It was as if Bobby Bowden never left.
Returning to Doak Campbell Stadium for the first time since he was forced to retire following the 2009 season, Bowden witnessed a performance by Florida State that was so dominating it brought back memories of the Hall of Fame coach’s heyday.
The Seminoles scored five touchdowns in the first 13 minutes Saturday before cruising to a 49-17 victory over North Carolina State before 80,389 in a game that was decided not long after Bowden had put the finishing touches on the pregame ceremonies by planting the spear in the head of the Seminoles logo.
Now, the only question is if Florida State (7-0, 5-0 ACC) did enough to maintain its No. 2 spot in the BCS standings. The Seminoles, who are No. 3 in the human polls (AP, USA Today and Harris), could be passed by Oregon when the new BCS standings are released Sunday night. The Ducks, No. 3 in the BCS, pulled away for a 42-14 home win over No. 12 UCLA on Saturday night.
FSU coach Jimbo Fisher, though, opted against piling up style points. The Seminoles’ starting defense didn’t play a snap in the second half while the offense, including quarterback Jameis Winston, was through after the first series of the half, which lasted five plays.
“I’m not going to go out there and embarrass this game and (the) integrity of how you got to play,” Fisher said. “If that’s the way they’re going to do it, then you got to re-evaluate. If (the pollsters) can’t tell we dominated that game early and put it away … I think that’s bad for the game.”
The Seminoles scored on their first five possessions — leading 35-0 after one quarter, which tied a school record for points in any quarter — before Fisher decided to punt on fourth-and-2 from the Wolfpack 38-yard line. At one point, FSU had more touchdowns (four) than N.C. State had total yards (3).
The lead swelled to 42-0 at the half. Still, Fisher wasn’t entirely satisfied with his team’s performance Saturday.
“There was a time in that game we were getting big eyed and not staying focused and hungry on little things,” he said.
The victory set up Saturday night’s showdown with No. 7 Miami at Doak Campbell Stadium, the second FSU game in three weeks involving two top 10 teams. Miami (7-0, 3-0) had its second consecutive scare Saturday but escaped with a 24-21 win over Wake Forest to also remain unbeaten.
Although Miami could drop in the BCS standings, it won’t be enough to knock it out of the top 10. The last time Miami and FSU played with both teams ranked in the top 10 was 2004.
“They have confidence, they won some close games,” Fisher said. “We better get ready. … Just like the old days.”
Winston, who is in the top two of nearly every Heisman Trophy watch list, threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns. He had 229 passing yards in first quarter and finished the game 16-of-26.
“He played pretty well. I don’t think he played great,” Fisher said. “He played really well early.”
Said Winston: “I got comfortable, and I can’t get comfortable.”
Winston, a redshirt freshman, now has 23 touchdown passes this season, which equals the most his Seminoles predecessor — first-round NFL draft pick EJ Manuel — had in any season.
Rashad Greene, Belle Glade’s Kelvin Benjamin and former Dwyer High standout Nick O’Leary each caught touchdown passes, with Greene leading FSU with eight catches for 137 yards. O’Leary’s score was the 10th of his career, equaling a school record for tight ends.
Devonta Freeman rushed for 92 yards and two TDs as the Seminoles have now scored at least 40 points in seven consecutive games, tying a record set in 1995. They totaled 566 yards, the fifth time this season they have surpassed 500.
For the second straight week, FSU forced a turnover on the game’s first series. FSU then turned safety Terrence Brooks’ interception of a Brandon Mitchell pass into a 7-0 lead on Karlos Williams’ 19-yard run, and the rout of the Wolfpack (3-4, 0-4) was on.
“When you get early turnovers and you get good field position, that’s what happens when you have an offense like ours,” Winston said.
The game could have been a trap for FSU, which was coming off a stunning 51-14 victory at Clemson and could have been caught looking ahead to the most significant game in the Miami series in nearly a decade.
Yet the Noles salted away this game early.
“It’s maturity,” said Brooks, who forced a fumble to go along with his interception. “I feel like that’s the biggest thing about our team this year, being a lot more mature. I feel like last year we’d get on a high and we’d get distracted by the clutter. This year, these guys are very hungry, they’re confident and they just remove all the clutter and distractions.”
A good trait considering what lies ahead for FSU.
