If Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is bothered that he is under investigation for an alleged sexual assault from December 2012, it didn't show Saturday. He threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns in a half of action as the Seminoles blasted Syracuse 59-3.
Winston, a redshirt freshman, completed 19 of his 21 attempts in leading FSU, No. 2 in this week's BCS standings, to a 38-0 halftime lead. Both of Winston's TD passes covered six yards: to Rashad Greene at the end of the first quarter and to Kelvin Benjamin early in the second quarter.
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"I thought he played exceptionally well," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said about Winston after the game. "His mind was really in the game."
Backup Sean Maguire played the second half and attempted just five passes.
FSU finished with 523 total yards, but had the ball for just 18:18 and had four third-down conversion opportunities, converting one.
The Seminoles scored TDs on each of their first five possessions; the drives lasted a total of 24 plays and covered 348 yards.
Winston's 90.5 completion percentage wasn't a career-high; he was 25 of 27 (92.6 percent) in the opener against Pitt. It was the ninth time in 10 games he threw at least two TD passes and the first time in five games he didn't toss an interception.
Earlier in the day, Leon County (Fla.) State Attorney Willie Meggs told The Associated Press that prosecutors are setting up an interview with the victim, who has moved out of state, in the alleged sexual assault tied to Winston. They expect to close the investigation in a few weeks.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
