No. 8 Florida State Routs No. 25 Maryland 63-0
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Eighth-ranked Florida State stayed undefeated in Atlantic Coast Conference play with a 63-0 victory over No. 25 Maryland on Saturday.
The Seminoles (5-0, 3-0) rode the arm of quarterback Jameis Winston, who completed 23-of-32 passes for 393 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. He's now thrown for 1,441 yards, 17 touchdowns with two interceptions and a 73.3 completion percentage.
Tight end Nick O'Leary had 55 yards receiving and two touchdowns and receiver Kelvin Benjamin added 60 yards and two touchdowns. The Seminoles put up 614 yards of total offense.
Maryland (4-1, 0-1) never got anything going and was lost after quarterback C.J. Brown left the game with an injury in the second quarter. The No. 2 total offense in the ACC was held to 234 yards.
The Florida State defense was the concern throughout the week after giving up 34 points to Boston College seven days ago. Defenders got out of their lanes and missed tackles — something the Seminoles couldn't afford against a Maryland offense that averaged 498.5 yards per game.
That was not a problem.
The Terrapins were held to 121 first-half yards and Florida State gave up a season-low 11 yards rushing on 10 attempts in the first half. Maryland punted on its first three possessions of the game, a Florida State first this season. The Terps converted just 1-of-7 third downs in the first 30 minutes and 2-of-15 all game.
Things became even worse for Maryland when starting quarterback. Brown went down late in the second quarter with the Terrapins trailing 14-0. Brown released a pass downfield just before Dan Hicks hit him around the waist and Jaccobi McDaniel followed with a blow to the chest. Brown lay on the turf for several minutes before he immediately headed to the locker room with a member of the medical staff. Maryland announced that Brown was taken for X-rays and he did not return in the second half.
The Maryland offense was held to 234 yards and 33 yards rushing on 25 attempts.
It was the Florida State offense that started slow this week, but that didn't last long. The Seminoles scored on their first drive, a Karlos Williams 1-yard touchdown run, and then punted on the next three consecutive drives. That's when the Winston show began.
The Seminoles scored touchdowns on their next eight consecutive possessions as Winston reaffirmed his Heisman Trophy candidacy.
The weekly highlight came late in the third quarter when the pocket collapsed and Maryland linebacker Yannik Cudjoe-Virgil jumped on Winston's back. The quarterback ducked and slid out of the sack, rolled right and threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to O'Leary.
The 63 points were the second-most scored during the Jimbo Fisher era. The Seminoles beat Murray State 69-3 in 2012.
Williams added another touchdown from 17 yards out in the fourth quarter and backup quarterback Jacob Coker ran for a 24-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Florida State has a bye week before it travels to No. 3 Clemson on Oct. 19.
Maryland hosts Virginia next week.
Notes: Florida State starting center Bryan Stork suffered a concussion in the second quarter and did not return.
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