Ole Miss vs. FSU: Score and Twitter Reaction

The Florida State Seminoles trailed Ole Miss 28-6 in the second quarter of Monday's contest at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, but they apparently had the Rebels right where they wanted them.

Sharon Katz of ESPN Stats and Info highlighted just how incredible the Seminoles' comeback was:

Florida State running back Dalvin Cook was the marquee name and a Heisman Trophy contender coming into the game, but redshirt freshman quarterback Deondre Francois stole the spotlight as he introduced himself to college football fans across the nation.

Francois picked apart the Ole Miss secondary apart with 419 passing yards and two touchdowns. He engineered the comeback with notable poise and did not turn the ball over despite facing a massive early deficit and pressure to make plays through the air in the second half. Cook contributed 101 receiving yards and 91 rushing yards, while receiver Jesus Wilson added nine receptions for 125 yards.

The game marked the sixth nonconference loss for the SEC during college football's first full week.

Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly had 313 passing yards and four touchdown throws, but he also threw three interceptions and was sacked five times—including 4.5 times by DeMarcus Walker. The Rebels also had a mere 67 rushing yards and failed to manage the game on the ground after jumping out to such a big lead.

They wasted little time attacking the Seminoles defense with tempo on the first possession of the game, as it took all of 1:46 for Kelly to cap a six-play drive with a three-yard touchdown pass to Damore'ea Stringfellow. Kelly started five of six, but Hugh Kellenberger of the Clarion-Ledger called the offensive line's protection the "best part of that drive."

It wasn't all good news in the early going for Ole Miss, however, as defensive back Ken Webster was carted off the field with a gruesome-looking knee injury during Florida State's opening possession. Dane Brugler of CBS Sports underscored the significance of the loss when he said Webster has "All-SEC type of talent."

The Rebels missed his presence later in the game, but they held the Seminoles to a Ricky Aguayo field goal in the first quarter. Part of the issue for Florida State was six penalties for 60 yards in the opening 15 minutes, and the team reacted to the constant flags on Twitter:

Ole Miss parlayed that momentum into another touchdown to go up 14-3 with 12:42 remaining in the second quarter. Kelly threw a fade to the end zone, and wide receiver D.K. Metcalf made a beautiful catch after tipping the ball to himself. SEC Network shared the play:

The Rebels continued to pour it on when Kelly hit Evan Engram in stride for a 21-yard touchdown to make it 21-3 after the PAT. The Seminoles appeared to have an answer when Francois found Cook for what looked to be a sure touchdown, but the running back dropped the ball on his way to the end zone.

Florida State settled for a field goal, and SB Nation compared Cook to a former Seminole:

Naturally, Ole Miss responded with yet another touchdown when Akeem Judd scored on an 11-yard run. It looked as if the game was over, but Francois helped cut the deficit to 28-13 with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Travis Rudolph 28 seconds before halftime.

That gave Florida State a glimmer of hope after it had been badly outplayed for most of the half, and the Seminoles kept rolling in the third with another Aguayo field goal and an interception by defensive back Marcus Lewis.

From there, Francois ran 31 yards to the Ole Miss 1, and Freddie Stevenson punched it in to make it 28-23 after the PAT. Chris Fallica of College GameDay pointed out a comeback would be business as usual for the Seminoles:

The drastic turnaround continued when Walker strip-sacked Kelly to give the Seminoles the ball inside the red zone. They converted the golden opportunity, as Kermit Whitfield scored from three yards out. Florida State didn't convert the two-point attempt, but it was still ahead 29-28 with 9:17 left in the third after it had trailed by 22 points late in the first half.

Kellenberger reacted to the meltdown:

After an Ole Miss three-and-out, Francois connected on four straight passes, including three to Ryan Izzo, who scored a two-yard touchdown to help extend the lead to 36-28.

Curt Weiler of Tomahawk Nation put Florida State's third-quarter dominance in perspective:

The Seminoles pushed the run to 33 consecutive points and their lead to 39-28 on a 40-yard field goal by Aguayo with 12:56 left in the game. It was hard to argue with Florida State's summary of the action:

Ole Miss responded when Kelly hit Van Jefferson for a 20-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to 39-34 after a failed two-point conversion. However, Aguayo made field goals of 44 and 30 yards to stretch the Florida State advantage to 45-34. It gave him six field goals in six attempts—and Weiler noted it was a program record.

The Rebels were still within striking distance, but Kelly was intercepted by Tarvarus McFadden to all but seal the game.

What's Next?

Florida State and Ole Miss each play a cupcake game Saturday. The Seminoles host the Charleston Southern Buccaneers, while the Rebels square off with the Wofford Terriers at home.

Things quickly become more difficult for Ole Miss, which has a showdown against the defending champion Alabama Crimson Tide the following week. It also faces the Georgia Bulldogs the week after that and the LSU Tigers on Oct. 22. Its SEC schedule is full of difficult games, which means there will be opportunities for the Rebels to climb back into the College Football Playoff race—but there could be more losses as well.

The Seminoles travel to the Louisville Cardinals on Sept. 17 and also face the North Carolina Tar Heels, Clemson Tigers and Florida Gators in a tough slate. They could perhaps afford one loss moving forward with a head-turning nonconference win already on their resume and still reach the CFP.

But if Florida State plays like it did Monday, opposing teams will be hard-pressed to hand the Seminoles that first setback.

Postgame Reaction

Kelly took the blame for the loss, per Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel: "This one is on me. We've got to do better."

Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze praised Francois after the game, per Safid Deen of the Sentinel: "They're not sitting around recruiting poor talent. ... He made the throws. Give him credit."

Francois talked about his ability to take hits, per Deen: "That's football. I love it. Every time I got hit, that made me want to score even more."

Francois was impressive, but Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant recognized Aguayo's efforts after the game:

Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher said his halftime speech consisted of "bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep," per Tim Linafelt of Seminoles.com.

He may want to remember that one.