Florida State Football: Seminoles on upset alert vs Syracuse

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Florida State football has been held scoreless early and is officially on upset alert against the Syracuse Orange.

Florida State’s offense has been anemic through one half in Upstate New York and the Seminoles are on upset alert against Syracuse, trailing 6-0 in the third quarter. The Seminoles entered the game as 3.5-point favorites against the Orange but managed just 110 yards in the first half and has gained just four first downs.

Quarterback Deondre Francois is just 9-o-20 passing for 73 yards and an interception. He has only led one drive that can be considered a threat. The Seminoles went three-and-out to start the second half and have just been unable to do anything against the Syracuse defense. Florida State has just 42 yards on the ground, led by Cam Akers’ 36 yards. Francois has -6 yards on three carries.

The only time Florida State has been able to threaten Syracuse was on the final drive of the first half and the Seminoles inexplicably let the clock run out without taking a shot into the end zone or attempting a field goal.

Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey was knocked out of the game in the first half and freshman Tommy DeVito has completed three-of-four passes for 54 yards in relief. If the Seminoles want to get back into this game, the offense needs to get into rhythm and score points to help out a defense that has struggled mightily.

This is Seminoles fans worst nightmare after an ugly opener against Virginia Tech and a scare against FCS Samford last season. Francois threw as many interceptions as touchdowns in the first two games and calls for Willie Taggart’s job have already begun in Tallahassee. It’s a stark turnaround for a program that has routinely competed for ACC and National Championships in the past few years.