Thoughts From the Morning After: FSU 43 Wake Forest 3

Oct 4, 2014; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles wide receiver Ermon Lane (1) moves the ball up the filed against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the fourth quarter at Doak Campbell Stadium. Florida State Seminoles defeated the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 43-3. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Each Sunday morning after a Florida State game, ChopChat editor Patrik Nohe gives his thoughts from the morning after.

On a day that saw numerous teams in the top ten falter, FSU won its 21st straight game and gave Jimbo Fisher his 50th career victory.

“I didn’t know it was. Is that right?” said a coy Fisher after the game. “We have to go get win number 51.”

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Frankly, it was a historic day at Florida State. The team is on a record winning streak. Fisher hit a personal milestone. And at halftime Renegade V — the horse that Chief Osceola rides at football games — was retired while Renegade VI made his debut.

And all of that, as lovely as it is, means next to nothing to the football-hungry fans of a Seminole team that is yet to play its best football. FSU got the right result yesterday — the box-score looks fine — but the Seminoles are still yet to put it together for an entire game this season.

On Saturday, it was the Seminole offense raising questions.

“At the end of the day, that’s what we’ve got that defense for. Sometimes they’ve got to have our backs, sometimes we’ve got to have their back,” said QB Jameis Winston.

A week after the offense bailed the defense out of one of its worst performances in years, the defense returned the favor in the early going of Saturday’s game. Following a pair of Florida State turnovers that essentially gift-wrapped Wake Forest’s only three points, FSU found itself down 3-0 at the end of the first quarter. But the defense rallied and forced a couple of turnovers — scoring on one — to put the Seminoles ahead for good.

“Everybody’s been asking that question [about the defense forcing turnovers], so you can quit asking that question. They got them. Took it in the end zone, did a great job. It was their day,” Jimbo Fisher said.

On the afternoon FSU’s defense held Wake to just 126 yards — most of which came against the back-ups — and three points.

But just as the defense takes a step forward, on Saturday the offense took a step back.

Here are more thoughts from the morning after:

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