After allowing 34 points at Boston College a week ago, Florida State’s defensive players were frustrated.
Players said this week that the practice leading up to the Maryland game was crisp and focused. And the Seminoles delivered with a stunning 63-0 rout of a Terrapins team that had averaged 39 points per game coming into Saturday.
In the locker room before No. 8 Florida State took the field to play No. 25 Maryland, junior defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan decided it was time for him to stand up and speak to the team.
“I really don’t talk too much, but my message was just telling the guys that we haven’t played a full game yet — offense, defense and special teams,” Jernigan said. “Expressing how much team means. There’s not one guy out there. It takes all of us.”
And it started with a defense that had been humbled by BC. The Seminoles gave up 17 points early and then two touchdowns on long scoring drives in the second half against the Eagles.
So there was concern with Maryland coming in. But the Terrapins struggled, rushing for just 33 yards on 25 carries and managing only 201 passing yards. Star receiver Stefon Diggs was held to two catches for 24 yards.
Starting quarterback C.J. Brown was knocked out of the game by a brutal second-quarter hit from FSU defensive tackle Jacobbi McDaniel.
“I hope that he is all right,” McDaniel said.
Brown was taken from Doak Campbell Stadium to a local hospital to get X-rays after the hit. It was the second time in three years that Brown left a game in Tallahassee. In 2011, he was injured in the third quarter of a loss to the Seminoles.
Brown left the game with Maryland trailing 14-0, and things didn’t get any better for the Terrapins. Backup Caleb Rowe completed 9 of 17 passes for 119 yards but couldn’t help Maryland sustain drives.
FSU’s defense forced Maryland to punt 11 times. The Terrapins had punted just 16 times in their first four games.
“We weren’t very good; Florida State’s a very good football team,” Maryland coach Randy Edsall said. “If you can’t run the ball, that makes it tough. They made us one-dimensional.”
Stork injured: Senior center Bryan Stork, a former Vero Beach standout, suffered a concussion in the second quarter and didn't return. Stork was making his 32nd career start and has played in 40 games at FSU.
O'Leary climbs charts: Nick O'Leary had four catches for 55 yards and two touchdowns Saturday. He now has nine career TDs, putting him in third among FSU tight ends all time.
O’Leary, a former Dwyer High School star, trails just Melvin Pearsall and Lonnie Johnson, who each had 10 touchdowns in their career.
Williams racking up TDs: Karlos Williams now has a touchdown in four straight games since moving over from safety to tailback. He had a 1-yard TD run in the first quarter and a 17-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
Williams now has six TD runs in four games.
Greene energy: Rashad Greene caught four passes for 108 yards, giving him a catch in 28 of 29 career games. He was held without a catch at Florida in 2011. Greene now has a catch in 20 consecutive games.
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