Seminole Saturday Summary: Noles Win on Senior Day to Become Bowl-Eligible, FSU Hoops Wins Sixth Straight Over Florida

After missing a bowl game for the first time since 1981 last season, Florida State football is bowling once again. The Seminoles became bowl-eligible at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday with a 49-12 victory over Alabama State on Senior Day.

The 49 points and 525 total yards were season highs for the Seminoles. Quarterback James Blackman passed for 246 yards and threw touchdown passes to Tamorrion Terry, Tre’Shaun Harrison and D.J. Matthews. Khalan Laborn rushed for a pair of scores in the victory.

The Hornets did put up 350 yards of offense against FSU and briefly led 3-0. Alabama State climbed to within nine early in the second half when KHA’Darris Davis hooked up with Jahod Booker for a 34-yard touchdown. That would be the final points of the day for Alabama State.

Also finding the end zone for FSU on Saturday were Deonte Sheffield on a 2-yard run and Hamsah Nasirildeen, who returned an interception 80 yards for a score and FSU’s first non-offensive touchdown of the year. Terry and Harrison combined for 184 yards receiving. Backup quarterback Jordan Travis led all rushers with 69 yards on just nine carries.

With the win, Odell Haggins improved to 4-0 in his career as an interim head coach. The Seminoles will have an open date before visiting rival Florida on Nov. 30.

Devin Vassell led Florida State with 13 points in Sunday’s win at No. 6 Florida. (FSU athletics)

The week probably couldn’t have started much better for Florida State as the men’s basketball teams notched its sixth straight win over rival Florida, winning in Gainesville, 63-51.

The story of the game was the FSU defense, which held No. 6 Florida to 28 percent shooting, 4-for-22 from deep and forced 16 turnovers. Trailing late in the first half, FSU used a 20-6 run that spanned about eight minutes to seize control of the contest.

Devin Vassell led FSU with 13 points. M.J. Walker and Trent Forrest added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Keyontae Johnson led the Gators with a game-high 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting. Virginia Tech transfer Kerry Blackshear added 10 points and 13 rebounds for Florida despite not making a field goal.

The six straight wins over Florida is the longest streak for the Seminoles in the series. The last three have been decided by double-digits. FSU followed that performance up by rallying from 17 points down to beat Western Carolina in its home opener on Friday night, 79-74.

Football

Record: 6-5 (4-4 ACC)
Ranking: None
Past Week: (1-0), defeated Alabama State, 49-12
Upcoming: at Florida (Nov. 30)
Recognitions: Tamorrion Terry, WR (ACC Receiver of the Week); Hamsah Nasirildeen, S (ACC Defensive Back of the Week)
Weekly Commitments: None
2020 Recruiting Class Ranking: No. 18 nationally, fourth in ACC (17 total commitments)*
Big Picture: FSU wasn’t real sharp on Saturday, but easily disposed of Alabama State to become bowl-eligible for the 37th time in 38 years.

Weekly Review

Alabama State 12, FSU 49
Saturday, Nov. 16
Florida State set new season-highs for points and yards while becoming bowl-eligible on Senior Day against Alabama State. Quarterback James Blackman passed for 246 yards and three touchdowns in the win while Khalan Laborn rushed for a pair of scores. Tamorrion Terry and Tre’Shaun Harrison combined for 184 yards receiving and each caught a touchdown. Hamsah Nasirildeen scored the first non-offensive touchdown of the year for the Seminoles with an 80-yard interception return. KHA’Darris Davis hooked up with Jahod Booker for Alabama State’s only touchdown of the day. Davis passed for 262 yards in the loss.

Men’s Basketball

Record: 2-1 (0-1 ACC)
Ranking: None
Past Week: (2-0), defeated Florida, 63-51; defeated Western Carolina, 79-74
Upcoming: vs. Chattanooga (Wednesday); vs. Saint Francis (Saturday)
Recognitions: None
Weekly Commitments: None
2020 Recruiting Class Ranking: No. 18 nationally, fifth in ACC (3 total commitments)*
Big Picture: Florida State started the week off on the right foot with a 12-point road victory over a top-10 rival. The Seminoles followed that up by staving off an upset in the home opener.

Weekly Review

FSU 63, (6) Florida 51
Sunday, Nov. 10
Florida State used a 20-6 run that started late in the first half to seize control of Sunday’s contest in Gainesville and win a sixth straight over rival Florida. The Seminoles held the Gators to just 28 percent shooting in the win and forced 16 turnovers. Devin Vassell led FSU with 13 points while M.J. Walker and Malik Osborne added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Keyontae Johnson scored a game-high 19 points to lead Florida. Kerry Blackshear went without a field goal, but finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.

