BYU-Florida State: Cougars Wilt in the Tallahassee Heat
Florida State dominated the BYU Cougars on both sides of the ball in Saturday’s 34-10 loss in hot and humid Tallahassee.
As in last year’s contest, the Cougar defenders were unable to get off their blocks and struggled mightily to tackle the Seminole ball carriers.
Florida State racked up 278 yards on the ground, led by Chris Thompson, who rushed for 123 yards, including an 83-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
The biggest surprise of the afternoon, though, was the way the FSU defense made BYU’s veteran offensive line look like Swiss cheese.
The Seminoles sacked BYU quarterbacks eight times. The Cougars line entered the game having not allowed a single sack on the young season.
In all, Florida State limited the Cougars offense to just 191 total yards and kept them off the scoreboard in the second half. It was the second game in a row that BYU was held scoreless in the second half.
True freshman quarterback Jake Heaps played the majority of the game and looks like he may be moving into the starting role.
Heaps completed 15 of 31 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. As expected, the young Heaps took his knocks, taking 61 yards worth of sacks and some hard hits. He also fumbled the ball three times with the Cougars recovering each miscue.
Heaps did lead the Cougars on two scoring drives in the second quarter, including a touchdown drive that culminated in the freshman’s first touchdown pass of his career to redshirt freshman wide receiver Cody Hoffman with just 14 seconds left before halftime. The score drew the Cougars to within 13-10 at the break after trailing 13-0 with just 4:26 left in the second quarter.
The Seminoles quickly snatched the momentum back in the third quarter though by limiting BYU to a three-and-out on its first drive and then putting together a 14-play, 63-yard scoring drive.
After stopping the Cougars again, the Seminoles struck quickly by driving 86 yards in just four plays to take a 27-10 lead late in the third quarter. The ‘Noles outgained the Cougars in the third and decisive quarter 134 yards to just 23. In fact, the Cougars only mustered 39 yards of total offense for the entire second half.
With the loss BYU drops to 1-2 on the season with a potent Nevada Wolf Pack offense coming to Provo on Saturday. Nevada is averaging 51 points per game after dropping 52 on Cal Friday night.
