The Florida St. Seminoles easily took care of the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday, winning 48-7. The Blue Devils are bowl eligible for the first time since 1994, but they're still a long way from being able to compete with the best teams in the ACC. Florida State is simply on a different level athletically than Duke, and the proof was on the field on Saturday night. SB Nation's Florida State blog, Tomahawk Nation, broke down just how far apart the two teams are, statistically.
Breaking down how much better the Seminoles were, on a yards-per-play basis:
Through three quarters, Florida State held a 45-7 lead and had run off 458 yards on 47 plays (9.7/play), while holding Duke to just 202 on 61 plays (3.3/play). Florida State's EJ Manuel was far from sharp. But when he connected, he connected big. As in 282 yards on only 16 passes (8 completed), an incredible 17.6 yards-per-attempt and 35 per completion.
On why leaving quarterback E.J. Manuel in the game late into the fourth quarter was a poor decision:
Coach Jimbo Fisher was trying to prove a point to his offense about finishing drives and games, after the FSU attack fumbled three times in the quarter, and FSU did run only 47 plays through three quarters (a low number for three quarters), but his move exposed Manuel to unnecessary hit after unnecessary hit as the game was well in hand.
The Seminoles next play on Nov. 8th, when they travel to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech in a potentially dangerous Thursday night matchup. After that, they travel to Maryland before ending the year at home against the Florida Gators.