The Seminoles haven’t had a top-four winner since the Orange Bowl.
Florida State Seminoles Florida State’s backroom has been hit by several layoffs since the regular season and the ACC Championship. The division will look very different when the Seminoles enter the Orange Bowl with Trey Benson (NFL), Rodney Hill and CJ Campbell out of the program. At least one running back will be missing from Saturday’s lineup.
NoleGameday has been informed by an FSU spokesperson that redshirt junior Lawrance Toafili will not be able to play in the win against the Georgia Bulldogs after undergoing season-ending surgery. That means the Seminoles are out of four South Florida championships and five out of six. Toafili was the team’s leading rusher after rushing 69 times for 463 yards and four touchdowns in the regular season. He also caught 21 passes for 186 yards and another score.
Toafili was named ACC Tournament MVP after rushing 10 times for a career-high 118 yards and 1 touchdown. With Toafili recovering from his injury, redshirt freshman Caziah Holmes and redshirt freshman Jaand Khi Douglas are the two names that started at running back.
Samuel Singleton and Joshua Burrell are the first pair of starters. Holmes served as a reserve player for most of the season. Heand rushed 21 times for 156 yards and two touchdowns and caught four passes for 56 yards and two scores.
Holmes did not record a carry during Florida State’s wins over Florida and Louisville. Singleton has hit just six home runs this season, while Douglas and Burrell have yet to score in the field. Toafili has already announced he plans to return to Florida State for a fifth season in 2024. Heand appeared in 43 games, 15 starts and 231 carries for 1,439 yards and 12 touchdowns.
He caught 67 passes for 690 yards and four touchdowns for the Seminoles. Toafili became just the fifth player in program history to rush for more than 70 yards and a touchdown. Florida State is scheduled to face Georgia in the Orange Bowl to conclude the 2023 campaign. The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. It airs Saturday, December 30 on ESPN.
