No. 14 Florida State's struggling offense was able to piece together enough in a 17-6 win over Wake Forest on Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium.
The Seminoles (5-2) took a 10-3 halftime lead having scored a field goal in the first quarter and a touchdown in the second. Junior receiver Travis Rudolph was easily the offense's most consistent player. He finished with a career-high 238 yards on 13 receptions.
Rudolph aside, the offense was inconsistent in other areas. Redshirt freshman quarterback Deondre Francois was under pressure and continued to take multiple hits.
Wake Forest (5-2) forced Francois into throwing an interception. The Demon Deacons also forced a fumble out of Francois at a critical moment. There was less than seven minutes left in the fourth quarter when Francois was pummeled and the ball popped loose.
The Demon Deacons recovered yet a missed field goal attempt kept the score at 17-6 with 5:03 remaining.
FSU's offense committed four turnovers with three of them coming via fumble. Star junior tailback Dalvin Cook was responsible for two. The fumbles only amplified what was a bit of a mired afternoon for FSU's Heisman Trophy candidate.
He suffered what appeared to be an injury to his torso early in the second quarter. Cook was held out for a series but finished the day with 115 yards on 25 carries. FSU also lost senior receiver Bobo Wilson to a foot injury.
The Seminoles took a 3-0 lead off a 29-yard field goal with Ricky Aguayo as time expired in the first quarter. Francois scored off a two-yard run which increased the lead to 10-3 with 3:16 remaining.
Francois' lone touchdown pass came when he threw a 18-yard strike to Auden Tate for a 17-6 edge with 7:32 left in the third quarter. Francois was 22 of 37 for 319 yards to go with his touchdown and one interception. He was sacked three times and Wake Forest was credited with two hurries.
Wake's only points were two field goals which came in the second and third quarters.
Defensive backs Ermon Lane and Trey Marshall each finished with a team-high seven tackles while FSU's pass rush forced five sacks.
Sophomore defensive end Josh Sweat had six tackles and 1.5 sacks while senior DeMarcus Walker recorded two sacks.
Senior defensive back Marquez White and sophomore Tarvarus McFadden each picked up an interception.
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