Winston-Salem, NC – No. 4 Florida State (8-0, 6-0) sped past Wake Forest (4-4,1-3) to a big, first-half lead to upend the Demon Deacons, 41-16. FSU QB Jordan Davis threw for 359 yards and three TDs to take a 34-7 lead at halftime. He ran for a 13-yard score to finish the first drive of the game to put FSU in front early. The Seminole win ended a three-game losing streak to the Deacs who displayed little offense. Quarterback Mitch Griffis struggles running the Run-Pass Option Wake ran effectively in recent years under Sam Hartman. After Wake closed the score 10-7 early in the second period, Florida State came back with 24 unanswered points by halftime.
Florida State dominates second quarter
Deuce Spann returned the ensuing kickoff 43 yards for Florida State to the 43. At the Wake 29, The Noles isolated Keon Coleman one-on-one with the CB to the left side. He beat him on a short route and with one move raced to the end zone for the 17-7 advantage. Later in the period, a screen-pass to the left by Davis on first down to Trey Benson went 80 yards for a touchdown to widen the lead for Florida State.
On their next possession, Davis hooked up with Jaheim Bell on another screen. He raced for 38 yards that put FSU at the Wake 14. On the next play, Coleman made a standing, one-handed grab off his hip between the sideline and a defender for a 31-7 lead with 1:16 left in the half. With the Demon Deacons backed up with a penalty to their nine on the ensuing kickoff, State used their time-outs and received a punt at the WFU 42. Ryan Fitzgerald closed out Florida State’s first-half scoring with a 34-yard FG.
Time to hit “Re-set?”
In the third period, Wake showed a little life. They scored with a field goal and on Tate Carney’s four-yard run to cut the lead, 34-16. However, what really stood out was Griffis’s inability to run the RPO. It lacked any quickness or rhythm. At times, he and his ball-carriers appeared to be strolling through the line arm-in-arm before being stopped to execute a play. The coaching staff made no adjustments to utilize a quick strike passing attack. FSU covered Wake receivers well, and because of that, the Seminoles totaled six sacks, ten tackles for loss, and six passes knocked down. After the game, Guest Game Analysts and staunch Wake Forest supporters Jim “Bugaluga” Harton and Earl Beasley wondered why Coach Dave Clawson didn’t turn to another QB at some point.
“Oh” no!
Florida State tallied the only points in the final quarter on Trey Benson’s 18-yard touchdown run. Eleven minutes remained. After that, FSU Head Coach Mike Norvell went to his second and third stringers to provide some experience. In the first half, FSU held Wake to only nineteen yards passing, eventually only 82 in the entire game. The No. 4 Seminoles dominated from start to finish. For the sell-out crowd at Allegacy Stadium with about 30% wearing FSU Garnet and Gold, the majority of Demon Deac fans left highly disappointed.
For myself, after having attended my thirteenth Demon Deacon contest since 1981, it turned out to be a devastating loss. Of the previous WFU games attended, they won 11 and lost the 12th to Louisville in 2019, 62-59! My personal record among the Demon Deacon faithful earned me the nickname, “11 and almost OH” Koreivo. Still considered a remarkable accomplishment according to Bugaluga, they’ll probably come up with some kind of appropriate, new nickname for me.
Next!
Florida State travels to play Pitt (2-6, 1-3) who got humbled by Notre Dame last Saturday, 58-7. Wake needs to make some quick adjustments to deal with much-improved Duke (5-3,2-2) in nearby Durham on Thursday night. For collegefootballfan.com, after having attended five weekday night games during the last five weeks, we don’t attend another game until Saturday. And instead of flying to a game (or weddings) for the first time in four weeks, we’ll take a short trip to nearby Nashville. Friends and alum of Auburn visit The Music City this weekend when their Tigers (4-4, 1-4) visit Vanderbilt (2-7,0-5). Fun times coming up with good, long-time friends this Saturday.
Speaking of good (new) friends…
St. Laurie and I were hosted this weekend in North Cackilacky , as Jim “Bugaluga” refers to his home state, by he and his wife Courtenay at their beautiful home in Oak Ridge. This weekend, they introduced us to their good friends Tom and Paula Dille. Now in their 80s, they moved to Greensboro to be closer to family. Tom mentored Jim during his rewarding career in the chemical industry before becoming president of a division of Solvay. We met at the company gym.
Tom played football at Iowa State University back in the late 50s. A memorable game moment he shared was against Oklahoma in 1956. Despite a loss to Oklahoma, he laid some heavy hits against the Sooners including RB Tommy McDonald. This game took place during the Sooners 47-game record breaking winning streak under HC Bud Wilkinson. He said that Wilkinson had a tradition. He awarded a game ball to a player he selected as each game’s MVP. Wilkinson was so impressed by Tom’s effort that day, he awarded the game ball to him after the game. Tom still keeps it at home.
Football history
He reminisced about those days running the single wing and playing both ways. Some of his tackles came up against Sooner RB Tommy McDonald who got drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1957. McDonald played in the Pro Bowl six times during his 11-year career. He played for the Eagles in their 1960 NFL championship game. In 1998, he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Quite a long-lasting memory for a player who went on to a very successful business career and happy life for many years. He and Paula now enjoy season tickets at Wake Forest football games.
