TALLAHASSEE, FL - SEPTEMBER 20: Jameis Winston #5 of the Florida State Seminoles runs on the field to celebrate the overtime win against the Clemson Tigers at Doak Campbell Stadium on September 20, 2014 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Getty Images

WATCH: Jameis Winston’s fiery halftime speech that helped fuel FSU’s epic comeback over Ole Miss

4 Comments
By John TaylorSep 7, 2016, 9:09 AM EDT

Jameis Winston wasn’t having any of it, and he let his successors hear it.  Very loud, very clear.

In Monday night’s Top 25 showdown with Ole Miss, Florida State was getting its arse handed to it as the Rebels jumped out to a 28-13 halftime lead.  All-American running back Dalvin Cook was essentially shut down, while first-time starter at quarterback Deondre Francois was harassed and harangued throughout a rough first two quarters.

And then a former FSU quarterback happened, with the 2013 Heisman winner delivering an impassioned halftime plea — “We some dogs, we ain’t some puppies!” — in large part directed at the Seminoles offensive line.

(WARNING: Some language might not be safe for work.)

(Video courtesy of Showtime’s “A Season with Florida State Football” series)

Following Winston’s dressing down, the ‘Noles went on a 32-0 second-half run, claiming an epic 45-34 win that kept the ACC program in the thick of the national title conversation. Overcoming a 22-point deficit — they were down by 28-6 at one point in the first half — served as the greatest comeback in a win in the history of the football program.

Three years removed from leading FSU to its most recent national championship, Winston might eventually be able to lay claim to lighting the spark that helps lead to the latest when all of the 2016 dust settles.

No. 4 Florida State goes on 33-0 run to take down No. 11 Ole Miss

Dalvin Cook
AP Photo/Mark Wallheiser, File
9 Comments
By Kevin McGuireSep 6, 2016, 12:14 AM EDT

Orlando, Florida may be home to the happiest place on Earth, but No. 11 Ole Miss (0-1) is leaving town with nothing but disappointment. The Rebels blew a 22-point lead against No. 4 Florida State (1-0) in the Camping World Kickoff in Orlando. The Seminoles ripped off 33 straight points on their way to a 45-34 victory. It was the largest come-form-behind victory in Florida State history.

Freshman quarterback Deondre Francois went through some growing pains in his first start for Florida State at quarterback, but gained some confidence in leading a late touchdown drive in the first half and came out looking like a brand new player in the second. Francois passed for 420 yards and two touchdowns without an interception or a fumble (one fumble by Francois was overruled upon video review). He looked like a freshman starting his first game in the first half, because he was a freshman starting his first game in the first half. And he was going up against a solid Ole Miss defense, which crumbled in the second half as Florida State gobbled up a decisive edge in the time of possession department.

Ole Miss did have success running an up-tempo offense against Florida State early on, which played a part in building a 28-6 lead in the first half, but the wear and tear on the defense showed in the second half as Florida State looked like the fresher of the two teams. The Rebels saw Chad Kelly look confident and living up to the hype of being the best quarterback in the SEC with three touchdowns in the first half, but he also cooled off in the second half and was picked off three times in the game, the last coming with under three minutes remaining in the game to essentially put to rest any hope of a win for Ole Miss.

THREE QUICK THOUGHTS

1. You cannot turn the ball over against Florida State and expect to win. Ole Miss did so three times, with a trio of interceptions thrown by Kelly among them. Florida State is not going to dig holes too often this season the way they did Monday night, and there are only a small handful of offenses that will be able to hang with Florida State and have the potential to overcome a deficit in the turnover margin (Clemson, Louisville… Miami?).

2. One observation to take from Sunday night’s Texas-Notre Dame game is the Longhorns could be turning a corner but must still learn how to finish a game. Texas had a 17-point lead midway through the third quarter before seeing Notre Dame battle back and eventually get the game to overtime. Texas escaped with the win, but it was a lesson that could be learned in Austin. The same experience must be earned in Oxford. Ole Miss was in command of the game shortly before halftime, when Florida State scored a late touchdown to gain some momentum at the break. The Seminoles then went on a tear with a 24-0 run in the third quarter and a 33-0 run overall before the Rebels got back on the board, going from up 28-6 to down 39-34. Perhaps this can be an assessment of the coaching. Jimbo Fisher held a decisive edge while Hugh Freeze will have some questions that need answers.

