TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — There wasn’t anything Syracuse could have done. It took all of six plays for Florida State to prove that.

Devonta Freeman took a screen for 34 yards on the second play from scrimmage. Kenny Shaw took one 19 yards on the very next play. Jameis Winston hit Shaw on back-to-back plays for 13 and 9 yards. Finally, James Wilder Jr. capped the six-play, 77-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run just 2:31 into the game.

“They’re as good as they’re supposed to look — and better,” said SU head coach Scott Shafer. “They look like an NFL team.”

The Seminole offense that features future NFL stars across the board, including the Heisman Trophy frontrunner Winston, dismantled an Orange defense that had allowed just three points in the previous two weeks with a 59-3 victory on Saturday. Winston threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns. Wilder added two scores on the ground. Even No. 2 FSU’s (10-0, 8-0 Atlantic Coast) backups dazzled SU (5-5, 3-3) during the blowout in front of 74,491 at Doak Campbell Stadium.

“They’ve got guys that don’t touch the field that were giants,” Shafer said.

Just after that opening-drive score, Syracuse gave the ball right back. And even faster than that, Winston helped get Florida State back into the end zone.

The Seminoles ran a toss to wide receiver Kermit Whitfield, who lined up in the backfield. Whitfield darted to the right side of the field and cut back. He had room to run down the left sideline with only SU cornerback Julian Whigham to beat.

Winston charged down the left side of the field and dove to block Whigham. Meanwhile, Whitfield dashed into the end zone. Less than two minutes after their first touchdown, the Seminoles had a 14-0 lead.

“Anything for our team to have success,” Winston said, “I’m down for it.”

Shafer spoke during the week about toeing the line between getting fired up for a big game and being overly amped. In the opening minutes, the Orange crossed that line.

Defensive tackle Jay Bromley didn’t blame “googly eyes” for the spectacle in Tallahassee, Fla. Still, SU tried too many times to go for the big hit and missed too many tackles. In just seven offensive plays, FSU proved itself the offensive juggernaut the Syracuse coaching staff saw on film.

“Any time you play a higher-rated team, you’re going to have a little bit of hype, and I think sometimes that happens,” SU defensive backs coach Fred Reed said. “That’s just human nature.”

Florida State’s next drive was as quick as its first. Six plays took a Seminole running back — this time Freeman — into the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown.

A three-and-out and muffed punt later, FSU had the ball back. Four plays after that, Winston had his first touchdown pass. Florida State went up 28-0.

Reed called Winston as good as advertised. Shafer said the Seminoles were one of the best teams he’s seen in 23 years of coaching. SU quarterback Terrel Hunt admitted it: The Orange was beaten by a better team.

“They earned what they got,” Bromley said. “It wasn’t like we were just busting coverages, for the most part, and they were just running flat down the field scoring 80-yard touchdowns.”

In the second quarter, Winston said, FSU started playing “a little unfocused.” After a 28-point first quarter, Florida State mustered just 10 in the second. But when the Seminoles did strike, they struck just as fast.

This time it took seven plays before Winston threw his second touchdown. The quarterback lofted a pass to the right corner of the end zone where only Kelvin Benjamin could grab it. The wide receiver leapt above Wayne Morgan and snatched the ball out of the air with his outstretched arms.

There was nothing the defensive back could do.

“You still can try to minimize the things,” Reed said. “We still want to do that, but they’re really good.”

Winston left the game in the second half, but the Seminoles’ offense kept rolling. Wilder took another of his three carries right up the gut for a 37-yard touchdown. Backup quarterback Sean Maguire threw a touchdown. Running back Karlos Williams finished with 80 yards on four carries, despite not taking a single carry in the first half.

Shafer now knows where the bar is set and where his team needs to get to compete at the highest level in the ACC. Shafer will now pull for FSU as it barrels its way toward the national championship game.

“When we get our groove on,” Winston said, “it’s hard to stop us.”

Published on November 16, 2013 at 6:56 pm

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2