There was a gasp and a lightning delay minutes apart in the second quarter.
The first was a shot of football reality as Florida State’s starting quarterback suffered an apparent ankle injury.
Tommy Castellanos completed 10 of 13 passes for 205 yards with two rushing touchdowns before limping off to the sideline late in the second quarter. Castellanos was soon able to put pressure and walk to the locker room as the game was halted with 2:39 until halftime with sunny skies but lightning nearby. Just minutes after game resumed, Castellanos ran down the FSU sideline to join his teammates.
"Just got rolled up a little bit," Castellanos said. "All good. 100 percent still. A little scary but I'm good."
Gavin Sawchuk had two of FSU’s eight rushing touchdowns as the No. 7 Seminoles shredded Kent State 66-10 on Saturday. The Seminoles had five rushing touchdowns in the first quarter alone, and it’s thought to be FSU’s first game with eight rushing touchdowns in school history.
No. 7 FSU (3-0) had a school-record 498 rushing yards and has won its first three games of the season for a third time under coach Mike Norvell.
"An extraordinary night offensively, being able to have great balance," Norvell said. "... It comes down to their work. They've made a great investment into each other."
The Seminoles also won their first four games to start 2022 and enjoyed a 12-0 regular season en route to the ACC title in 2023.
Offense notes
FSU now has 1,089 rushing yards through three games. The Seminoles had just 1,079 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in 12 games in 2024. Yes, FSU had as many rushing touchdowns on Saturday as in all of last season.
Sawchuk ran 11 times for 97 yards, including a 40-yard run, and touchdowns from 4 and 2 yards.
Micahi Danzy had a 64-yard touchdown run on a reverse, and he hauled in two receptions (65 yards and 47 yards). The redshirt freshman now has three touchdowns in three games.
Kam Davis’ 2-yard touchdown run was the first of his career.
Kevin Sperry completed 4 of 5 passes for 64 yards. Brock Glenn completed 2 of 5 passes.
Lawayne McCoy had two catches for 30 yards, including a 21-yard reception that was the longest of his career. McCoy missed FSU’s first two games due to injury.
Samuel Singleton Jr. had two rushing touchdowns. He now has three TDs in his last two games.
FSU's 143 points scored over the last two games (including 77 vs. East Texas A&M) are the most in a two-game span in program history.
Defense notes
Darrell Jackson had four tackles, adding .5 TFL (shared with James Williams). Williams also had four tackles, as did Earl Little Jr.
Mandrell Desir delivered a massive hit on Kent State quarterback Dru DeShields, a sack that also resulted in an intentional grounding call.
Elijah Herring added a fourth-down sack, halting a drive in FSU’s territory following Castellanos’ interception.
Justin Cryer rushed off the edge for an easy tackle for loss on DeShields.
The Seminoles held Kent State to 43 rushing yards, the fewest by an FSU defense since holding Miami to 43 rushing yards in Nov. 2021.
FSU held Kent State’s star receiver, Cole Wolford, to two catches for 15 yards. Wolford was leading the nation with 31.9 yards per reception.
Noteworthy
The stoppage due to lightning late in the second quarter ended up serving as the halftime.
Injury note
Kent State defensive back A'tiq Muhammad was injured late in the second quarter while trying to tackle Amaree Williams. Muhammad was carted off the field.
Up next
FSU travels to Virginia on Friday at 7 p.m. (ESPN).
(Photo at top by Mike Ewen)
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