The 2018 season has hardly been smooth sailing for Florida State redshirt junior quarterback Deondre Francois. Come Saturday’s rivalry contest with Florida however, Francois will have a chance to put his name into rarefied air.
After getting the start in a 31-13 victory over Florida two years ago, Francois will look to become just the fourth FSU quarterback since the turn of the 1980s to win his first two starts against the Gators. The other three to do so all won Heisman Trophies.
Francois largely played second fiddle to Dalvin Cook for the FSU offense two years ago, but finished with 138 yards passing and two total touchdowns in the victory. The only FSU quarterbacks to win their first two starts against Florida were Charlie Ward in 1992 and 1993, Chris Weinke in 1999 and 2000 and Jameis Winston in 2013 and 2014.
For FSU to duplicate that feat, Francois will likely have to make more plays with his arm against a suspect Florida secondary. Whether or not the offensive line will be able to protect him will be vital.
As for Francois, knowing what to expect from one week to another or from one drive to another, for that matter, has been a mystery. Francois currently ranks second in the ACC in passing yards behind only NC State’s Ryan Finley, but is in the bottom half when it comes to things like completion percentage, yards per attempt and passer rating.
After missing all but one game last season with a patella tendon injury suffered in the opener against Alabama, there was some speculation that Francois would never play at FSU again following a decision to skip Senior Day last season and some minor run-ins with police in the offseason. After starting the first eight games this season, Francois missed the Nov. 3 contest against NC State and backup James Blackman proceeded to throw for 421 yards and four touchdowns in a 47-28 loss.
Blackman’s performance earned him ACC Offensive Back of the Week honors and led many to believe that he would be the guy moving forward. Head coach Willie Taggart instead has stuck with Francois — a decision largely unpopular among the FSU faithful.
For all his faults, Francois has continued to get up from numerous hits and has come through this season when the Seminoles have needed him to. The most recent example was last Saturday against No. 20 Boston College when Francois marched FSU 87 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with his 74-yard strike to Tamorrion Terry with less than two minutes remaining serving as the game-winning touchdown in a thrilling 22-21 win.
It was the third time this season that Francois led the Seminoles on a game-winning drive with less than five minutes to play in the game. Prior occasions came against Samford and at Louisville. During his ACC Rookie of the Year campaign in 2016, Francois led game-winning touchdown drives late in wins over NC State and Michigan in the Orange Bowl.
With Sam Howell committed to Florida State and Taggart determined to get three more years out of Blackman, there is speculation that this will be Francois’ final season in Tallahassee, meaning Saturday could be his final game. How Francois is remembered at FSU will likely vary from one person to another, but he certainly doesn’t want to be the quarterback who allowed the bowl streak to elapse.
Regardless of whether Francois enters the draft, looks to be a graduate transfer or returns for a redshirt senior season, he’ll probably never be remembered in the same breath as a Ward, Weinke or Winston. With a win Saturday however, he’ll join that trio of legends as the only Seminole signal-callers over the last four decades to win in each of his first two starts against the rival Gators.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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