Florida State gets its 1st win of 2017, knocking off undefeated Wake Forest (yes, really)

Florida State erased a three-point deficit with 10 points in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter to avoid an 0-3 start and get a 26-19 win over Wake Forest.

The Seminoles struggled to pass the ball for much of the game, and entered the fourth quarter with just 31 yards from quarterback James Blackman, who was thrust into action for Deondre Francois earlier in the month.

Blackman more than doubled his passing total on the day with a 43-yard pass in the fourth quarter that set up a game-tying field goal for Ricky Aguayo, and then saved the day with a 40-yard touchdown in the final minute to Auden Tate.

The true freshman quarterback fared much better in a losing effort last week, but he came up big in the end. For the much of the day, he struggled against the Wake Forest secondary, and it was the combination of Jacques Patrick and Cam Akers that had to lead the way for the Seminoles’ offense.

Patrick ran for 120 yards and a touchdown against Wake Forest, but the Florida State offense was set back by negative plays. The Demon Deacons finished with a school record 18 tackles for loss in the game.

The Florida State offensive line allowed Blackman to be pressured consistently and sacked five times. The freshman got caught taking too much time on some of the hits, but on others he had no chance.

Wake Forest’s John Wolford had much more success Saturday with 271 yards passing and 63 yards rushing, but touchdowns were still hard to come by against the FSU defense.

The senior led the team on a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that gave his team a brief lead before the Seminoles tied it back up and eventually stole the game after the defense came up big with a pair of late stops. Still, Wake Forest came really close to hauling in one final Hail Mary to potentially tie the game at 26-26.

It’s the first loss of the year for Wake Forest, which was close to getting its first 5-0 start since 2006 — a season that ended with a trip to the Orange Bowl.

With the win, Florida State avoided an 0-3 start, something the team hasn’t had since Bobby Bowden’s first season as the team’s head coach in 1976. At 1-1 in the ACC and 1-2 overall, the team still has its hands full but is still alive in the chase to take down Clemson in the Atlantic Division.