Dalvin Cook vs. South Florida: Stats, Highlights and Twitter Reaction
After a relatively slow start to the season, Dalvin Cook broke out with a huge effort against South Florida on Saturday.
On a day when Florida State needed a lot of offense to keep up with the Bulls' high-powered attack, the All-American running back carried his team to a 55-35 victory.
| 28 | 267 | 9.5 | 2 | 4 | 62 |
Jared Shanker of ESPN noted just how impressive the overall performance was on Saturday:
Cook's best play of the game was his first. He showcased vision, agility and speed to break through the defense for a 75-yard touchdown, via ACC Digital Network:
This was only the start of what ended up being an impressive day. After South Florida took a 14-7 lead early, Florida State once again turned to Cook, who ran in his second touchdown less than five minutes into the game.
As College Football 24/7 noted, this was already his best effort of the season:
Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network noted a difference in the running back's aggressiveness:
There were some concerns Cook had been dealing with an injury coming into the week, leading to a relatively slow start with just 228 total rushing yards in his first three games. Head coach Jimbo Fisher even had to respond to those people who were doubting him after the loss to Louisville.
"Everybody says it, but Dalvin is fine," Fisher said Monday, per Safid Deen of the Orlando Sentinel. "There’s nothing wrong with Dalvin."
Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com provided his thoughts on the issue after the running back showed more dominance in the first half:
Dane Brugler of CBS Sports noted the incredible efficiency early on as well:
By the end of the day, Cook had re-emerged as a potential contender in the Heisman Trophy race, according to Mike Shumann of ABC7:
Cook was one of the top contenders coming into the year, although he has a lot of ground to make up on Louisville's Lamar Jackson.
Meanwhile, the running back is also moving up the list among the best players in Florida State history at the position, via ESPN Stats & Info:
Joe Reedy of the Associated Press added another notable milestone:
Offensive tackle Rod Johnson summed up his perspective after the game, per Tim Linafelt of Seminoles.com:
Florida State had a tough early-season schedule, but they return home next week for a matchup against North Carolina. If Cook can continue this level of production on the ground and through the air, this team will be in great shape going forward.
