TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State honored its 1993 national championship team before Saturday's game.
And then the 2013 Seminoles turned in a dominating performance as they continue their chase for a title.
Florida State routed Syracuse 59-3 on Saturday afternoon, completing a perfect 8-0 run through the Atlantic Coast Conference. With the exception of a 14-point win at Boston College, Florida State has won each game by 28 or more points.
"The energy inside of Doak Campbell right now is absolutely amazing," said Ken Alexander, who led the 1993 team with 122 tackles. "I think that we feel that same thing that we felt when we won the national championship. And they have all the talent to do it."
Florida State is now 10-0 for the first time since 1999, which was the second time that the program won a national title.
Here are five observations from Florida State's dismantling of Syracuse:
1. Florida State is clearly the class of ACC.
Is the rest of the ACC this bad? Or is Florida State this good? Perhaps it's a little of both.
The Seminoles have outscored their conference rivals 411-98. That includes two routs of teams that were in the top 10, Miami and Clemson, as well as then-No. 25 Maryland.
While the Coastal Division remains up for grabs, Florida State is the clear favorite to win its second straight ACC title.
2. The offense is among the best in school history.
Florida State now has scored 40 or more points in 10 straight games, extending a school record. The Seminoles have so many playmakers that they find so many different ways to score.
Passing? Kelvin Benjamin, Rashad Greene and Nick O'Leary all had touchdown receptions. Running? James Wilder had two touchdown runs, while Devonta Freeman and Kermit Whitfield each had touchdown runs.
Florida State had 374 offensive yards by halftime, which is when Winston's day was over. Backup quarterback Sean Maguire took over from there, and the Seminoles finished with 523 yards.
3. O'Leary is the best tight end in school history.
Nick O'Leary caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Maguire in the third quarter, giving him seven touchdowns in 2013. A junior, O'Leary has 11 touchdowns in his career, more than any other tight end in school history.
Melvin Pearsall and Lonnie Johnson both had 10 touchdowns when they played for Florida State in the 1990s. But Florida State hasn't had a tight end like O'Leary, who can catch and block well, in a long time. O'Leary's 26 receptions this season is also among the best single seasons by a Florida State tight end.
4. The defense continues to keep teams off the scoreboard.
Florida State kept Syracuse off the board for the first 52 minutes of the game. For perspective, the Orange had scored 56 points in a win at Georgia Tech just a few weeks ago.
It was the second straight week that Florida State's first-team offense didn't allow a point. Wake Forest had a fourth-quarter field goal, the same thing Syracuse had on Saturday.
The Seminoles have now held five teams to seven points or fewer five times this season. And in the past six games, Florida State has allowed just 48 points.
5. Florida State's defense is outscoring opponents some weeks.
The Seminoles scored a defensive touchdown when Chris Casher forced Syracuse quarterback Terrel Hunt to fumble, and Casher then returned it 31 yards for a touchdown.
Florida State now has six defensive touchdowns this season, including two touchdowns in the win last week at Wake Forest. The Seminoles have also forced a turnover in every game this season.
