A few things have been established in the first six weeks of the college football season.
One: FSU has run into some pretty good quarterbacks on the other sideline. Two: FSU’s defense has been exploited, although it played fairly well against Miami. Three: The end of the game is a fine time to block an extra point.
Then there is this: The Seminoles have found a keeper in quarterback Deondre Francois.
Francois, a freshman, was thrust into the starting role late in training camp. So far, he’s exceeded most expectations halfway through his first season. He’s 23rd nationally in passing yards, 38th in passing efficiency. He’s proven to be a competitive guy who can take a lick.
Through six games, Francois has struggled only once — in a 63-7 loss to Louisville.
In the team’s opener, it was facing Ole Miss’s highly regarded Chad Kelly, who threw for 313 yards. But Francois threw 419. He didn’t have any interceptions, while Kelly finished with three. Edge: Francois.
In week three, Louisville could not be slowed by FSU. Lamar Jackson, an early Heisman favorite, threw for 216 yards and ran for 146. Edge: Jackson.
In week four, Quinton Flowers threw for 160 yards. Francois threw for 169, but he threw only eight incompletions on the day. Edge: Francois.
In week five, North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky earned a slight edge with 405 yards and three scores. But Francois wasn’t bad, throwing for 372 yards. Edge: Trubisky
In week six, FSU faced Brad Kaaya, who is one of the darlings of the draftniks. Still, Francois held is own. Kaaya threw for 214 yards with an interception; Francois threw for 234 with no interceptions. Edge: Francois.
The impressive thing for FSU, of course, is that if Francois can stay healthy, he has a lot of games in front of him, starting with this week’s game against Wake Forest.
