Florida State collected a fifth straight win over rival Florida and kept bowl hopes alive on Saturday. The Seminoles never trailed in the 38-22 victory and improved to 5-6 on the year.
As always, The Daily Nole staff is here to recognize the Seminoles who stood out. To hand out game balls this week is editor Mike Ferguson, lead writer Clint Eiland, staff writer Josh Mixon and recruiting analyst Jay Brading:
Offense
Mike, Clint, Jay: Jacques Patrick, RB
It wasn’t a great offensive day for Florida State, but junior running back Jacques Patrick led the Seminoles with 80 yards from scrimmage. Patrick finished with 67 yards rushing on 15 carries and 13 yards receiving on three catches. Patrick ran with tremendous power and came up with a number of clutch first down touches.
Josh: James Blackman, QB
Florida State freshman quarterback James Blackman didn’t put up super numbers, finishing 10-for-21 passing for 128 yards, two touchdown passes and one interception, but Blackman was on target for most of the day. FSU had several drops on Saturday, including on Blackman’s only interception. Blackman becomes the fourth straight FSU quarterback to beat the Gators in his first start.
Defense
Unanimous Game Ball: Levonta Taylor, CB
Florida State sophomore cornerback Levonta Taylor continued to be a lockdown defender on Saturday. Taylor recorded his first two interceptions of his career, including one that was returned 18 yards for a score by Taylor. Taylor’s other interception set FSU up inside the Florida 25-yard-line and ultimately led to another Florida State touchdown.
Special Teams
Unanimous Game Ball: Logan Tyler, P
With potential All-American Johnny Townsend on the other side of the field, it was the FSU punter who had the better day. Sophomore Logan Tyler averaged 47.7 yards per punt on seven punts with a long of 60 and three being downed inside the 20-yard-line. Tyler also had two of his seven kickoffs go for touchbacks.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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