Florida State 34, South Florida 14

1. Dalvin Cook went off, tearing off a brilliant 74-yard touchdown run in the first and with touchdown runs from 24 and 37 yards as FSU took control.
2. South Florida tied it at seven going into halftime on a one-yard D’Ernest Johnson catch, but Florida State scored 17 straight points in the third quarter including a 23-yard Jesus Wilson catch.
3. Johnson pulled USF within ten in the fourth on a 71-yard touchdown catch, but FSU scored ten unanswered on Roberto Aguayo’s second field goal of the game and Cook’s final scoring dash.

Florida State

Dalvin Cook will get all the attention for ripping off big run after big run, but he also had huge holes to blast through. The Seminole offensive line was terrific at getting the star back in the clear, and all Cook had to do was run to daylight. Now it’s up to Everett Golson to be sharper. He didn’t get any help from his receivers, but it was a rocky overall day with an awful start. On the plus side, though, was the zero interceptions. USF wasn’t going to break out, and FSU didn’t have to take any chances.

– This was Dalvin Cook’s game, running 20 times for 266 yards and three scores

– Everett Golson struggled, starting out 4-of-14 before finishing 14-of-26 passes for 163 yards and a score

– Florida State was 3-of-13 on third downs

South Florida

The Bulls still have no offensive pop. The conservative style kept them in the game, but once FSU was starting to hit haymakers, there was nothing the USF offense could do to make a big run back. Slow and steady was good to a point, but nothing worked horizontally against the FSU speed and there wasn’t a downfield passing game.

– D’Ernest Johnson caught five passes for 89 yards and two scores, and ran twice for four yards

– Marlon Mack ran 18 times for 83 yards. Quinton Flowers completed 12-of-24 passes for 125 yards and two scores with a pick, and ran 14 times for 38 yards

– The Bulls were 1-of-13 on third downs