TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Following back-to-back nail-biting victories to stay unbeaten, No. 1 Florida State came on late for a 43-3 home win Saturday against ACC foe Wake Forest.
Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston threw for 297 yards and one touchdown pass. He also rushed for a score, improving to 18-0 as a starter at Florida State.
True freshman receiver Ermon Lane led the Seminoles with two catches for 70 yards, while another true freshman, Travis Rudolph, hauled in Winston’s 59-yard TD pass. Running back Mario Pender rushed for a team-high 70 yards and one score.
The FSU defense limited Wake Forest to just 126 total yards of offense. FSU linebacker Reggie Northrup led FSU with eight tackles and also scored on a 31-yard fumble recovery, while Seminoles highly touted freshman DE Lorenzo Featherston (6-foot-7, 220 pounds) made his first career start Saturday, recording seven stops.
Florida State has now outscored Wake Forest 154-6 in their last three meetings.
Mike Weaver, Wake Forest’s freshman kicker, accounted for the Demon Deacons’ only points: a 36-yarder field goal to open the scoring in the first quarter.
The Seminoles’ school-record and NCAA-leading 21st win in a row, however, wasn’t a sure thing early on. Wake, a 38-point underdog, surprisingly found itself tied 3-3 deep into the second quarter until Winston finally got FSU in the end zone with a 2-yard quarterback scamper.
The announced crowd of 82,327 at Doak Campbell Stadium came alive in the second half as the Seminoles (5-0 overall, 3-0 in the ACC) outscored Wake 30-0 to secure their 18th straight victory against a conference opponent dating to 2012.
The win also gave FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher his 50th career win at FSU just a little more than a third of the way through his fifth season.
Wake Forest (2-4, 0-2), at least its defense, looked up to the task early, forcing two turnovers on FSU’s opening two drives — a pick by cornerback Merrill Noel and a fumble recovery by linebacker Brandon Chubb that was forced by defensive tackle Josh Banks. Weaver then put the Demon Deacons up 3-0 with 1:20 left in the first quarter with his lone field goal of the game.
Demon Deacons freshman starting quarterback John Wolford was replaced by sophomore Tyler Cameron late in the third quarter after going 9 of 15 for 58 yards and a pick. Cameron wasn’t much better, finishing 4 of 7 for 28 yards. Wake’s FBS-worst rushing offense (29.2 yards per game) was held to just 37 yards Saturday.
Demon Deacons linebacker Hunter Williams led the defense with 10 stops — all solo — as well as four tackles for loss and a sack.
Wake outgained FSU, 51-29, in total yards during a dismal first quarter for both teams and held the Seminoles to a field-goal try on their third drive to start the second. Reigning Lou Groza Award winner Roberto Aguayo tied the game at 3-3 with 11:46 left before the half with a 43-yard boot.
The Seminoles’ offense finally woke up just before halftime when Winston drove FSU down the field with 3:39 left to play. The sophomore quarterback capped the six-play, 50-yard march with his second rushing touchdown of the season with a little over a minute remaining before intermission.
After a 3-and-out by Wake’s offense — which ran 32 plays for 28 yards in the first half, including minus-26 yards rushing — FSU got the ball back and tacked on another Aguayo field goal before the half, this time from 41 yards out to make the score 13-3.
The sophomore kicker’s second first-half field goal was his 18th consecutive make, tying the school record of current NFL kicker Graham Gano. Aguayo broke the record on the Seminoles’ first series of the second half with a 52-yarder that put FSU ahead, 16-3. Aguayo added two more field goals (42 and 32 yards) in the fourth quarter.
Pender all but put the game away with 5:10 left in the third quarter with a 3-yard rushing score that made the score 23-3. The two-play scoring march was set up after an interception of Wolford by FSU defensive back P.J. Williams deep in Wake Forest territory.
The defense struck again three plays later when Wake running back Isaiah Robinson coughed up the ball, which was returned by Northrup for a 31-yard scoop-and-score that gave FSU a commanding 30-3 lead.
Florida State, however, did not come out of the win unscathed.
Junior linebacker and leading tackler Terrance Smith was ruled out with a hip injury just before the game, as was starting nose guard Derrick Mitchell. Then the Seminoles lost starting center Austin Barron (hand) in the first half. To make matters worse, leading wideout Rashad Greene suffered a concussion early in the second half and did not return.
NOTES: FSU continued its domination in the overall series with Wake Forest and now leads 26-6-1. … The Demon Deacons’ field goal to open the scoring continued a trend of scoring first in every game this season. … The FSU football program retired its live horse mascot, Renegade 5, at halftime and welcomed Renegade 6. … Wake Forest has an open date next week but will return to action Oct. 18 against Syracuse, beginning a three-game homestand, while FSU travels to face the Orange next weekend. … The Demon Deacons came into the game as the only team in the nation with a true freshman starting at center and quarterback. … FSU’s defense had 10 tackles for loss in the first half, nearly half of their season total (22) entering the game. … Weaver is off to the best start of any kicker in school history, making his first eight FGs in a row to start his career.