There's beating a rival and then there's what Florida State's senior class has achieved. A 31-13 win Saturday made this year's seniors the first group to go 8-0 against both Florida and Miami.
FSU has now won four in a row and six of the last seven over its fierce in-state rival.
Recent quick starts against Boston College and Syracuse somewhat carried over when the Seminoles took a 7-0 lead of their second possession. Star junior tailback Dalvin Cook scored on a 17-yard run with 4:46 left in the first quarter.
A 22-yard Ricky Aguayo field goal pushed it to 10-0 with 14:47 left.
Florida's offense struggled to move the ball. Third down was an issue with the Gators going 0 for 12. Meanwhile, the Seminoles were 11 of 17 on third down. Kicker Eddy Pineiro did convert consecutive field goals for a 10-6 FSU lead by halftime.
Although the Seminoles moved the ball, redshirt quarterback Deondre Francois did have some struggles. Francois had some errant throws including an interception. He appeared to be searching for Auden Tate yet found Travis Rudolph, who scored on a 46-yard touchdown pass for a 17-6 lead with 5:38 left in the third quarter.
Senior fullback Freddie Stevenson broke free on a 27-yard touchdown run and gave FSU a 24-6 lead with 12:51 left.
Considering Florida's listless offense, it appeared the Gators would be kept off the board until a Nyqwan Murray fumbled punt return allowed for a scoop-and-score. It would trim the Seminoles' lead to 24-13 with 10:45 left in the fourth quarter.
Later in the quarter, Florida forced a fumble only to have Florida State's DeMarcus Walker force a fumble three plays later. Francois then scored to give the Seminoles a 31-13 lead.
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