Florida State's 1st Quarter Against NC State Needed A Mercy Rule

After 13 minutes of football today, Florida State was beating North Carolina State 35-0. The game was over. Here's how that happened:

The Wolfpack opens the game with a 63-yard kickoff return. Two plays later, NC State's Brandon Mitchell throws an interception to Terrence Brooks at the Florida State 35-yard line. Three complete passes and an 18-yard touchdown run was all it takes for Florida State to score. 7-0.

NC State next goes three-and-out. Florida State gets a tidy punt return and scores one play later, a 39-yard strike from Jameis Winston to Kelvin Benjamin. After less than four minutes, it's 14-0.

The Wolfpack again goes three-and-out, with zero yards, and a sum offensive output of six yards. After the punt, the Seminoles march 62 yards in seven plays, in their only possession of the quarter longer than two minutes. 21-0.

The Wolfpack get the ball back and rushes for one yard, then for minus-12 yards with a fumble. The Seminoles recover at the Wolfpack 14. Winston finally throws an incompletion. Then he throws a touchdown. The 11-second drive makes it 28-0.

Now, 9 minutes into the game, the Wolfpack finally move the ball. NC States gets a first down. Then it loses a yard over the next three plays and punts from its own 37. Winston leads the team 89 yards in five plays, including a 42-yard touchdown pass. 35-0. The Wolfpack get the ball back and manage to hang onto the ball for the final two minutes of the quarter.

The second quarter hasn't been so explosive, not that it matters. It's still early for this kind of talk, but in about a month we're going to be debating how to cram Alabama, Oregon and Florida State into a single national title game, and wondering why we're still waiting a year for a playoff.