic,” Hall said. “This team has a legitimate chance to win a national title.”
Here are our takeaways from the Seminoles’ victory over the Golden Eagles.
Success on fourth down conversion
FSU had nothing but confidence regarding its fourth down effort
The Seminoles went 4-for-5. Two fourth-down conversions came on one drive and another led to a touchdown from running back Trey Benson, one of three scores from the running back.
“I tell the team all the time there’s going to be times that we’re going to have to have each other’s backs,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said. “Obviously I’ve got a lot of confidence or I wouldn’t do it going for it in those fourth-down situations. We were able to convert 80 percent of them [fourth downs].”
Jordan Travis anchored an impressive effort regarding the three other conversions, at one point backtracking near the FSU 30 before successfully connecting with Lawrence Toafili for the first down.
It’s a big jump from FSU’s game against LSU as it was 1-1 for fourth down conversions against the Tigers.
The Seminoles played confident and gutsy against Southern Miss, and the risk taken on fourth down highlighted the FSU’s confident spark.
“We build confidence on both sides,” Kalen Deloach said. “We trust in our offense. If they want to go for it on fourth down, they’re going to go for it because they believe in what we can do and we believe in what they can do.”
Trey Benson dominates on the ground
It was a big game for the Seminoles’ top running back as he hit the ground running and did not stop.
The redshirt junior tied his career high in touchdowns in a game and one shy of the FSU program rushing touchdowns in a game record, with three.
He finished with 79 yards on nine carries (8.8 yards per carry), leading the rushing effort that totaled 306 yards (8.3 yards per carry on 37 attempts).
Overall, the Seminoles had 554 offensive yards and averaged 8 yards per play. They limited USM to 258 yards and Jarrian Jones returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Benson had the biggest rushing play in the game in the third quarter, breaking free for a 42-yard sprint for a touchdown.
Benson had 47 rushing yards last week against LSU. The Seminoles rushed for 135 yards overall against the Tigers.
“Tonight meant a lot to me because, in my first game, we didn’t get the running going how I wanted it to go,” Benson said. “But we responded as a group tonight and got the running game going. I’m proud of the offensive line, I’m proud of the running back room for showing up today.”
Wide receiver core expands
While receiver Keon Coleman shined bright once again, recording 48 receiving yards on three receptions and his fourth touchdown in two games. He also hurdled an USM defender as he raced down the sideline with one of his receptions.
FSU went deep into its wide receiver room with 11 receivers cracking the stat sheet. The group combined for 248 yards and four touchdowns.
Tight end Markeston Douglas was second in receiving yards, all of which came off a 42-yard touchdown from quarterback Tate Rodemaker.
Freshman Destyn Hill also got the start at wide receiver and recorded his first career catch. Vandrevius Jacobs recorded his first career catch and touchdown on a 13-yard reception. Darion Williamson also recorded his first career touchdown.
Notably, on the rush, Caziah Holmes recorded his first career touchdown off a 40-yard run. Johnny Wilson was quieter Saturday night, recording no receptions and dropping a handful of passes. He came off a 104-yard performance versus LSU.
“Johnny, he had to come out a little bit there early in the game,” Norvell said. “Some rough opportunities there. He’s going to continue to respond and continue to grow. He’s a special player.”
FSU matched its first-half point against LSU against Southern Miss, scoring 21 points in both games. Travis was rested for Rodemaker in the third quarter, completing 15 of 29 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns.
Rodemaker, Glenn, Duffy get chances
Travis got a rare chance to rest.
He played into the third quarter before giving away to his backups: Tate Rodemaker, Brock Glenn and A.J. Duffy.
In his first snap, Rodemaker connected with Douglas for the 42-yard scoring play. He finished 3-of-3 for three of for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Glenn entered in the fourth quarter. In his first snap, he ran for 34 yards into Southern Miss territory.
Duffy entered in the final five minutes, recording 5 rushing yards.
“I told him [Glenn] to just trust his eyes. Same thing I tell all of our quarterbacks,” Norvell said.
“Trust your eyes, trust your feet. He went through his progression. Had a little bit of a mistake in one of the other positions that were out there. He trusted his feet. Pretty good seeing him get out there and scamper down the field.”
With Travis likely to dominate playing time in the backfield this season, there’s importance in giving guys Rodemaker, Glenn and Duffy playing time. This being Travis’s final season, it’s between Rodemaker and Glenn to take over that starting position.
Up Next: FSU is at Boston College Saturday. Kickoff is noon on ABC.
Boston College (1-1) beat Holy Cross 31-28 Saturday after it dropped its season opener 27-24 in overtime against North Illinois.
Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.
