Florida State Football: 3 takeaways from upset win over North Carolina

Who expected North Carolina to fall via upset to a struggling Florida State football team on Saturday? This season has been wild.

When Florida State raced out to a 24-0 lead, the game seemed all but over. The Seminoles went into halftime with a 31-7 lead over the No. 5 team in the country, but North Carolina wasn’t ready to give up yet.

Mack Brown led the troops back in the second half as the Tar Heels scored two third-quarter touchdowns to make the game interesting. They added another in the fourth and then had a chance to drive the field in the final minutes for a go-ahead touchdown or game-tying field goal, but dropped pass after dropped pass by Tar Heels receivers led to a 31-28 heartbreaking loss.

On the other side of the field, Florida State took its foot off the gas in the second half and nearly feel in dramatic fashion in only a way the Seminoles could over the past few years. A win is a win, though.

What did we learn from Florida State’s win over North Carolina?

3. La’Damian Webb was a pleasant surprise

Florida State needed someone to step up to help Jordan Travis out on the offensive side of the ball and that someone happened to be sophomore running back La’Damian Webb.

The JUCO transfer from Alabama was ranked the No. 57 recruit at that level in the 2020 class as well as the fourth-best running back, per 247Sports. He hasn’t been a “breakout star” yet for the Seminoles this season as that was supposed to be a role assumed by Texas A&M transfer Jashaun Corbin, but he finally broke out against North Carolina.

Webb had 36 rushes for 153 yards and three touchdowns coming into Saturday’s game but he finished with a career-best 109 yards on 12 carries, leading all rushers in yards per carry.

If he can continue to contribute like this, Florida State’s offense may take off.