It took six hours to play about a minute and a half, but once Florida State finally took the field and stayed on it, they pummeled the Western Carolina Catamounts 69-0. And in doing do, the Seminoles got their swagger back.

SCOTT JACOBS

Rome wasn’t built in a day, so for now FSU mutilating the helpless Catamounts of Western Carolina isn’t anything more then a really nice win. But it could be more. So much more. The Seminoles may look back at this game a few years from now, and say, ‘this was the game that put FSU football back on the map.’

It was as efficient as it was unbelievable. The Seminoles won every aspect of the game soundly. While UF was struggling with UM, the Noles were playing so well I practically lost my voice after the first half. 28-0 after two. Then 55-0 after three. 69-0 when the clock practically struck midnight.

It was the type of game you dream of against a creampuff opponent such as Western Carolina. FSU didn’t make mistakes, their new starting QB Christian Ponder looked sharp. Their offensive line was awesome. They looked like the Seminoles of old.

With the Seminoles lately it hasn’t been the case. No team was a gimme game. Even UAB last year was a dogfight, though the Noles won by 10. By destroying poor Western Carolina the Noles put themselves back on the map a little bit. They have another nobody next week in Chattanooga, and then Wake Forest travels to the Doak in what could be a game that gets FSU it’s ranking back.

They ran around the field with a new jolt of energy. They threw their hands up in the air like kids playing peewee football. For the first time, in a long time, they looked like they were having fun again. And they were. They returned a punt for a touchdown. They ran the ball effectively. They had success through the air. They caught the jump balls. They caught the long balls. They did everything right. They rolled up over 550 yards of offense.

It was, as I like to remind myself, against Western Carolina.

No one’s confusing them for Clemson or Florida.

But for one night the Seminoles got their swagger back. They pounded the Catamounts into oblivion, as their fans screamed so loud, most of them had no voice left when it was all over.

It could be nothing. It could be something.

But there was something different about the Seminoles on this night. They finally looked good again.

They finally looked like the Seminoles.

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