TALLAHASSEE- Despite being undefeated and marked as one of the best teams in the country, Florida State had yet to dominate an ACC opponent. That changed on Saturday as the Seminoles continued their unbeaten streak with a stomping of Syracuse.

Offense and defense came together for the Noles as they cruised to a 41-3 beating of the Orange. Quarterback Jordan Travis continued to be one of the top QBs in the country as he carved up the Syracuse defense. Travis threw just one touchdown in the game, but completed 23 of 37 passes for 284 yards in the air. He also tacked on a pair of rushing TDs.

With receiver Johnny Wilson out with an injury, most of the work load fell to Keon Coleman and he delivered. Coleman had several catches on the Noles’ first drive and finished the game with nine receptions for 140 yards and a touchdown. Florida State’s passing attack was unstoppable against the Orange as they had ten different receivers record a catch in the game with three having receptions that went for over 38 yards.

The Noles rushing attack was similarly dominant. Led by backs Trey Benson and Lawrance Toafili, they recorded 191 yards and three touchdowns.

The Noles defense stepped up in the game and dominated the Orange. This is the first time that Florida State has not given up a touchdown all season. The Seminoles defense held Syracuse starting QB Garrett Shrader to just 9 completions and less than 100 passing yards. The Orange sent out two more quarterbacks and the Noles were able to shut them down, recording an interception and only allowing thee receptions and 40 yards between the two backups. The only Orange player that had any real success against Florida State was running back LeQuint Allen, who rushed for 110 yards on 19 attempts.

This was the dominant performance that the Florida State defense needed. They finished with three sacks, six tackles for a loss, and an interception.

Since defeating LSU in week one, the Seminoles have hovered around the four and five spot in the college football rankings. Not much has changed in front of FSU as Ohio State, Michigan, and Georgia still take up the top three. The top seven in the country are all undefeated and it is very possible, with the schedules being what they are, that this current top four will be the top four fans see in the CFB Playoffs. Michigan and Ohio State will meet at the end of the season and the loser of that game could fall behind Florida State, bringing the Noles into the top three. However, Florida State does need to win out to stay in the running, meaning they will need to take care of Duke this coming Saturday, the only ranked team left on the Noles schedule.