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Rebels Will Face Redshirt Freshman FSU Quarterback

Labor Day just got a little more interesting.

It was already going to be an interesting evening with the University of Mississippi facing Florida State University as the last college-football game of new season’s first week.

Both teams meet for a neutral-site game in Orlando, Fla., in the http://www.campingworldstadium.com/events/detail/florida-state-vs-ole-miss-2016-orlando-kickoff-game">2016 Camping World Kickoff. This game is one of the most anticipated during the opening weekend of the 2016 college-football season.

There are questions surrounding both of these teams, but then again, there are questions surrounding every team this time of year. One question for the Seminoles has been answered.

FSU knows who will be http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/17301074/deondre-francois-florida-state-seminoles-preparing-start-sean-maguire-injury">starting the season opener at quarterback. The decision was made for the Seminoles when quarterback Sean Maguire broke a bone in his foot, which will require surgery and force him to miss at least four weeks.

The fifth-year senior went http://www.espn.com/college-football/player/gamelog/_/id/530299/sean-maguire">4-2 last season after taking over for Everett Golson when the University of Notre Dame transfer struggled. http://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/530299/sean-maguire">Maguire appeared in eight games last season and threw for 1,520 yards with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions.

One of the two losses from games in which Maguire started was against Clemson University, who went on to play the University of Alabama for the national championship. The other loss was to the University of Houston in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, which he played with a broken ankle.

The Seminoles must now turn to redshirt freshman http://www.seminoles.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=32900&ATCLID=210232521">Deondre Francois at quarterback. For Francois, this game is a homecoming after he left Olympia High School in Orlando to spend his senior season in Bradenton, Fla., at IMG Academy, a renowned boarding school and sports-training facility.

While Maguire was a known commodity, the Rebels will now face an unknown, at least at the college level, at quarterback. FSU is hoping to capture lightning in a bottle twice and hoping that Francois will be the second coming of Jameis Winston, the last redshirt freshman to start at quarterback for the Seminoles.

Francois will have one of the best friends a new starting quarterback can ask for, and that is a strong running game. FSU boasts running back Dalvin Cook, a Heisman Trophy contender and a threat to take any handoff he receives to the house.

Stopping Cook is the best way for the Rebels to win this game. If FSU can’t run, then it would force Francois to beat them, and UM can unleash its pass rush.

As always, it is easier said than done, and few teams have been able to stop Cook when he is fully healthy. The running back was a one-man wrecking crew even when he was banged up last season.

The Seminoles hope to have one of the best defenses in the country, and that unit will have to be good to keep Rebels quarterback Chad Kelly under wraps. Kelly will try not to get outshined by the guy making his first college-football start.

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