Recap: Florida State 45, Syracuse 14

Saturday, November 19

Syracuse, NY

3:30 pm

Syracuse University

4-7 , 2-5

Florida State

8-3 , 5-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Florida State

Syracuse

11/19/2016 7:12:00 PM | Football

Box Score Cuse TV: Highlights Cuse TV: Syracuse Hail Mary Cuse TV: Senior Day Ceremony Cuse TV: Dino Babers Press Conference Cuse TV: Players Press Conference Quotes Photos Notes Quotes

Orange defense records season-high four takeaways

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Florida State's Dalvin Cook rushed for 225 yards and four touchdowns to lead the 17th-ranked Seminoles (8-3, 5-3 ACC) past Syracuse (4-7, 2-5 ACC) on Senior Day at the Carrier Dome, 45-14. In the process, Cook passed Warrick Dunn to become FSU's career leader in rushing yards with 4,166.

The Seminoles scored touchdowns on their first two possessions and never led by fewer than 14 points after the first quarter.

FSU quarterback Deondre Francois finished 18-of-28 passing for 315 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Zack Mahoney started the game at quarterback for the Orange in place of the injured Eric Dungey and was 16-of-36 for 196 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Ervin Philips was the Orange's top receiver with seven receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown. Brisly Estime added six catches for 46 yards in his final home game, while Amba Etta-Tawo had two grabs for 58 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown reception.

Francois set the tone for the Seminoles by throwing touchdown passes of 16 and 15 yards, respectively, to put FSU ahead 14-0 with 7:11 left in the first quarter. The Seminoles' lead swelled to 21-0 on a 25-yard touchdown run by Cook with 6:35 to go in the half.

Syracuse eventually got on the board on the last play of the first half. With three seconds to go, Mahoney lofted a 46-yard Hail Mary that Etta-Tawo came down with in the end zone to close the gap to 21-7 at the break.

Cook added touchdown runs of 11 and 17 yards in the third quarter before Syracuse took advantage of Shyheim Cullen's recovery of a muffed punt by FSU's Nyqwan Murray. The Orange took over at the FSU 22-yard line following the turnover and Mahoney completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Philips to make the score 35-14 with 4:27 remaining in the third.

Less than three minutes later, Cook scored his fourth touchdown of the game on an 8-yard scamper, and Ricky Aguayo kicked a 42-yard field goal for the only points of the fourth quarter to produce the final score.

The Orange defense forced a season-high four turnovers, including three fumble recoveries. Cornerback Christopher Fredrick had a hand in three of the takeaways. Fredrick forced a pair of fumbles (one of which he recovered himself) and made the first interception of his career in the second quarter. He also tallied a career-high six tackles.

FSU sacked Mahoney eight times, including a team-high 2.5 sacks by rookie Brian Burns. Josh Sweat paced the Seminoles with eight tackles, including 2.5 for a loss and 1.5 sacks.

Syracuse closes out the regular season next Saturday, Nov. 26 on the road at Pittsburgh. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. at Heinz Field.

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