Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois growing up as year progresses

Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois continues to impress with his play despite taking plenty of hard hits.

Francois has completed 63 percent of his passes and thrown nine touchdowns heading into the 14th-ranked Seminoles’ ACC matchup with Wake Forest on Saturday in Tallahassee. What makes coach Jimbo Fisher even happier is that Francois has only two interceptions and has not had a turnover in the past three games.

Besides being able to be efficient with the ball, Fisher has been pleased with Francois’ toughness.

Even though he had to be checked out twice by the training staff for a possible shoulder injury, Francois was able to rally FSU to a 20-19 win at No. 16 Miami. During the third quarter he was 10 of 11 for 144 yards and threw a pair of second-half touchdowns as the Seminoles (4-2, 1-2) came back from a 13-point deficit.

“It’s not about if the guy doesn’t have the ability to run it. It’s do they have the little intangibles to be able to stand there and take that toughness,” Fisher said. “That’s exactly why he’s playing. He has that innate ability for a young guy to process that and do it.”

Francois has also been able to show off more of his ability as a dual-threat quarterback as the season has progressed. He is averaging 42.7 rushing yards over the past three games and has two touchdowns.

Running back Dalvin Cook said Francois is playing like a veteran and not a freshman.

“You can see he’s going through his progressions more, smoother,” Cook added. “His confidence level was through the roof since from the beginning of the season, but he’s a little more comfortable back there in the pocket.”

Fisher and the Seminoles are hoping they can continue to sustain momentum from the Miami win. Wake Forest is also coming in with confidence. It is 5-1 for the first time since winning the ACC title in 2006.

The Demon Deacons, who are 2-1 in conference, played the Seminoles tough last season. They had a chance to tie late before a fourth-quarter interception helped preserve a 24-16 FSU win.

Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson has also been impressed with what he has seen from Francois on tape.

“He just makes throws beyond his years. He anticipates windows. Some of the tight spaces he throws the ball into is incredible,” Clawson said. “He throws the ball well on the run and he’s also a versatile athlete.”

UNC-Miami: There seems to be a lot of anger around Miami this week.

Such is to be expected after losing to archrival Florida State yet again, with the Hurricanes falling when a potentially game-tying extra point was blocked in the final moments a week ago. And Miami hasn’t forgotten the beating North Carolina administered a year ago, when the Tar Heels rolled to a 59-21 win and enjoyed it a little too much for the Hurricanes’ liking.

“They embarrassed us last year obviously, and we have a chip on our shoulders about that,” Miami defensive end Trent Harris said. “Especially after this loss, we’re going to make someone pay.”

Here comes Miami’s chance. The 16th-ranked Hurricanes (4-1, 1-1 ACC) play host to North Carolina (4-2, 2-1) Saturday afternoon, a game that shapes up to be critical for the hopes of each club in the Coastal Division race.

“It’s going to be huge,” North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said. “Another ranked opponent on the road in a hostile environment.”

It’s the third straight week that North Carolina has faced a ranked foe. The Tar Heels beat Florida State two weeks ago on a field goal at the buzzer, then lost to Virginia Tech last week in a downpour brought on by Hurricane Matthew. North Carolina looked so out of sorts in the 34-3 loss that Miami didn’t even put much stock in the game film – knowing the weather was an enormous factor.

Miami is considerably banged up. Offensive lineman Sunny Odogwu is out after surgery for a broken leg suffered in last week’s Florida State loss, and quarterback Brad Kaaya dealt with shoulder issues in practice this week as well.

The Tar Heels have a chance to become the second team since 1973 to win at Florida State and Miami in the same season. Virginia pulled it off in 2011.

This story was originally published October 15, 2016 at 12:14 AM with the headline "Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois growing up as year progresses."