3. Dalvin Cook turned in a fine effort, even if he did have the bonehead play of the game. Cook was mere yards away from reaching the end zone in the second quarter on a pass play but for some reason switched the position of the ball in his hands before he crossed the goal line, uncontested. The ball dribbled loose out of bounds and instead of a touchdown, Florida State was reduced to settling for a field goal. All was forgiven later, as Cook ended his night with 192 all-purpose yards, including 101 receiving yards.

Florida State opens its home schedule next week against Charleston Southern. The Buccaneers gave North Dakota State a solid test in the FCS opener two weekends ago and demolished Kentucky State at home this past weekend. As good as they may be in the FCS ranks (and they are really good), Florida State should manage to avoid any real threat of a massive upset in Tallahassee. Ole Miss also gets an FCS opponent next weekend at home when they host Wofford. Wofford opened its season with a 21-7 road victory at Tennessee Tech on Thursday night. After getting by Wofford, Ole Miss has two pivotal game sin SEC play at home against Alabama and Georgia. Then comes a revenge game against Memphis. Memphis upset the Rebels last season.

Chad Kelly tosses 3 TDs in first half as Ole Miss is powering by FSU

TUSCALOOSA, AL - SEPTEMBER 19: Chad Kelly #10 of the Mississippi Rebels reacts after passing for a touchdown against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 19, 2015 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
5 Comments
By Kevin McGuireSep 5, 2016, 10:00 PM EDT

Maybe Florida State spent a little too much time listening to Jimbo Fisher give his pregame speech. Or maybe they didn’t listen enough. Whatever the case, No. 4 Florida State has a lot to work on if they want to climb back and make a game of this with No. 11 Ole Miss in Orlando. The Rebels jumped out to a 21-3 lead on the Seminoles, and hold a 28-13 lead at the half.

First, let’s give Ole Miss the credit it deserves, because oh my did they ever come to play a good game tonight in Orlando. Despite losing starting defensive back Ken Webster to an awful leg injury early in the game, the defense has been swarming. On offense, Chad Kelly has been locked in with three touchdown passes and over 200 passing yards in the half. Kelly has also gotten involved with his legs and leads the Rebels on the ground after one half. Kelly has managed to get everybody involved by spreading the ball to six different receivers in the first half. Akeem Judd has the only rushing touchdown of the game so far.

Florida State’s offense has been silenced by the defense of Ole Miss. Dalvin Cook, arguably the top running back in the nation heading into the 2016 season, has been held to just 16 rushing yards on 10 rushing attempts. Ole Miss has focused on him and taken him out of the running game, which should have been a strength for the Seminoles. The offense also looks as though it is being run by a freshman, because, well, it is. Deondre Francois, a four-star dual-threat quarterback out of IMG Academy in the Class of 2015, has had some quick growing pains but has hung in there at times. They can’t all be like Jameis Winston right from the start, not even at Florida State. Francois did lead the offense down the field for a late touchdown just before halftime, and he took a hit in the process. Given the situation on the field, a late touchdown could be the momentum shift Florida State needed.

Earlier, just when it looked as though Florida State was finally going to reach the end zone for the first time, down 21-3, Heisman hopeful Cook inexplicably fumbled the football out of bounds. Florida State maintained possession and was kept out of the end zone by Ole Miss defense. They settled for a short field goal instead.

Kaelin Clay, who dropped a football before crossing the goal line for Utah against Oregon two years ago, chimed in with his commentary following that play.

You play four quarters of football for a reason. If Florida State is going to get back in this thing, the offense has to start making something, anything, happen. Ole Miss needs to keep the pedal to the metal and find a way to close this one out.

