Updated 3:00 p.m. ET: Outside of a 33-yard touchdown pass from Shawn Petty to Kevin Dorsey, not much went right for Maryland in the second half and Florida State rolled to a 41-14 win over the Terps.
FSU was efficient all around on offense and aided by Maryland mistakes. Running back Devonta Freeman led all offensive players with 148 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. The Terps, on the other hand, couldn’t get much going with Petty filling in at quarterback.
The Seminoles have punched their ticket to Charlotte for the ACC championship. Who they’ll play is still undetermined, but depending on whether or not Miami self-imposes a bowl ban, it could be one of four teams from the ACC Coastal. Virginia Tech is still alive -- barely -- at 2-4 in conference play, but the Hokies are in a tight game with Boston College. Duke and Georgia Tech play a critical conference game later today, and Miami plays a late out-of-conference game against South Florida.
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While the ACC Coastal division remains up for grabs (is that the right term?), the ACC Atlantic can be locked up today with a win by No. 10 Florida State over Maryland.
So far, this game’s going as expected. The Seminoles lead 27-0 at the half. FSU’s offense is working efficiently, but the ‘Noles defense has only allowed 36 yards. That’s outstanding obviously, but the Terps are still trying to MacGyver an offense with converted linebacker Shawn Petty in at quarterback.
Barring a complete second-half turnaround, this one looks over and Florida State would be able to punch its ticket to the ACC championship game because of a head-to-head tiebreaker over Clemson. A BCS championship appearance, while not out of sight, is a stretch. Florida State would need chaos and more chaos just to have a chance to head to Miami.
But the ‘Noles are certainly off to a good start today.