Syracuse Orange vs Florida State Seminoles Match Player Stats On Nov 16, 2013

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 16, 2013

No. 2 Florida State 59, Syracuse 3: With his spectacular season suddenly clouded by controversy, Jameis Winston threw two touchdowns and the Seminoles shook off any distractions in a dominant performance against the visiting Orange.

Two days after it was revealed that Winston is being investigated for an alleged sexual battery that took place last December, the Heisman Trophy candidate authored one of his finest performances of the season. The redshirt freshman finished 19-of-21 for 277 yards while playing just the first half, and the Seminoles' running game and defense did the rest to ensure that Florida State would remain at least No. 2 in the BCS standings.

Karlos Williams, Levonte Whitfield, James Wilder Jr. and Devonta Freeman combined for 233 yards and four touchdowns on only 12 rushing attempts. Defensively, Florida State (10-0, 8-0 ACC) held Syracuse (5-5, 3-3) to 247 total yards, with Orange quarterback Terrel Hunt (10-of-18, 75 yards) and running back Jerome Smith (five carries, one yard) proving particularly ineffective.

With the Seminoles totaling 374 yards in the first half, Florida State scored touchdowns on its first five possessions and got a 53-yard field goal from Roberto Aguayo en route to a 38-0 halftime advantage. Wilder began the onslaught with a 3-yard touchdown run, followed by Whitfield's 74-yard scoring sprint, Freeman's 4-yard TD run and Winston's touchdown passes to Rashad Greene and Kelvin Benjamin.

Wilder tacked on a 37-yard TD run early in the third quarter before Florida State backup quarterback Sean Maguire threw a touchdown pass and Chris Casher returned a fumble 31 yards to the end zone to make it 59-0. Syracuse, which avoided a shutout with a fourth-quarter field goal, has won five of its last eight games, although the three defeats have come by a total of 164-17.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The score was 35-0 before Florida State faced a third down and only converted one third down in the game. ... Syracuse held the ball for more than 41 minutes and ran nearly twice as many plays as Florida State. ... It appears the Seminoles, who entered ranked in the top five in the nation in points scored and points allowed, only need to defeat Idaho, Florida and their opponent in the ACC title game to play for the national championship.