FSU’s Francois Already More Accomplished Than Any In-State Rival QB Since Tebow?

The future certainly appears bright for Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois. This past season, Francois started all 13 games, leading the Seminoles to 10 wins, an Orange Bowl victory and a No. 8 national ranking.

Francois still has some areas that need improvement. Accuracy is probably the biggest, but anticipation and pocket presence are two more points that need addressed.

Since taking over as head coach in 2010, FSU’s Jimbo Fisher has been known as a bit of a quarterback guru. His first three full-time starters — Christian Ponder, E.J. Manuel and Jameis Winston — all went on to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. While the first round might seem a bit optimistic, there is reason to believe that Francois could be the fourth FSU signal-caller drafted in Fisher’s tenure.

With Francois in his second year as a starter, the Seminoles will enter 2017 with national championship aspirations and a lot of those expectations will ride on the redshirt sophomore’s shoulders and strong right arm. The case could be made however, that Francois is already more accomplished than any quarterback to play for either of FSU’s biggest two rivals — Florida and Miami — since Fisher became head coach.

Football is obviously a team game and Francois has had no shortage of talent around him. One could make the case that Miami quarterbacks Brad Kaaya or Stephen Morris had better seasons than Francois did in 2016, but just happened to play on teams that weren’t quite as good. Quarterbacks however, get more recognition when their team wins than any other player and more blame when they lose.

Here’s some interesting tidbits to aid Francois’ case:

Team Accolades

Francois has more wins over AP ranked teams than any Miami QB since 2010
In his first season, Francois led the Seminoles to victories over four AP ranked opponents — Ole Miss, Miami, Florida and Michigan. Since 2010, Miami has just five victories over ranked opponents and the only quarterback to start more than one of those games was Jacory Harris, who started two. Florida doesn’t have a quarterback with more victories over ranked teams in that span, but Jeff Driskel also beat four ranked teams. Each of those four wins occurred in 2012.

Francois has more wins over in-state rivals than both have combined over FSU during span
In his first season as FSU’s starting quarterbacks, Francois engineered a 20-19 win over Miami on Oct. 8 and a 31-13 victory over rival Florida to conclude the regular season on Nov. 26. Since 2010, Miami is 0-7 against FSU while the Gators are just 1-6. The lone Florida victory came by a 37-26 margin in Tallahassee to conclude the 2012 regular season.

Francois has more 10-win seasons than any Miami QB during span
In 13 career starts, Francois has a career record of 10-3. Miami hasn’t had a 10-win season since 2003 — its final year in the Big East. Florida has twice won at least 10 games in a season since 2010. The Gators won 11 games in 2012 and 10 games in 2015.

Francois has more major bowl victories than Florida and Miami combined during span
Florida State’s dramatic 33-32 victory over Michigan in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30 was certainly thrilling as Francois’ 12-yard touchdown pass to Nyqwan Murray with 36 seconds remaining served as the game-winner. Neither Florida nor Miami have won a BCS or New Year Six’s bowl since 2009 when the Gators beat Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl. The only appearance since 2010 came from Florida in 2012, but it was defeated by Louisville in the Sugar Bowl that year by a 33-23 margin. Miami’s Russell Athletic Bowl victory over West Virginia this season was the first bowl victory for the Hurricanes in a decade. Miami hasn’t appeared in a major bowl game since beating FSU in the Orange Bowl to conclude the 2003 season.

Individual Accolades

Francois’ 3,548 total yards is more than any in-state rival quarterback during span
This past season, Francois passed for 3,350 yards and rushed for 198 more to finish with 3,548 yards. That’s more than any Miami or Florida quarterback since 2010 and more than any Miami quarterback ever. Miami’s Brad Kaaya passed for 3,532 yards this past season, but finished with negative rushing yards. Treon Harris ran for 238 yards in 2015, but no Florida quarterback has totaled more yards since Tim Tebow, who finished with 3,805 yards in 2009. Florida has not had a quarterback pass for more yards since Rex Grossman in 2002.

Francois’ 25 total touchdowns is more than any Florida QB during span
Francois is coming off a campaign in which he passed for 20 touchdowns and rushed for five more. Miami’s Brad Kaaya passed for 27 touchdowns this past season, but no Florida quarterback has accounted for as many touchdowns in a season since 2009 when Tebow accounted for 35 touchdowns.

Francois’ career-high 419 yards passing is more than any Florida QB during span
In Francois’ first career game — a 45-34 victory over Ole Miss — he passed for 419 yards. That’s more than any Florida quarterback has passed for since Tebow’s last game when he threw for 482 yards in a Sugar Bowl win over Cincinnati. The last Miami quarterback to throw for more was Stephen Morris, who did so twice in 2012. Morris passed for 436 yards in an overtime win over Georgia Tech and a school-record 566 yards in a win over N.C. State.

Francois’ career-high 75 yards rushing is more than any Miami QB during span
Francois’ top rushing performance came on Sept. 24 against South Florida when he finished with 75 yards rushing on 11 carries. That’s more than any Miami quarterback since at least the 1980s. The last Florida quarterback to rush for more was Treon Harris, who went for 111 against South Carolina in 2014.

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