TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A strong
second-half surge helped propel Florida State to a 34-10 victory over
BYU on Saturday in Tallahassee in front of 68,795 fans at Doak Campbell
Stadium.
Freshman quarterback Jake Heaps
threw his first career touchdown, finishing 15-of-31 for 114 yards on
the day after coming in for Riley Nelson
early in the first half. Junior running back JJ Di Luigi
followed up his first-career 100-yard game at Air Force last week with
93 yards on 18 carries while adding 36 yards on three catches.
The Seminoles were the only team to get on the scoreboard in the
first quarter, converting a 26-yard field goal with 36 seconds left on
the clock. The Cougar defense stiffened to force the three points after
Florida State marched 62 yards in 10 plays on the drive.
BYU’s defense again stood strong when needed in the second quarter
after a Heaps fumble at the team’s 20-yard line gave the Seminoles great
field position. Three plays later FSU had lost nine yards and was
forced to attempt a 47-yard field goal, which sophomore Dustin Hopkins
knocked through for a 6-0 advantage.
The lead quickly grew to 13-0 when sophomore running back Chris
Thompson took the first handoff of FSU’s next possession and broke free
for an 83-yard sprint down the left sideline to the end zone.
BYU responded with a 49-yard drive to get on the board with a
28-yard field goal with 4:26 to go in the half. Heaps led the drive with
Di Luigi contributing on several nice runs.
After the BYU defense forced a three-and-out, Heaps and Di Luigi
again helped provided some offensive firepower, guiding the Cougars 71
yards over 11 plays for Heaps’ touchdown pass, a 4-yarder to freshman Cody Hoffman
just 14 seconds before the half. Heaps converted the throw on a
third-and-goal call, hitting Hoffman crossing over the back of the end
zone. The touchdown was also the first of Hoffman’s career.
Heaps went 8-of-13 in the first half for 59 yards while Di Luigi
gained 72 yards on the ground as BYU totaled 152 yards of total offense
in the half compared to 215 by the Seminoles.
The Cougars started the second half without the services of Outland
Trophy candidate Matt
Reynolds, who was hurt on the touchdown throw at the end of the
half. He returned at the end of the third quarter and played with a
lower leg contusion after x-rays were negative. Also out after a blow to
the head in the first half was starting free safety Steven Thomas,
who, unlike Reynolds, was not able to return with a concussion.
BYU was unable to put points on the board in the second half, while
FSU scored touchdowns on both of its chances in the third quarter to
retake the momentum with a 27-10 lead heading into the final quarter.
After a fumble by Heaps on a four-down conversion attempt, the Seminoles
added a late touchdown with under two minutes remaining for the final
tally.
BYU is now 1-2 while Florida State improves to 2-1 on the season.
The Cougars will play in LaVell Edwards Stadium for the first time in
three weeks on Sept. 25, taking on Nevada (3-0) in Provo.