Western Carolina 74, FSU 79
Friday, Nov. 15
Florida State rallied from 17 points in its home opener to get over .500 for the first time this season. Western Carolina used a 37-13 run in the first half to take a commanding 41-24 lead behind outstanding 3-point shooting. FSU went ahead for good on a put-back by Patrick Williams with 45 seconds remaining. Williams would add two free throws after a stop by the Seminoles. M.J. Walker would ice the game with two more after Mason Faulkner’s tying 3-point attempt rimmed out. Williams and Walker each scored 18 points in the win while Trent Forrest added 16 points. Faulkner led the Catamounts with 21 points.

Women’s Basketball

Record: 3-0
Ranking: No. 12 AP Poll; No. 13 USA Today Coaches Poll
Past Week: (1-0), defeated Jacksonville, 75-41
Upcoming: vs. Samford (Sunday); at Illinois-Chicago (Saturday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: FSU got an easy win over Jacksonville to stay perfect on the young season. The Seminoles will be big favorites in their next two contests.

Weekly Review

Jacksonville 41, (12) FSU 75
Wednesday, Nov. 13
Florida State held Jacksonville to just 31 percent from the field to stay perfect on the young season. Nausia Woolfolk led the Seminoles with 22 points while Kiah Gillespie and Nicki Ekhomu each added 14. Gillespie also grabbed 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Destiny Marshall scored 20 points to lead the Dolphins in the loss.

Soccer

Record: 16-5
Ranking: No. 6 United Soccer Coaches; No. 1 seed NCAA Tournament
Past Week: (1-0), defeated South Alabama, 2-0
Upcoming: Brown (Friday, NCAA Tournament)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: FSU advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament for a 15th straight season.

Weekly Review

South Alabama 0, (1) FSU 2
Saturday, Nov. 16 (NCAA Tournament)
Kristen McFarland scored both Florida State goals on Saturday night as the Seminoles advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament for a 15th straight season. Yujie Zhao finished with a pair of assists. Abbey Newton and Jaelin Howell each added assists. The Seminoles outshot South Alabama, 20-2.

Volleyball

Record: 17-7 (10-4 ACC)
Ranking: None
Past Week: (1-0), defeated Louisville, 3-1
Upcoming: vs. North Carolina (Sunday); at Pittsburgh (Friday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: FSU scored a nice home win over Louisville and moved into a 4-way tie for second place in the ACC. This week, the Seminoles will host a North Carolina team it lost to on the road before visiting No. 2 Pittsburgh.

Weekly Review

Louisville 1, FSU 3
Sunday, Nov. 10
Florida State bounced back from a first-set loss to win the next three and two of them with ease to take down Louisville. Payton Caffrey led the Seminoles with 16 kills while Morgan Chacon added 11. Taylor Roberts and Adrian Ell combined for 30 digs in the victory. Claire Chaussee finished with a match-high 19 kills to lead the Cardinals.

Cross Country

Ranking: Men No. 4 USTFCCCA South Region; Women No. 12 USTFCCCA, No. 1 USTFCCCA South Region
Past Week: FSU men finished fourth, women finished first at NCAA South Regional
Upcoming: NCAA Championships (Saturday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: The FSU women claimed a second straight NCAA South Regional title. The Seminoles’ men and women will advance to the NCAA Championships for a second straight season. The FSU men were awarded an at-large berth into the NCAA Championships on Saturday.

Weekly Review

Men 4th, women 1st at NCAA South Regional
Friday, Nov. 15
The FSU women claimed a second straight South Regional title and will head back to the NCAA Championships. FSU had three runners finish in the top eight, led by Maudie Skyring’s fourth-place finish. Sophomore Elizabeth Funderburk and junior Jodie Judd finished fifth and eighth, respectively. Auburn’s Joyce Kimeli took first place. The FSU men finished fourth behind Ole Miss, Middle Tennessee State and Alabama. Caleb Pottorff was the top finisher for FSU at 15th. Alabama’s Gilbert Kigen took the individual title.

Swimming and Diving

Ranking: Men No. 17 CSCAA
Past Week: Idle
Upcoming: Georgia Tech Invite (Friday through Nov. 24)
Recognitions: Ayla Bonniwell (ACC Women’s Diver of the Week)
Big Picture: After an idle week, Florida State will get ready to spend three days in Atlanta. The FSU women fell from No. 20 to out of the CSCAA Poll.

Other News

FSU baseball unveiled its 2020 schedule this week. The Seminoles open at home against Niagara on Valentine’s Day.

FSU women’s tennis has wrapped up the fall season.

FSU softball announced the No. 1 recruiting class as fall signings took place.

Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is no longer a candidate for the open head coaching vacancy at FSU.

*247Sports Composite rankings

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.