Florida State WR Travis Rudolph’s act of kindness makes autistic boy’s day, will make yours too

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Wide receiver Travis Rudolph #15 of the Florida State Seminoles scores on a 18-yard pass from quarterback Jameis Winston #5 in the third quarter of the College Football Playoff Semifinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2015 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
Getty Images
14 Comments
By John TaylorAug 31, 2016, 8:59 AM EDT

I officially have a new favorite college football player. And, on a completely unrelated note, if it gets dusty up in here, don’t blame me.

Travis Rudolph is a star wide receiver for the Florida State Seminoles, talented enough to lead FSU in receiving a year ago and be named preseason first-team All-ACC last month. He might, though, be a better human being than he is a football player.

Check that, he is.

That would be Rudolph sitting with Bo Paske, a middle schooler with autism who the player noticed was eating lunch alone as the team visited Montford Middle School.  The act of kindness, which brought Bo’s mom Leah to tears, just seemed like the thing to do to Rudolph.

“I asked if I could sit next to him, and he said ‘sure, why not?’” Rudolph said according to the Orlando Sentinel. “I just felt like we had a great conversation.

“He started off and was so open. He told me his name was Bo, and how much he loves Florida State, and he went from there.”

Rudolph told reporters following practice yesterday that he nearly teared up reading the mother’s Facebook post.  He also said the young boy can have his cell number if he needs/wants it.

Suffice to say, Rudolph’s head coach was very proud of his player.

“You can affect people in a lot of ways. That’s the way you affect people,” Jimbo Fisher said. “Make somebody’s day by being yourself, and going and spreading the word, and understanding the impact you have as an athlete and role model to people in the community.”

“I was extremely proud of him. He made some young man’s day.”

Everyone, regardless of whether you’re an FSU fan or not, should be proud of this young man.  What a beautiful display of humanity and compassion, something from which we could all learn a lesson.

Jimbo Fisher pegs Deondre Francois as QB starter vs. Ole Miss

TALLAHASSEE, FL - APRIL 11: Head coach Jimbo Fisher of the Florida State Seminole watches action during Florida State's Garnet and Gold spring game at Doak Campbell Stadium on April 11, 2015 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Getty Images
3 Comments
By Zach BarnettAug 27, 2016, 6:24 PM EDT

As if we didn’t already know, Deondre Francois will start at quarterback for Florida State next Monday night against Ole Miss, Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher revealed Saturday.

This particular two and two weren’t hard to put together, considering Francois was in a two-horse race with Sean Maguire and Maguire recently missed time with a foot injury. (Maguire has returned to the practice field two weeks ahead of his four week prognosis, however.)

Maguire saw action in eight games last season and was good, not great. The then-junior connected on 59 percent of his passes for 1,520 yards (an even eight per attempt) with 11 touchdowns against six interceptions, good for an efficiency rating that would have placed him 40th nationally with enough qualifying attempts.

Francois, however, is more in the mold of other Fisher quarterbacks. A consensus four-star recruit out of IMG Academy, Francois was 247Sports‘s No. 64 player nationally in the class of 2015 and the No. 3 pro-style quarterback, ranking behind only UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Alabama’s Blake Barnett.

Earning the start is an incredibly good omen for Francois. Every starting quarterback to matriculate under Fisher at Florida State — read: not Everett Golson — has gone on to become a first-round pick: Christian Ponder to the Vikings, E.J. Manuel to the Bills and Heisman winner Jameis Winston No. 1 overall to the Buccaneers.

Starting Francois is also an incredibly good omen for the Seminoles. Every uber-recent team to win a national championship has been piloted there by a first-year starter at quarterback (with one notable exception), dating back to Alabama’s Greg McElroy in 2009, to Auburn’s Cam Newton in 2010, Alabama’s A.J. McCarron in 2011 (then again in 2012), Winston for Florida State in 2013, Ohio State’s Cardale Jones in 2014 and, finally, Alabama’s Jake Coker in 2015.

Is there anything to that trend beyond mere coincidence? I have no idea. But, should the redshirt freshman hold on to his gig for the remainder of the season, both Francois and Florida State will be on the right side of (recent) history.

The fourth-ranked ‘Noles face No. 11 Ole Miss next Monday night in Orlando (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).