Florida State 41 Pitt 13

By Dale Grdnic

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt quarterback Tom Savage is a fifth-year senior, but it was Florida State redshirt freshman Jameis Winston who played like a veteran during a 41-13 FSU win against the Panthers Monday night at Heinz Field.

Winston was 25-for-27 for 356 yards and four touchdowns with two sacks, including a stellar 17-for-18 performance for 240 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. Savage was 15-for-28 for 201 yards and one score with three sacks. While the first-year starter at Pitt wasn't bad, the difference in speed, athleticism and overall talent in favor of Florida State was quite obvious.

Pitt won the coin toss, took the ball and made it count with a nine-play, 80-yard scoring drive in 4:10. On the opening third-down play, Savage connected with wideout Devin Street for 31 yards to change field position. Street broke three tackles on the play to get the first down and additional yardage.

Freshman wideout Tyler Boyd ran for 18 yards with a reverse to the left, and Isaac Bennett's fourth run netted 10 yards, after gaining just one on his opening three carries. After an incomplete pass, Savage hit Street for 16 to the 4 and capped the drive with a short toss to tight end Manasseh Garner, who dove and stretched to get the ball over the goal line to take an early lead. Freshman Chris Blewitt did not, as his extra point gave Pitt a 7-0 advantage.

After playing solid defense during Florida State's opening possession, Pitt gave the Seminoles great field positions and eventually an easy touchdown to tie the score with 4:11 remaining in the first quarter. Savage was pressured and hit by Telvin Smith, but he threw the pass anyway. It was picked off by Jalen Ramsey. He returned it 31 yards to the Pitt 24. After a first-down run, FSU quarterback Jameis Winston fired a touchdown pass to tight end Nick O'Leary to cap a 43-second drive.

It didn't take long for Florida State to take the lead and change the momentum decisively with an eight-play, 81-yard drive in 3:59. Pitt used its 11th first-year freshman in the first half during the possession, and a handful of redshirt freshmen have also hit the field for the Panthers. None could stop Winston, who passed with precision (8-for-8 overall) into the red zone. A Pitt personal foul made it first-and-goal at the 2. Winston connected with O'Leary for the short touchdown in the back of the end zone.

Not to be outdone, the Panthers went 69 yards in 11 plays and 4:23 for a 28-yard Blewitt field goal. Pitt had a third-and-five at the 11 and called a timeout to set something up. What the Panthers came up with was a Savage pass in Street's direction. Unfortunately for Savage, he was double-covered. Fortunately for Savage, an easy interception was dropped to give Blewitt a chance to kick his first NCAA field goal.

Winston and the Seminoles devoured the clock during the remaining minutes of the first half with a beautiful 14-play, 78-yard drive in 7:05. Winston capped it with a five-yard scoring run, but his exceptional passing against Pitt's slow-moving defense again was the difference. Winston completed a 20-yarder on third-and-17 and a 19-yarder on a third-and-nine during the drive to give FSU a 21-10 advantage with 2:13 remaining in the opening half.

Savage was picked off again during Pitt's ensuing possession to give FSU the ball again, and Winston didn't need much time to get the Seminoles into the end zone. Just three plays, in fact. Winston completed a first-and-28 play for 31 yards to Rashad Greene. Winston followed that with a 23-yard TD toss to Greene to give FSU a 28-10 lead at halftime.

It didn't take FSU long to extend its lead in the second half, as it took the opening possession and drove 70 yards in eight plays and 3:52. Winston connected with Kenny Shaw for 41 yards, and Devonta Freeman ran for 20 to get inside the 10. However, in a minor win for the Panthers, they held to force FSU place-kicker Roberto Aguayo to kick a 22-yard field goal for a 31-10 lead.

The Tyler Boyd show kicked into high gear during Pitt's opening possession in the second half, as he ran a 16-yard reverse and caught a 17-yard pass from Savage. However, since Savage was sacked for a huge loss a few plays earlier, the reception was on third-and-29. So, with fourth-and-12, Blewitt was called upon to kick a 39-yard field goal, and he nailed it to make the score 31-13 with 4:43 remaining in the second half.

Aguayo answered with 28-yard field goal on FSU's next drive that stalled in the red zone after a penalty for an illegal man downfield. Pitt linebacker Anthony Gonzalez blitzed on third down to force Winston to throw the ball early and the field-goal unit to take the field. The Seminoles led 34-13 after three quarters.

Winston tossed his third touchdown pass to O'Leary early in the fourth quarter to cap a nine-play, 49-yard drive in 5:28. The TD pass made it 41-13, FSU, with 9:32 remaining.

Pitt got a 52-yard bomb from Savage to Street to make it first-and-goal at the 8, but four Savage passes hit the ground to turn over the ball on downs.

Note: Pitt announced a sellout of 65,500 for the first time since Sept. 24, 2011, against Notre Dame. ... The Panthers played 11 first-year freshmen and a handful of redshirt frosh against Florida State. ... Boyd led Pitt in rushing through three quarters with 54 yards on three carries. ... Street had six catches for a career-best 141 yards and no touchdowns.

Source: http://pitt.247sports.com/Article/Florida-State-41-Pitt-13-147310

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