Seminoles, Cook bounce back

TAMPA, Fla. — Those questions about whether Dalvin Cook can recover from a slow start? He just answered them.

The shifty Florida State running back rushed for a career-high 267 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, helping the 13th-ranked Seminoles rebound from the most lopsided loss in school history with a 55-35 rout of previously unbeaten South Florida.

Cook has had a quiet season after rushing for an FSU-record 1,691 yards as a sophomore, raising questions about why he had not been as productive in his team’s first three games.

“People get caught up in having the stats, but we have to go out there and play the same football every week. We have to run the ball and we have to pass the ball, we just did a better job this week,” Cook said. “When [the team] calls my number I just try to get the job done.”

Cook scored on a 75-yard run on the Seminoles’ first play from scrimmage, an immediate response to USF starting the game with Quinton Flowers and Rodney Adams teaming on an 84-yard catch-and-run for a quick 7-0 lead. The 213-pound junior’s rushing total on 28 carries topped his previous best of 266 yards against USF last year.

“It was very important to answer back. USF came out with a very aggressive game plan, and we had to respond with points,” Cook said. “The offensive line did a good job of giving me space, and I was one-on-one with the safety and I had to beat him.”

Florida State (3-1) bounced back from being trounced 63-20 by Louisville, a road shellacking that dropped the Seminoles 11 spots in the AP Top 25 poll.

“Dalvin had a nice day,” Coach Jimbo Fisher said, although he wasn’t happy that his team yielded five touchdowns and 450 yards on defense. “We have to learn to finish games and play the full 60 minutes.”

USF (3-1) is off to its fastest start since 2011, but the Bulls were no match for a talented bunch that began the season with expectations of contending for its second national title in four years.

“I looked at this game as an opportunity for our football team to get a little more respect nationally,” USF Coach Willie Taggart said.

“We didn’t take advantage of that.”

In other games involving American Athletic Conference teams, Phillip Walker threw two touchdown passes as Temple (2-2) used a quick-strike offense in a 28-point second quarter to roll to a 48-20 victory over UNC Charlotte (1-3) in Philadelphia. … Tion Green ran for 83 yards and a late touchdown, rallying host Cincinnati (3-1) to a 27-20 victory over Miami (Ohio) (0-4), its 11th in a row over the regional rival. … Amba Etta-Tawo caught 12 passes for a school-record 270 yards and 2 touchdowns and Syracuse (2-2) beat Connecticut (2-2) 31-24 in East Hartford, Conn.