UF 17, FSU 14: Halftime notes, stats as Seminoles battle Gators

Since September 20, when FSU lost to UVA, Florida State has scored 10 total points in the first quarter — zero on the road.

Opponents have scored 49.

That trend continued on Saturday, with FSU once again falling behind early as Florida quickly ran out to a 10-0 lead (one that was inches away from being 14-0) while the Seminoles failed to take advantage of a deep catch by Duce Robinson after coming up short on a fourth-and-1 attempt.

Florida State cut into Florida’s lead in the first minutes of the second quarter, driving 76 yards in 11 plays, as the Seminoles scored off a 13-yard, hard-fought catch and run from Micahi Dany to make it 10-7.

Florida pushed its lead back to 10 shortly after on its second consecutive touchdown drive (third straight scoring), at which point the game went full silly mode. First, FSU first drove deep into Florida territory and looked to be on the verge of scoring — nearly doing so on a dropped wide-open pass — before Tommy Castellanos was sacked and stripped, giving UF the ball back on its own 20. Two plays later, a DJ Lagway pass was tipped and caught by Edwin Joseph, who returned the ball 21 yards to the Florida 20 — essentially putting the Seminoles back where they started.

Castellanos was able to lead FSU into the end zone this time, dancing into the end zone for his ninth rushing touchdown of the season to make it a 17-14 game. Florida State was then able to force its first punt of the game, getting the ball back on its own 20 with 19 seconds left in the half. The Seminoles attempted to steal some points, but only managed to pick up 25 yards before the quarter ended.

The Gators’ offense has picked up yardage at will, gaining 227 while averaging 5.8 yards per play, mainly off the production of running back Jaden Baugh who has shredded the Florida State defense to the tune of 101 yards (5.6 per carry). Florida has also had no issues on third down, going 6 for 8, while FSU is 3-5 and 0-1 on fourth.

FSU, having started the game on offense, will kick off at the start of the third.

UF 17, FSU 14: Halftime stats

Total Yards: FSU 209, UF 227Passing Yards: FSU 125, UF 124Rushing Yards: FSU 84, UF 103Penalties: FSU 1–15, UF 2–19First Downs: FSU 12, UF 133rd Downs: FSU 3–5, UF 6–84th Downs: FSU 0–1, UF 0–0Total Plays: FSU 32, UF 39Avg Yds/Play: FSU 6.5, UF 5.8Avg Yds/Completion: FSU 12.5, UF 11.3Avg Yds/Rush: FSU 4.7, UF 5.4Sack-Adj Rush Yds (Avg): FSU 100 (6.3), UF 103 (5.4)Red Zone: FSU 2–3, UF 3–3Time of Possession: FSU 12:35, UF 17:06Turnovers (Def. Points Off): FSU 1 (0), UF 1 (7)Fumbles–Lost: FSU 2–1, UF 0–0Sacks (Def. Yds): FSU 0 (0), UF 2 (16)TFL (Def. Yds): FSU 0 (0), UF 4 (20)