FSU Football: The Top 7 Feel-Good Stories of 2016

Another Florida State season is in the books and the results by most’s standards were pretty good. FSU won 10 games for the fifth straight season, will likely finish in the top 10 and capped the year with an Orange Bowl victory in Miami over Michigan.

The season, like most others, had its good and bad from the FSU seniors becoming the first class to go a perfect 8-0 against Miami and Florida to a 63-20 embarrassing defeat at the hand of Louisville and eventual Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson. Some moments — both on the field and off — however have a way of being bigger than the final score or game statistics.

Here’s a look back at the seven best feel-good moments of FSU’s 2016 football season:

7. Maguire Shines On Senior Night
Florida State celebrated its Senior Night on Nov. 11 against Boston College and for one senior, it was a chance to show his skills one more time. Entering the season, Sean Maguire was the veteran among quarterbacks, but coming off a foot injury that forced him to miss the spring. With momentum favoring the younger Deondre Francois, Maguire returned in the fall to try and battle for his job, only to suffer an unrelated foot injury that required surgery.

Francois would never relinquish his job, performing admirably for the season while starting all 13 games and being named ACC Rookie of the Year. Maguire however, never lost the respect and admiration of his teammates, including Francois. In his final game at Doak Campbell Stadium against the Eagles, Maguire looked sharp, going 5-for-7 passing for 53 yards and his only two touchdown passes of the year.

6. Matthew Thomas Stays on the Field
A former 5-star recruit from South Florida, Matthew Thomas had trouble staying on the field over his first three seasons at FSU. Injuries, academics, off-the-field and family issues all led to Thomas being away from the football field for the better parts of his first three years. As a redshirt junior in 2016, Thomas finally put it all together.

Thomas went on to lead the team with 77 total tackles, including 11 for loss. Thomas capped his season with 15 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss in a 33-32 Orange Bowl victory over Michigan. Thomas was named to the Associated Press’ All-Bowl team.

5. Cook Breaks the Record
Against Syracuse on Nov. 19, Dalvin Cook cemented himself as the greatest rusher in school-history as Cook surpassed Warrick Dunn on just his second carry. Cook raced 41 yards to the left side to break Dunn’s school-record of 3,959 yards rushing. Cook finished the day with 225 yards on the ground and four touchdowns, which also tied Greg Allen’s FSU record for career rushing touchdowns. That’s a record Cook would break in a win over Florida a week later.

4. Lane Finds a Home on Defense
A former 5-star wide receiver recruit from South Florida, Ermon Lane had the makings of a bust early on as a junior in 2016. After being a non-factor on offense, Lane decided to try his hand at safety in the middle of the year to try and help combat injuries to others at the position like Derwin James and Nate Andrews.

At his new position, Lane looked like a natural, earning his first meaningful reps in a 20-19 victory over rival Miami on Oct. 8. Unfortunately, a foot injury kept Lane from playing in FSU’s return trip to South Florida for the Orange Bowl, but in seven games at safety this season, Lane finished with 37 total tackles and an interception.

3. The Promise
Prior to FSU’s Oct. 8 showdown with Miami, the Seminoles sat at 3-2. The defense had given up at least 34 points in each of its four games against FBS competition. FSU was coming off a 37-35 loss at home to North Carolina that snapped the nation’s longest home winning streak. After that, players signed a promise note to give their all for the remainder of the season.

The promise paid dividends as the Seminoles went on to win seven of their final eight games to finish with 10 victories. As for the defense, it improved from a unit that ranked outside the top 100 to a defense that ranked in the top 25, which may have saved coordinator Charles Kelly’s job. The recent Orange Bowl victory over Michigan has FSU poised for a fourth top-10 finish in five years.

2. Defense Dominates for Monk
Just hours after a 45-14 victory over Syracuse, Florida State received the sad news that legendary FSU defensive back and longtime associate director of athletics, Monk Bonasorte had lost his bout with brain cancer. Bonasorte was an All-American at defensive back during his playing days at Florida State and had been with the athletics department since 2008.

With a decal in remembrance of Bonasorte on players’ helmets, the Florida State defense went out and shined in the home finale against Florida. In a 31-13 win, FSU finished the night with six sacks and held the rival Gators to just 207 total yards. The Seminoles also held Florida to 0-for-12 on third down. It was the first time FSU had held an opponent without a third down conversion since 1980. That was Bonasorte’s senior year.

1. Travis Rudolph Makes a Friend
What seemed like a small gesture from Florida State wide receiver Travis Rudolph soon made national headlines. During a visit to a North Florida elementary school, Rudolph saw a boy eating lunch by himself and took it upon himself to provide him some company. A picture was taken of Rudolph eating lunch with the boy, which prompted the boy’s mother, Leah Paske, to send her gratitude via a Facebook post.

It turned out that Bo Paske has autism and often sits alone, the mother wrote. The two — Rudolph and Bo Paske — soon became friends and appeared together on morning shows like “Good Morning America” and “Fox & Friends”. Bo and his mother were invited to the season-opener in Orlando against Ole Miss where he got to watch Rudolph score FSU’s first touchdown of the year in a 45-34 victory. Bo was able to spend time with other FSU players as well and become an unofficial member of the team.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson