The Florida State Seminoles have finally broken the seal and gotten a win this season in college football. The Syracuse Orange took the L to the previously 0-4 Noles. It was a battle of rushing yards and came down to the wire.
With time expiring, and the game on the line, tied 30-30, Ryan Fitzgerald lined up for the kick. With ice in his veins, he nailed it to give his team their first win of the season and possibly turned the outlook of the year around.
Hallelujah indeed, this has to be a big feeling of relief for Seminoles fans everywhere. Florida State is not a program accustomed to going through an 0-4 start. Now, with the leg of Fitzgerald, they prevent an 0-5 start. I don’t think he will have to worry about buying anything for a while off-campus.
What this ultimately means for the outlook on the season…you don’t go 0-12. There are no promises for a team that has gone 0-4 to begin the season. However, with the talent that the Noles have, they should be able to get better results.
As for Syracuse, they go 3-2. The Orange have wins over Ohio, Albany, and Liberty. They hung tight with Rutgers but lost 17-7 in week 2. They will have to recover quickly from this loss because next week they face off with the No.24 Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Deacons beat Louisville on a last-minute field goal today.
Florida State Wins the QB Battle Against Syracuse
This game was a battle in the trenches. With both teams relying heavily on the run game, we saw a lot of power plays and strong rushes. As far as the QB battle went, Jordan Travis of Florida State outperformed Garrett Shrader, but only in the passing game.
Travis was able to get the ball in the endzone twice with just one interception on the day. He also connected on 22/32 passes for 131 yards. He also rushed the ball for 113 yards on 19 carries. While that is super impressive, he wasn’t the only QB with a huge day on the ground.
For Syracuse, Shrader put it all on the line. Although he threw for 13/23, 150 yards with a TD and an INT, he was excellent on the ground. With 16 carries, he ran for 137 yards and 3 TDs. He kept the Orange in this game and had the best overall game today. Sean Tucker also had a big day, the HB rushed for 102 yards on 24 carries.
However, no matter how good the quarterbacks were in this one, it came down to one man and his foot. Ryan Fitzgerald put Florida State on his back and go the first win of the season. Now, can they go 2-5?
