College Football Scores 2015: Week 9 Results, Twitter Reaction and Highlights
Florida State was not about to let Syracuse come to Doak Walker Stadium and even think about scoring an upset. At least that was the plan.
However, when the Orange scored the opening touchdown of the game on an Eric Dungey one-yard TD run, it raised some eyebrows. However, the Seminoles answered one play later when Travis Rudolph caught a 75-yard scoring pass from Sean Maguire, and that shocked the visitors.
Those two combined on a 45-yard TD pitch and catch later in the first quarter, which gave Florida State a lead that it would not relinquish.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The game turned into a rout in the second quarter as Florida State continued to move the ball up and down the field with little resistance. Syracuse was trailing by 31 points in the fourth quarter when the Orange scored on a late punt return to make the game a bit closer.
Florida State's high-powered offense was the key factor in this game. The Seminoles gained 575 yards and had a 354-130 edge in passing yards.
"No Dalvin Cook? No problem. Florida State gets 3 TD performances from 3 players to bounce back and beat Syracuse. pic.twitter.com/0nThImATse
— ESPN CollegeFootball (@ESPNCFB) October 31, 2015"
Syracuse had no answers for Rudolph, who caught five passes for 191 yards and three touchdowns. It couldn't do much with Jacques Patrick either, who rushed for 162 yards and three TDs.
| Florida State (17) | 45-21 | Syracuse | Jacques Patrick three rushing TDs |
| Ole Miss (19) | 27-18 | Auburn | Ole Miss: 402 passing yards |
| Oklahoma (14) | 62-7 | Kansas | Oklahoma: 710 total yards |
| Oklahoma State (12) | 70-53 | Texas Tech | Oklahoma State: Interception and punt return for touchdowns |
| UCLA (24) | 35-31 | Colorado | Colorado: 41:55-18:05 time of possession edge |
| Florida (11) | 27-3 | Georgia | Florida: 258-69 edge in rushing yards |
| Clemson (3) | 56-41 | North Carolina State | Clemson QB Deshaun Watson: Five TD passes |
| Iowa (10) | 31-15 | Maryland | Iowa: Four takeaways |
Stars of the Week
QB Sean Maguire, Florida State
It's one thing to do the expected when you are the starter and a team you are supposed to beat comes to Tallahassee with little hope of winning.
It's quite another to meet the expectations of others when you have to step into the starting lineup and perform like a star.
That's just what Sean Maguire did for Florida State (7-1) in the Seminoles' victory over Syracuse (3-5). Starting quarterback Everett Golson couldn't play because of a concussion, although no announcement was made that Maguire would start until shortly before kickoff.
If Maguire was nervous, it did not show as he completed 23 of 35 passes for 348 yards and three touchdowns—all to Rudolph. Maguire threw for 302 yards in the first half, and that's when the Seminoles took charge of their game.
Maguire did not promote himself in a potential quarterback duel/controversy with Golson, but Tim Linafelt of Seminoles.com reported that the quarterback was not averse to giving head coach Jimbo Fisher something to think about:
"Sean Maguire joked about FSU’s QB race going forward: "That’s Coach Fisher’s problem. I can only cause him problems, I guess.”
— Tim Linafelt / FSU (@Tim_Linafelt) October 31, 2015"
QB Chad Kelly, Ole Miss
Ole Miss (7-2) knew it would have a tough battle going into Auburn to play the struggling Tigers.
This is a down year for Auburn (4-4), but the Tigers lost their previous game in four overtimes against Arkansas and were not about to go down for a second straight game without a fight.
Auburn battled hard, but Ole Miss came up with the 27-19 win, and quarterback Chad Kelly was on top of his game.
"Now THIS is a thing of beauty. Chad Kelly drops a dime to Laqaon Treadwell for a TD! #OleMiss 27 #Auburn 19 4thQ pic.twitter.com/PrPEMp23Tb
— Rivals.com (@Rivals) October 31, 2015"
He was under pressure from the Auburn defense and was hit hard throughout the game.
Kelly still managed to complete 33 of 51 passes for 381 yards and two touchdowns. His 21-yard TD pass to Laquon Treadwell in the fourth quarter allowed the Rebels to turn a one-point lead into an eight-point margin.
"Ole Miss has SEC No. 1 passer and receiver. Auburn can't stop anybody. Ole Miss still controls destiny in SEC West
— Tony Barnhart (@MrCFB) October 31, 2015"
WR Sterling Shepard, Oklahoma
Sterling Shepard did a lot of damage in the first half for the Oklahoma Sooners (7-1) as they dominated overmatched Kansas (0-8).
Shepard caught 11 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown, as the Sooners simply ran away from the Jayhawks 62-7. Shepard was able to get open throughout the first half when Oklahoma built a 38-7 lead.
Oklahoma outscored Kansas 24-0 in the second half, but many of the starters had left the lineup by that time, and the Sooners cruised to an easy win.
The 5'10", 191-pound Shepard has caught 43 passes for 732 yards and six touchdowns this season.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
