Seminoles start strong, dump Northern Illinois, 37-19
Box Score: FSU 37, Northern Illinois 19
Florida State finally got off to a fast start, and the Seminoles held on for a 37-19 home victory Saturday against Northern Illinois.
The win wasn't quite as convincing as it might have looked early, when the Seminoles raced out to an early 14-0 lead, but it was enough to improve Willie Taggart's record to 2-2 entering next week's road trip to Louisville.
FSU took a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Deondre Francois to Jacques Patrick. The pass actually was intended for another receiver but tipped off his hands and into the grasp of a wide-open Patrick.
The Seminoles then extended their lead to 14-0 on the next possession with a seven-yard touchdown run by Cam Akers.
After the hot start, Florida State's offense continued to pile up yardage but was stymied by fumbles and other miscues. At halftime, the Seminoles had racked up 278 yards of offense -- compared to just 52 for Northern Illinois -- but they held just a 20-7 advantage.
The Seminoles' defense was outstanding until the Huskies connected on a 66-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Marcus Childers to receiver D.J. Brown late in the third period. That cut FSU's lead to 23-13, but the Seminoles answered early in the fourth quarter with a 78-yard touchdown pass from Francois to Tamorrion Terry to make it 30-13.
The Huskies then sliced the margin to 30-19 after a Francois interception set up a touchdown run by Childers.
FSU's final score came on a short touchdown run by backup tailback Amir Rasul in the final seconds.
FSU also got a strong special-teams effort from placekicker Ricky Aguayo, who connected on field goals of 42, 50 and 42 yards.
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