RUN DOUGLAS, RUN: TE Markeston Douglas outruns the Southern Miss defense on his way to a 42 yard receiving touchdown.

TALLAHASSEE- After a tough contest against LSU, Florida State took it easy in week two and hosted Southern Miss for their 2023 home opener. The raucous crowd was over 74,000 strong as students and fans packed Doak Campbell Stadium to watch the Noles run up the score on the Golden Eagles.

While Florida State put up 31 points in the first half, they proved that they are a second half team, at least on offense. Quarterback Jordan Travis looked to be in perfect form. He was easily avoiding pressures and making accurate throws. The concern lied within the Noles’ receivers.

Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson, FSU’s top receivers, seemed to have a lot of trouble catching passes in the first half. Wilson had several drops that would have gone for big gains and even a pair of touchdowns. To give credit where credit is due, Southern’s secondary was able to stay with the Seminoles’ receivers, but the receiving core of the number three team in the country shouldn’t have trouble catching accurate passes.

The receiving core did shape up later in the game, however. Wilson continued to struggle, but Coleman had a trio of receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown. The big tight end Markeston Douglas also scored a 42 yard touchdown on his only reception of the game.

Travis, as previously stated, was brilliant in his one half of football. Despite his receivers struggles, Travis completed 15 of his 29 passes for 175 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Travis had played in just one drive in the second half before head coach Mike Norvell brought in back up QB Tate Rodemaker, who passed for 78 yards and another two touchdowns.

The story of FSU’s offense was running back Trey Benson. Benson ran for just 76 yards, but had three touchdowns on the day, along with a 20 yard reception.

The Seminoles may have struggled in the first half, but took off in the third quarter, scoring 21 points. The Noles’ defense was outstanding in all four quarters of the game. They held Golden Eagles star running back Frank Gore Jr., son of NFL great Frank Gore, to just 31 rushing yards and limited the passing game as well. No Southern Miss receiver had more that 2 catches on the night. Mississippi native and FSU defensive back Jarian Jones wasn’t doing his home state any favors when he ran back an interception for a 30 yard pick six. The Noles defense also forced six punts out of the Golden Eagles.

“I loved the way the defense played, especially that first defense. They were dominant in how they played,” said Norvell in an interview with the Seminole Sports Network.”I thought we were even more disciplined, better with our communication. There’s still a play here and there that we have to clear up and there’s things that we’ll be able to grow from. But, I don’t think they gave up a third down conversion with the first defense, really did a wonderful job.”

All-in all it was a dominating 66-13 performance by the Noles that could have been even more dominant had the FSU receivers not struggled early on.

The Seminoles showed just how deep their roster is, subbing in their back ups early in the second half and continuing to play like a top team in the country. This FSU team will head into conference play next week as they face Boston College, a game that they are also expected to dominate.