Tallahassee, FL – Devonta Freeman rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, as the 11th-ranked Florida State Seminoles rolled over the Duke Blue Devils, 48-7, at Doak Campbell Stadium.
EJ Manuel completed just 8-of-16 passes, but racked up 282 yards and two scores through the air for the Seminoles (8-1, 5-1 ACC), who have won three in a row and will rest until a Nov. 8 game at Virginia Tech.
"We definitely took advantage of the plays we saw down field," Manuel said. "The receivers did a great job, the o-line gave us some time to get down there and make some plays down field."
Rodney Smith posted 112 yards on three receptions, Rashad Greene registered a 71-yard TD catch, and James Wilder, Jr. finished with 70 yards and a score on 13 rushes.
Sean Renfree left with a concussion after one half of play, but not before completing 13-of-21 passes for 92 yards for the Blue Devils (6-3, 3-2), who have dropped three of four. Anthony Boone went the rest of the way by totaling 37 yards on just 3-of-15 efficiency.
Jela Duncan contributed 46 yards and Duke's lone touchdown on 13 carries.
Florida State jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead thanks to a 71-yard hookup from Manuel to Greene and a 75-yard punt return by Tyler Hunter.
"I just trusted my blockers. I knew if a guy got close my guy would take him out, so I trusted him and caught it and followed my blocks until the end zone," Hunter said about his return.
Dustin Hopkins added a 27-yard field goal to cap the opening 15 minutes, then Wilder and Freeman both crossed the goal line on rushes in the second quarter. Duke's first score came just before the end of the half on Duncan's three-yard run.
Freeman capped FSU's opening possession of the third quarter on a 14-yard touchdown gallop, and Manuel's loft for Kelvin Benjamin from 35 yards away made it 45-7.
Hopkins set a personal record when he split the uprights from 56 yards away with 9:40 left in regulation to cap the rout.
Game Notes
Florida State has won all 18 meetings with Duke since the schools' first matchup in 1992 ... The Seminoles outgained the Blue Devils by a 560-232 margin ... Benjamin finished with 77 yards on three receptions ... Isaac Blakeney paced the Duke receivers with 38 yards on four catches ... FSU fumbled the ball four times in victory ... With his late conversion, Hopkins set a new ACC record for field-goal makes with 81, breaking the mark previously held by Nick Novak from Maryland.