It was a formation that, at least on Saturday, was about impossible for the defense to stop.

Cam Akers at quarterback. Khalan Laborn next to him.

And a whole bunch of blockers in front.

In Florida State's 35-17 victory over Syracuse on Saturday, the Seminoles ran the "Wild Cam" package 13 times. It wound up gaining 111 yards, two touchdowns and one easy-as-you-please two-point conversion.

"Just tried to find a different way to get Cam the ball and make them defend 11 guys," FSU head coach Willie Taggart said. "Cam and the O-line, everybody did a good job of executing. It was something we had .... in our arsenal for a while, and it was just a good time to come out and run it."

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Fans have been asking to see more of the Wild Cam -- FSU's version of the "wildcat" -- since Akers burst onto the scene as a five-star freshman in 2017.

He had played quarterback in high school in Mississippi, and it seemed like a natural formation to try at the college level. But Jimbo Fisher was reluctant to run it in 2017, and Taggart only ran it a handful of times in 2018 -- most notably at Notre Dame, when Akers rushed for the team's only two touchdowns from that formation.

But on Saturday it was a substantial part of the offensive game plan.

"The coaches definitely approached me about the wildcat this week," Akers said. "We practiced it, we loved it, and we got a lot of reps in. We felt very confident in running it and using it in the game this week. It looked good and worked.”

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Typically, when it's just Akers and a quarterback in the backfield, opposing defenses will sell out to stop Akers on the zone-read because the QBs very rarely keep the ball themselves.

Syracuse couldn't do that on Saturday because Akers had another capable running back beside him in Laborn.

"It is difficult no matter who we have back there," FSU safety Hamsah Nasirldeen said. "But you all see how special '3' is and '4' is. When you have guys like that back there, it is very dynamic, and you really have to respect that. It is hard to account for quarterback run.

"When you have someone like Cam back there, it is definitely very difficult."

Akers accounted for a total of 83 yards Saturday out of the Wild Cam. He completed two passes out of the formation for 26 yards (both to Laborn on swing passes), and he also rushed for 57 yards, two touchdowns and a two-point conversion.

"It was exciting to be able to come out and make some plays in a different way," Akers said. "It was fun."

Laborn, meanwhile, had his most productive game as a Seminole. He finished with 94 total yards and his second career touchdown.

Out of the Wild Cam, Laborn had those two catches for 26 yards and added 28 yards rushing -- including a crucial 3-yard gain on a fourth-and-2 in the second half.

"Cam played quarterback in high school, so he was kind of back home in what he's accustomed to doing," Taggart said. "So what he brings to it, he's had experience doing it and he understands how to run it. And it just gives us another opportunity to have him and Khalan on the field at the same time as well.

"So it worked well. Cam did a good job running it. And hopefully we can continue to do it at times and it helps us."

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Not surprisingly, Syracuse head coach Dino Babers was asked about the Wild Cam package after the game.

"When you get into a wildcat formation, basically you have 10 blockers," he said. "Somebody has got to fight off a blocker. Normally in that situation, instead of having to break tackles on three or four guys, he’s only got to break tackles on one or two guys to have the type of runs that he has."

And, Babers pointed out, Akers is not too shabby as a passer either Which puts even more pressure on a defense..

"He threw the ball a couple of times from it as well, and no one anticipates that," Babers said. "He’s got a decent arm, actually; the ball was spiraling and it was coming out. I would imagine that’s something they are going to continue to do down the road.”

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