Second Half Thread: Florida State 28, Syracuse 14

Syracuse opened this one up pretty well, to be honest. The defense looked lights-out on the first drive, getting a ton of pressure on Florida State QB Sean Maguire. In general, the team looked ready to defend whatever came at them, with screens being sniffed out quickly, plus a very nice sack by Ron Thompson.

Offensively, things clicked on drive two for the Orange after an incredibly well-executed screen turned into a huge 62-yard gain by Dontae Strickland, and then an Eric Dungey touchdown.

And then... whatever was going right went south quite a bit. Sean Maguire started tossing the ball downfield to wide open FSU receivers (our greatest fear going in), who waltzed into the end zone. Syracuse's offense was still moving, but stalled out as it tried to push the ball past midfield. Maguire, on the other hand, would complete 18 of 24 passes, for 302 yards and two scores.

The Orange defense did seem to pick back up for a drive in the second quarter -- forcing a key punt that resulted in an Eric Dungey touchdown to make it a 21-14 game. But a botched squib kick for a second consecutive week (remember the late field goal for Pitt last Saturday), set up a Florida State touchdown to go back up by 14 at the half.

No turnovers for either team on the game so far, and both have moved the ball relatively well in spurts. On top of Maguire's passing numbers, Jacques Patrick has picked up 77 yards for the 'Noles.

Dungey is 6-of-13 for 77 yards on the day, while also running for 34 yards and two scores. George Morris II leads the team in rushing with 38 yards, and the team is running a whole lot more than passing -- a change we've seen gradually take place over the last couple weeks.

***

This is your second half thread. Let's G'ORANGE!