Trey Benson's big day propels No. 5 Florida State past pesky Virginia Tech, 39-17
Mike Norvell wanted to see his No. 5 Florida State football team to get off to a fast start.
Check.
Norvell wanted to see better third-down play on offense and defense.
Check.
He wanted the Seminoles to put together their first complete four-quarter performance of the season.
Well, there’s something to shoot for next week.
After opening an early 22-point lead, Florida State ended up in a dog fight with heavy underdog Virginia Tech for three quarters Saturday before a sellout crowd at Doak Campbell Stadium. But thanks to a pair of long second-half touchdown runs by Trey Benson — one from 62 yards and another from 85 — Norvell’s ‘Noles were able to pull away for a 39-17 victory.
With the win, the Seminoles improve to 5-0 on the season while Virginia Tech falls to 2-4. FSU is 3-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, while the Hokies are 1-1.
Benson finished the game with a career-high 200 yards on 11 carries. He is the first Seminole to reach that mark since Dalvin Cook last did it in 2016.
Florida State could not have been more dominant in the first quarter, storming out to a 22-0 lead after its first three possessions. Junior wide receiver Johnny Wilson hauled in touchdown strikes of 18 and 7 yards from Jordan Travis, and Lawrance Toafili added a nifty 28-yard touchdown run.
The Seminoles converted a two-point conversion after one of the scores when tight end Brian Courtney took a direct snap and rumbled into the end zone.
But the Hokies dominated the second quarter to claw their way back into the game. After recording just nine yards of offense in the first quarter, the Hokies outgained FSU, 126-1, in the second. They got on the board with a short field goal early in the second, and then added a 5-yard touchdown run by Bhayshul Tuten shortly before halftime.
Tuten then started the second half with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to cut the Seminoles’ lead to 22-17. But the second half was pretty well controlled by the Seminoles.
Benson broke off a 62-yard touchdown run to give Florida State some breathing room, then Ryan Fitzgerald added a 26-yard field goal to push the lead back to 32-17.
Travis finished the day with 170 passing yards on 18 of 24 completions. He also rushed for 25 yards.
Florida State, which has won 11 straight games dating back to last season, continues its home stand this Saturday against Syracuse.
The Seminoles played most of the second half without Johnny Wilson, who appeared to get shaken up by a hard hit in the third quarter. After being helped off the field, Wilson was evaluated in the FSU injury tent and then went to the locker room.
Defensive end Jared Verse led Florida State with two sacks after coming into the game with just 0.5 through the first four games.
Stay connected with Warchant.com for complete postgame coverage.
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