Wide awake, ‘Noles and Thompson exorcise Demons

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One of the more inexplicable and baffling trends over the past several years is the hold Wake Forest has had on Florida State.  Specifically, four times in the past six years the Demon Deacons have squared off against the Seminoles, the underdogs have come away with a win.

Looking to make it five-of-seven, Wake instead had their throats stepped on by FSU early and often.  And the ‘Noles never let off.

And nothing was more indicative of the Seminoles shaking off the Curse of the Deacons in the 52-0 throttling than Chris Thompson.

In the loss to Wake last season, the running back broke two vertebrae in his back and missed the remainder of the season.  Nearly a full year later, and a mere 20 minutes into the game, Thompson had eight carries… and 197 yards.  Included in that total were touchdown runs of 74 and 80 yards that helped the ‘Noles jump out to a 38-0 lead at the half.

The defense, one of the top units in the nation last season, remains its same ol’ stifling self in its first real test of the season.   In the first half, and prior to wholesale substitutions were made, FSU limited the Demon Deacons to just 70 yards of total offense and a miserly 1.8 yards per rush attempt.  The second half was even worse for the overwhelmed Deacons as they could muster just 56 yards of offense and finished the game averaging a microscopic 1.2 ypc.

With the win, FSU has started a season 3-0 for the first time since 2005.  Coincidentally — or not — that was the last time the Seminoles won an ACC championship.

Seemingly every year since that title, preseason prognostications of FSU “being back” have given way to disappointment and underwhelming performances.  This year, though, might be different — if the FSU team on display Saturday is the “real” 2012 Seminoles, of course.