Looking to rebound from its first loss of the season, Florida State will do so without the services of one of the top running backs in the country.
With speculation swirling throughout the week regarding his health, it was made official Thursday evening that Dalvin Cook has been ruled out of Saturday’s game against Syracuse. Cook suffered a left ankle injury in the Seminoles’ last-second loss to the Yellow Jackets.
Cook had dealt with a hamstring issue the previous three weeks but hasn’t missed a game. He did not practice at all this week, leading to the speculation leading up to the official announcement.
“It was in the game (at Georgia Tech),” said head coach Jimbo Fisher on when Cook injured his ankle. “We didn’t know about it until afterwards when he came in and said it. Said his ankle was bothering him. Hopefully, he’ll be ready to go by next week. If he could play this week, he would play. His hamstring feels great, doing really well; never had a problem with it at all.”
Cook is currently second nationally in rushing yards per game (148.1), sixth in rushing yards (1,037) and tied for 12th in rushing touchdowns (11). His 8.2 yards per carry leads the FBS.
To say he’s a big part of the Seminoles’ offense would be a significant understatement. In 2015, Cook has accounted for 85 percent of FSU’s rushing yards and rushing touchdowns even as he’s responsible for just 55 percent of the carries.
With Mario Pender still sidelined with a collapsed lung, Johnathan Vickers (15-47-1) and Jacques Patrick (6-12-0) will be responsible for the running game portion of the offense.