Barring a letdown of dramatic proportions, No. 4 Florida State was expected to easily handle Southern Miss and the Seminoles did not disappoint. Florida State racked up 554 yards en route to a 66-13 victory over the Golden Eagles.

Trey Benson rushed for 79 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jordan Travis struggled with accuracy (15-of-29) but threw for 2 scores. Mike Norvell was able to clear the bench with 9 players recording a carry and 11 players recording a pass reception.

Player of the week: Benson took a backseat to Keon Coleman and the passing game during the season opener against LSU. The running game was in the spotlight for Game 2, and Benson needed just 9 carries to do his damage with touchdown runs of 42, 19 and 3 yards. He also added a catch for 20 yards. Benson has been getting light work so far and he should be fresh when they need to ramp up his workload later in the season.

Freshman of the week: Plenty of freshmen and walk-ons got to see the field during the 2nd half Saturday, and they all tried to make the most of that opportunity. Freshman wide receiver Vandrevius Jacobs made his 1st catch count with a 13-yard touchdown from backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker during the 4th quarter. Also a mention to freshmen Destyn Hill (1 catch, 18 yards) and Hykeem Williams (1 catch, 9 yards) for getting on the stat sheet.

Biggest surprise: Running back Caziah Holmes, a transfer from Penn State, put his name in the hat to get more touches after rushing for 63 yards and a touchdown in mop-up duty. Holmes, a redshirt junior, was a blue-chip prospect coming out of Cocoa, Fla., and is trying to get his name called as the primary backup behind Benson and Lawrance Toafili.

Biggest concern: The defense is playing very well, but it isn’t forcing a lot of turnovers — just 2 through 2 games. Granted the turnover that was forced Saturday was an interception returned for a touchdown by Jarrian Jones, so the quality is there, but the Seminoles are capable of more.

The pass rush is lethal and the defensive line looks as good as ever. With the pressure the Seminoles get up front you would think they would have no problem getting turnovers, but they haven’t come yet. Despite the lopsided score and holding the Golden Eagles to just 258 yards, the Seminoles defense only had 4 tackles for loss. They are capable of more.

The other concern is Johnny Wilson, who had 2 more drops and looks more like the unmotivated prospect Arizona State let jump in the portal than the rising star we saw last season. I wonder if Coleman’s presence on the team and immediate ascension to WR1 has Wilson a little frustrated.

Developing trend: Norvell was able to get a lot of players touches this weekend and that basically meant light work for top guys like Coleman (3 catches, 48 yards with an amazing catch & run for 34 yards), Wilson (0 catches, 2 drops) and Jaheim Bell (0 catches). There could be an effort to get those guys more involved early next weekend against Boston College.

Key stat: The Seminoles averaged 8.3 yards on the ground Saturday night as they amassed 306 yards on 37 carries. Florida State has been balanced and efficient in its offense through a couple of games.

First impression about Week 4 at Boston College: Florida State, now ranked No. 3 in The Associated Press poll, should be heavily favored in its ACC opener after the Eagles struggled Saturday to beat Holy Cross. It could be another week when Norvell is able to clear the bench if the Seminoles put up a lot of points early, so the focus can switch to the upcoming showdown against Clemson.