Top-ranked Florida State handily defeated the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on a gorgeous Saturday night in Tallahassee to the tune of 43-3. Florida State started slow, turning the ball over on its first two drives via a Winston interception and a subsequent Karlos Williams fumble.
Wake’s offense may be historically bad and it showed as they could not get anything going, scoring only three points off a 23-yard drive following the Williams’ fumble and never threatening again for the rest of the game.
Florida State slowly got it together, finally putting together big plays in the second half. Roberto Aguayo finished with five field goals, breaking the school record for consecutive field goals made (19) with 21 straight, including a season-long 52-yarder in the second half.
The young players also impressed, with freshman receivers Ermon Lane and Travis Rudolph both catching passes and breaking free for 59-yard gains. Sophomore running back Mario Pender added 70 yards and a touchdown on five carries as Florida State eventually pulled away.
The story of the game though was injuries. FSU lost starting center Austin Barron to either a broken hand or a broken arm as reports are varying. This is a significant loss, as the backup center Ryan Hoefeld routinely snapped the ball dangerously high for much of the second half. FSU future legend Rashad Greene also didn’t finish the game after suffering a concussion.
The last word is that FSU (5-0, 3-0 ACC) survived a week in which many other teams did not, and will look to stay undefeated next week on the road against Syracuse in a noon kickoff. Wake Forest (2-4, 0-2 ACC) will be idle.
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