Florida State's Francois channels Winston in epic debut

Through two quarters of Monday's game against No. 11 Ole Miss, the on-field performance of Deondre Francois did not remind anyone of Jameis Winston.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback starred in his first college game as a freshman for Florida State in 2013, completing an absurd 25-of-27 passes for 356 yards and four touchdowns. Francois is the latest high-profile freshman to start at quarterback for Jimbo Fisher, but judging by this sideline exchange, comparisons to the 2013 Heisman winner seemed foolish by the midway point against the Rebels.

With three minutes left in the first half, No. 4 Florida State was getting crushed to the tune of 28-6. Francois and the offense couldn't handle the Rebels' ferocious pass rush, and the Seminoles looked lost.

As time ticked down in the first half, it looked as though the Seminoles would be forced to settle for a lengthy field-goal attempt to cut the lead to 28-6. Faced with a third-and-10, Francois showed remarkable poise in the pocket, getting hammered while completing a touchdown pass to Travis Rudolph. It was a sign of things to come in the second half.

With the Florida State defense absolutely owning Ole Miss in the third quarter, Francois got the offense in gear, scoring on five straight possessions to erase the 15-point halftime deficit.

As if defending Francois through the air wasn't tough enough, he also brought a threat in the run game that Winston rarely showed.

His 419 yards passing in his first ever college game represent the second-highest freshman total in Florida State history, trailing Winston's 444-yard Week 6 performance against Clemson in 2013. Here's how his final numbers stack up compared to Winston's debut performance against Pitt.

While the Rebels lost some key pieces on defense, Ole Miss is still one of the more formidable units in the country, and Francois shredded them following a tough start.

Florida State has one of the nation's most talented rosters, and if Francois is able to perform at the level he did against Ole Miss, he might be able to duplicate the national championship Winston delivered in his first season.