Florida State Wins Season Opener for the First Time Since 2016
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The Florida State Seminoles started the 2022 season with a 47-7 victory against the Duquesne Dukes to start 1-0 for the first time since 2016.
First Quarter:
FSU ended up receiving the ball after the coin toss.
Freshman DB Sam McCall returned the first kick of the year reaching the 18-yard line and setting up the Noles for their first drive of the year. Treshaun Ward starts the drive with a nice run of nine. WR Mycah Pittman gets his first pair of catches as a 'Nole for a first down. RB Trey Benson entered the game in the Redzone picking up a first down.
QB Jordan Travis runs for a five-yard touchdown and is followed with a failed two-point conversion. The run game was on point as the 'Noles drove down the field picking up 65 yards on the drive.
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Duquesne started off with a first down completion and an added late hit to make it to midfield. Safety Jammie Robinson recorded his first tackle of the year and DE Jared Verse followed with a tackle of his own. Duquesne's drive stalled at midfield.
FSU started their second drive on their own 13-yard line as Treshaun Ward ran for an 11-yard first down. WR Johnny Wilson pulls in his first catch as a Nole for 51 yards and followed with a Lawrance Toafili four-yard touchdown leading 13-0.
Duquesne goes three and out as LB Tatum Bethune knocks down a pass on third and five.
The 'Noles started their third drive on their own 44 with Dillan Gibbons moving to Center. Trey Benson broke three tackles to get a first down on the Duke's side of the field. WR Deuce Spann collects his first pass as a Seminole for 20 yards into the red zone. Treshaun Ward then takes it in for another rushing touchdown as the score increases to 20-0 after a successful extra point.
Second Quarter:
Duquesne started their third drive as the game reached the start of the second quarter. Starting with a 20-yard run by DeMarcus Ware the Dukes ran heavily on the drive. Jammie Robison made a great play knocking down a pass in the middle of the field preventing a large gain. Jarrian Jones locked down his receiver resulting in a Duke fourth down. Duquesne missed a 48-yard field goal giving the ball to the Noles on the 41-yard line with 11:19 left in the half.
Mycah Pittman stars the drive with a gain of eight. Pass interference against WR Malik McClain pushed the Noles to the Duke's side of the field. Then Trey Benson runs through countless defenders gaining 15 yards. FSU settled for a field goal to make it 23-0 with 8:31 left in the first half.
Duquesne converted on a third and two. LB Kalen Deloach made two tackles to make it third down on the 45-yard line and Jammie Robinson bats down a pass to reach fourth down. The Dukes punted to the Noles ending on the Seminole 14-yard line.
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WR Kentron Portier hauled in a 12-yard pass for a first down. RB Lawrence Toafili made a sweet move for another FSU first down as they crept toward midfield. Jordan Travis made a sweet pass to Deuce Spann for an 11-yard first down. The run game continued to roll as Treshaun Ward spun for a 20-yard first down. Jordan Travis made another great play connecting with Kentron Portier which led to a successful field goal to make it 26-0 with 0:27 left in the half.
The Dukes quickly went three and out but punted the ball as time expired at the half. QB Jordan Travis was 10-14 for 159 yards and a rushing touchdown and was aided by RB Treshaun Ward as he ran nine times for 89 yards and a touchdown. The Noles collectively ran for 200 yards and punched it in the endzone three times.
Third Quarter:
The Seminoles kicked off to start the second half.
Duquesne quickly went three and out punting to the Seminole 38-yard line.
Jordan Travis started the first drive of the second half heading the ball to Treshaun Ward for a gain of seven. Kentron Portier continued his best game as Nole with a 48-yard reception to get inside the ten. On second and goal, Treshaun Ward gets his second touchdown of the game making it 33-0 after a successful PAT. Ward ended the drive totaling 12 rushes for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
Duquesne started their next drive at their 19-yard line. LB Tatum Bethune flew through the line resulting in a tackle for loss to start the defensive stand. Following, DB Kevin Knowles II made a great play in the open field for no gain which led to fourth down.
QB Tate Rodemaker took over as Jordan Travis called it a day after a solid performance against the Dukes. Treshaun Ward had another impressive run as he looked to be down three times but kept running for a 21-yard gain. Tate Rodemaker threw an interception, returned for 50 yards by Ryan Webb setting the Dukes up inside the Seminole 30-yard line.
Duquesne QB Joe Mischler threw a strike in the endzone which was caught by Abdul Janneh for a 22-yard touchdown. FSU's lead fell to 33-7 with 4:37 left in the third quarter.
The Seminoles took over at their 15 yard-line. Lawrence Toafili weaved through defenders for a 23-yard first-down run. Freshman OL Julian Armella made his first appearance on the line at left tackle. Then, Trey Benson takes it to the house for his first career touchdown as a Seminole. The score increased to 40-7 with 2:08 left in the third.
Duquense got a first down from a seven-yard completion to WR Keshawn Brown. LB Brendan Gant gets a nice pass breakup followed by an incompletion for third and ten. For the first time as a Seminole DE Jared Verse gets a sack to end the Duke drive and third quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
True freshman RB Rodney Hill rushes for the first time as a Seminole resulting in 11 yards and a first down. On third down Rodemaker completes a nine-yard pass to Deuce Spann leading to a successful fourth down conversion by Tate Rodemaker. RB Trey Benson becomes the third running back to break 100 yards as he rushed up the middle to 12 and a first. Rodney Hill kept the run game strong running three times in a row for 19 yards and a first down inside the ten-yard line. To finish it off Rodney Hill runs in for his first career touchdown making it 47-7 with 8:58 left in the game.
Later in the quarter, true freshman QB AJ Duffy got his first action as a Seminole. Duffy completed his first pass to Darrion Williamson for ten yards.
The Seminoles return to action next Sunday to match up with the LSU Tigers in New Orleans.
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