The 5th-ranked Florida State Seminoles, fresh off of a bye week, came out of the gate strong Saturday against the Virginia Tech Hokies and posted a 39-17 victory. The Seminoles piled on 22 points in the 1st quarter and then were hit-or-miss for the next 3 quarters.

Virginia Tech kept it interesting with 17 unanswered points between the 2nd and 3rd quarters, but Florida State got 2 long touchdown runs from Trey Benson during the 2nd half to keep the distance and win comfortably. The win extends the Seminoles’ streak to 11 straight.

With the season approaching the midway point there are a lot of questions about how good the Seminoles are? They clearly appear to be among the top 2 teams in the ACC, but are they a playoff -caliber team? It’s a question we might not can answer until December.

Player of the week: We’ve been waiting for Benson to have a breakout game and Saturday was it. The junior had touchdown runs of 62 and 85 yards during the 2nd half to make up the majority of his 200-yard day. Benson needed just 11 carries for an astonishing 18.2 yards per carry. Florida State needed Benson’s 2nd-half heroics to pull away from a Virginia Tech team that seemed to be game for the challenge after stumbling through the opening quarter. The Seminoles can only hope Benson is well rested, healthy and ready to roll for the stretch run when his touches should increase.

Give honorable mentions to defensive ends Jared Verse (2 sacks) and Patrick Payton (1.5 sacks, forced fumble), who seemed to make the right plays at the right times to keep Virginia Tech from getting too close.

Freshman of the week: It took a few years for Destyn Hill to get to Florida State despite several announcements regarding his arrival. We saw a glimpse of what the former top-150 recruit could do in the future with a 30-yard catch during the 3rd quarter that help set up a field goal. There has been a lot of practice hype around the wide receiver depth at FSU, but it mostly has been Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson doing the heavy lifting. The Seminoles could use a 3rd receiver to step up between Hill, Winston Wright Jr., Kentron Poitier and Ja’Khi Douglas. Hill might be getting a little separation from the pack.

Biggest surprise: I admit to not completely trusting FSU’s defense, but it is a solid group in the red zone. For another week the Seminoles’ defense bent at times, but it tightened up in the red zone to make plays. Verse’s sacks came at key times when the Hokies were driving during the 2nd half. Florida State stopped Virginia Tech on downs at the 15 when the Hokies were trying to make it a 1-score game and forced a fumble at the FSU 28 that effectively sealed the victory.

Biggest concern: Penalties were a problem. FSU was flagged 12 times for 99 yards and a few of them kept the defense on the field. After starting the game by forcing Virginia Tech into 3 consecutive 3-and-out drives, the Seminoles had issues getting off the field early. During the 2nd quarter Virginia Tech had an 8-play, 76-yard drive that led to a field goal and a 16-play, 70-yard drive that led to a touchdown. Those drives took almost 11 minutes total. Teams that are patient and willing to nickel-and-dime their way down the field against FSU have had some success.

Developing trend: Florida State seems to have a tough time closing out games early. Virginia Tech was ready to be taken out during the 2nd quarter and the Seminoles didn’t do it. Instead the Hokies got a couple of long drives aided by penalties and kept the outcome in doubt until the 4th quarter. More discipline and a better sense of urgency likely would’ve decided this game at halftime. I’ve heard many people say FSU is playing its “C-plus” game and winning, but how do we know that? This might be what the Seminoles are in 2023. Will it be good enough to win the ACC? Possibly. Is it good enough to win out and get into the playoff?

Key stats: FSU held the Hokies to 2-of-13 on 3rd-down conversion attempts, but they were 3-of-4 on 4th-down tries. The Seminoles averaged a solid 7.4 yards per play and 7.8 yards per carry.

First impression about Week 7 vs. Syracuse: The 2nd of 3 consecutive road games will come against the Orange, which started 4-0 but has gotten outscored 71-21 in its past 2 games — losses to Clemson and at No. 14 North Carolina. It’s another middle-of-road conference team that Florida State should handle rather easily. With that being said, we’ll see what kind of game FSU brings to the table and how well the Seminoles’ defense handles the dual-threat abilities of Orange quarterback Garrett Shrader.