Romero scores 25 as No. 10 Florida St beats No. 25 Gonzaga

TALLAHASSEE | Call Florida State senior defensive end DeMarcus Walker insane, but he admitted he was glad Seminoles quarterback Deondre Francois fumbled with 4:35 left in Saturday’s game against Florida, giving the Gators the ball at their own 38-yard line and trailing 24-13 – more than enough time to work a miracle or two.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Florida State’s regular season is over, though Dalvin Cook was wearing a shirt with his possible destination in two weeks. So this game is the highlight of the Seminoles’ schedule.

“It’s still not smooth for us”, the Hall of Fame coach said after Wednesday’s 73-62 victory over St. John’s in the Battle 4 Atlantis. The touchdown – a 17-yard scamper – came in the first quarter of the Seminoles’ win. “You prepare for them and take advantage of the moment”, Cook added about playing in rivalry games. Florida State owns a 17-2 lead in the all-time series, winning its last 14 straight beginning with a four-set victory on October 1, 1983.

Plus, who knows if Jimbo Fisher will be FSU’s coach when that bowl game rolls around. Cook deflected questions about the National Football League draft following the school’s victory.

The most predictable football team in America played another predictable game. Deondre Francois was rendered largely pedestrian, throwing for 138 yards – his second-fewest of the year – one touchdown, and one pick.

The Florida State defense held Florida to 207 total yards of offense, and Gators quarterback Austin Appleby struggled to a season-low 149 yards passing. Sophomore receiver Nyqwan Murray also fumbled a punt that resulted in a UF touchdown in the fourth quarter after FSU put the game out of reach.

“Give them credit: They did what they had to do”.

There’s a lot of criticism to go around offensively, from Florida’s play-calling to quarterback play to its protection up front. Florida State is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 home games and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games overall while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 non-conference games. Entering the game, the Seminoles led the Athletic Coast Conference with a 96.8 points per game scoring average.

What’s the Key: Can Florida score enough points to keep up with the Seminoles? Their replacements – mostly freshmen – filled in admirably last week against LSU, but it’s a tall task to ask them to repeat that performance against a potent Florida State offense.

The win was also Temple’s third in four all-time meetings with Florida State.

“I gave them until 3:45 in the morning, which is when we unloaded the bus, to think about it and then erase it and learn from it”, said Florida’s Jim McElwain, the first coach to lead a team to SEC championship games in each of his first two seasons.

“I am unbeaten against these Florida Gators and the Miami Hurricanes so I can talk (stuff) for the rest of my life no matter what”. Not to mention that they get to say they beat their most hated rival four straight years.

UF has learned from September’s second-half collapse at Tennessee, when McElwain said players were trying to win the game by themselves rather than trusting teammates.

Aguayo redeemed himself on Florida State’s third drive by hitting a 22-yarder to put Florida State up 10-0 with 13 seconds gone in the second quarter.

In total, 12 Seminoles earned a spot on the First, Second, Third, or honorable mention teams this season. But a 42-point loss at No. 16 Louisville on September 17 and subsequent defeats to North Carolina and No. 3 Clemson knocked the Seminoles out of the discussion.