Written by Danny Morales
TALLAHASSEE — Jameis Winston looked like a Heisman Trophy winner, going 22-27 passing for 256 yards and two touchdowns, as the Florida State Seminoles defeated The Citadel Bulldogs 37-12 in front of a sold out crowd at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday.
FSU’s offense looked good against their FCS opponent on Saturday, as the ‘Noles scored on their first five possessions, all while holding The Citadel scoreless.
The Bulldogs did have success early in the game with the option, but FSU’s defense adapted quickly and held The Citadel to 150 yards of total offense.
Karlos Williams opened up the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter, capping off an opening drive which saw him rush for 31 yards on four carries. The touchdown also marked the first score of the season for Williams.
Winston then hit Jesus “Bobo” Wilson with a 12-yard touchdown pass, extending the ‘Noles lead to 14-0 with 3:43 remaining in the first quarter.
“He’s such a dynamic player,” said Winston about his sophomore receiver. “It’s always good to have a guy like him and Kermit out there on the field, those guys you can give them the ball and they can make something happen and we were very glad to have him back.”
Dalvin Cook joined in on the scoring, when the freshman running back got into the endzone for his first collegiate touchdown, giving FSU a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
“He’s learning to be more consistent,” said FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher about his freshman running back. “I thought as the game went on, for his first time out there, you could see the talent, you could see the ability, the guys going to be one heck of a football player.
“I’m very pleased with him and he’s got to keep coming for us to go where we’re going to go.”
Winston later tossed a 1-yard touchdown pass to Nick O’Leary, giving the ‘Noles a 28-0 lead going into halftime. Winston went into the locker room at half going 16-17 passing for 150 yards and two touchdowns, his only incompletion came on a shovel pass early in the second quarter.
The ‘Noles out gained the Bulldogs 291-127 in total offense for the first half, as The Citadel quarterback Aaron Miller went 1-5 for 12 yards passing during the opening half.
‘Noles kicker Roberto Aguayo added two field goals during the third quarter to extend FSU’s lead to 36-0 going into the final quarter. He would go on to add another field goal in the fourth quarter, improving to 27-28 for his career, giving him a 96.4 percent average.
The Citadel finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter when Miller hit Rudder Brown with a 10-yard touchdown pass with 10:12 remaining in the game. The Bulldogs added another touchdown in the final minute, to bring the score to 37-12.
Senior wide receiver Rashad Greene finished the game with 80 yards on four receptions, bringing his total for the season to 283 yards through the first two games.
FSU has a bye week coming up before they start ACC play on Saturday, Sept. 20 against the Clemson Tigers in Tallahassee.
“With the couple of injuries we had today I’d say it’s a pretty good thing,” said Fisher about the bye week. “But it’s not bad, you get to regroup.”
The ‘Noles defeated the Tigers 51-14 when they played at Clemson last season. Winston had a career-high of 444 passing yards in last year’s matchup.
