ORLANDO, Fla. – Redshirt freshman Deondre Francois threw for 419 yards and two touchdowns, leading No. 4 Florida State to its largest comeback victory ever, 45-34 over No. 11 Mississippi on Monday night.
Francois, the fourth freshman to start the season at quarterback in FSU history, brought the Seminoles back from 22 points down after a shaky start in the classic SEC-ACC showdown at Camping World Stadium.
“The thing about it, he bounced back, and that’s what he did in practice,” FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said of Francois. “We challenged him, as I know. I put the heat on him sometimes in practice. But he’s a kid who loves his team. His teammates believe in him, and he’s a fighter, and he’s a competitor, which I’m very proud of.”
Francois and the Seminoles, on the verge of becoming the third top-5 team to lose in the opening week, scored 33 consecutive points during a stretch from late in the second quarter until early in the fourth to overcome a 28-6 deficit.
“That was my first game so there were some things I was seeing that I wasn’t sure,” said Francois, who made his first career start in his hometown of Orlando. “I was a first-time starter so had a lot of first-game jitters but then I settled down.”