Florida State’s opening drive showed promise. It turned out to be fool’s gold.

The Seminoles drove 75 yards and settled for a chip-shot field goal attempt. As it turned out, those were the only points FSU could manage. And FSU would manage just 72 yards on its next nine drives.

Riley Leonard ran for two touchdowns and threw for another as No. 10 Notre Dame routed FSU 52-3 on Saturday night, handing the Seminoles an expected but lopsided defeat.

FSU allowed a season high in points and scored a season low in points. And for the second straight game, the Seminoles were essentially not competitive with a game no longer in doubt and the opponent ahead 21-3 at the half.

"Obviously it hurt - in all three phases," FSU coach Mike Norvell said. "Really disappointing outcome. Obviously for our football team we all expect better. We all understand it’s in no way acceptable for what it needs to be and what it has been even in the very recent past."

Lawrance Toafili earned more carries, producing 71 yards on 14 rushes. But he also dropped a likely touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, diminishing a positive night.

FSU started a ninth offensive line combination, gave up eight sacks and fell to 1-9 — dropping a sixth straight game. Now, mercifully, a bye week.

Stop us if you’ve heard this one: FSU struggled on third downs. But it was also a first-down and second-down problem. The Seminoles faced third-and-long (eight or more yards) on seven occasions and didn’t convert one.

FSU did convert a fourth-and-1, with Brock Glenn passing to Kyle Morlock for seven yards, on drive No. 1. That helped set up Ryan Fitzgerald’s 23-yard field-goal attempt.

The Seminoles were better on the ground, picking up 171 yards and 4.9 yards per carry when removing the sack total (120 rushing yards when factoring in sacks). Toafili was a spark, and Sam Singleton ripped off a 27-yard run.

But FSU couldn’t generate consistent offense or big plays. The Seminoles punted six times and Brock Glenn was intercepted once.

Glenn completed just 5 of his 18 passes but tossed two interceptions, including a 79-yarder that was returned for a touchdown by Luke Talich late in the fourth quarter.

Luke Kromenhoek completed 4 of 6 for 30 yards. The longest pass play was Kromenhoek’s short throw to Toafili, where he stretched it into a 15-yard gain. Kromenhoek played his fourth game, essentially ending the discussion about whether he will redshirt.

Under constant pressure yet again, Glenn looked rattled but really had no time to settle in and make good decisions. Kromenhoek looked better, relatively speaking, but a promising drive ended in Notre Dame’s end after he was sacked on fourth-and-12.

The reality is neither quarterback looked good, but the offense isn’t giving them enough help. FSU started a ninth offensive line combination — Darius Washington, TJ Ferguson, Maurice Smith, Jacob Rizy and Jeremiah Byers.

This was going to be a game where Notre Dame punished FSU’s defense on the ground. And the Fighting Irish had 201 rushing yards, averaging 6.3 yards per carry.

If there’s a small defensive positive, it’s in a pair of three-and-outs in the first half. Still, Notre Dame led 21-3 at the half and the Seminoles had no chance.

We'll check in on snap counts on Sunday, but the Seminoles emptied the bench and gave playing time to Charles Lester III and Cai Bates, among others, late in the game.

FSU has a bye week and will play host to Charleston Southern. That game time has not been announced.

The Seminoles finish the season by hosting Florida (4-5) on the final Saturday of November.

Column: Norvell is coaching to team he wants, not team he has

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