Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via APFlorida State quarterback J.J. Cosentino is sacked by Houston outside linebacker Tyus Bowser during the Peach Bowl on Thursday in Atlanta.

ATLANTA — Already down one quarterback on the depth chart, No. 9 Florida State’s offense came to a screeching halt in the first half after Sean Maguire’s first quarter injury as No. 18 Houston suffocated the Seminoles in a 38-24 victory in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl on New Year’s Eve at the Georgia Dome.

Despite posting a total of 413 yards of offense, Florida State couldn’t manage to move the ball with any consistency all game, or at all throughout a majority of the first half.

Travis Rudolph’s 51-yard catch and run set up a missed 52-yard field goal attempt on the Seminoles’ second possession, and completions of 33 and 31 yards to Ryan Izzo and Rudolph, respectively, led to Roberto Aguayo’s 20-yard field goal one possession later. Aside from those three completions, Florida State ran 29 plays for 17 yards (0.5 yards per play) in the first half against Houston’s blitz-happy defense.

“They did a lot of nice things on third down, a lot of stuff we didn’t see throughout the year. But we practiced it,” Maguire said after the game. “I thought the did a pretty good job. They got us sometimes, and they did play some good coverage behind it as well.

“You know, we made plays and we also didn’t make the plays over there. So we left too many plays on the field.”

After a three-and-out on its first possession, Florida State appeared to find a bit of an offensive rhythm as Maguire completed three passes of 30+ yards on the next two possessions. Unfortunately for the ‘Noles, Maguire injured his ankle a couple plays after the 31-yard pass to Rudolph and had to be taken to the locker room on a cart.

With Maguire out and backup quarterback Everett Golson missing from the team due to personal reasons Florida State was forced to turn to third-string signal caller J.J. Cosentino — a redshirt freshman that entered Thursday with six career pass attempts.

Before Cosentino entered the game the Seminoles had gained 142 yards on 15 plays (9.4 yards per play), but in nine snaps the Cosentino-led offense lost 10 yards (-0.9 yards per play). Maguire returned after missing just two possessions, but it was clear his heavily-tapped ankle prevented him from playing as effectively as he did prior to his exit.

In Florida State’s final three possessions of the first half, the Seminoles were held to zero yards on 10 plays. In all, FSU’s final six drives of the first half totaled negative 15 yards with zero first downs and two turnovers. During that span Houston extended its lead from to 14-3. Dalvin Cook carried the ball 10 times in the first half for 11 yards while losing his first fumble of the season — he’d finish the game with 18 rushes for 38 yards and a score as Houston held the Florida State run game to just 16 yards.

“We just didn’t block them,” said FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher. “There was nothing that we had never seen. They just beat us on blocks. They beat us on blocks and when we did break through the one guy, the safety, or the guy that was coming down, the one-on-ones, they were able to tackle well. And they got (Dalvin) in confined spaces.

“We need to control the line of scrimmage better than we did, and I think that was a big key in what happened in the game.”

In spite of a dreadful first half of offense that left them trailing 21-3 at halftime, the Seminoles were able to make things interesting in the second half. Florida State forced a Houston three-and-out on its first possession of the third quarter, and Maguire directed the ‘Noles on a nine play, 59-yard drive to cut the score to 21-10 on Cook’s one-yard touchdown plunge.

Houston responded with a field goal early in the fourth quarter, but when Maguire connected with Rudolph for a 65-yard touchdown strike to cut the Cougars’ lead to seven, it looked as if the game may come down to the final possessions.

But after a solid showing all game, Florida State’s defense just couldn’t get Houston off the field when it mattered late. The Cougars scored on each of their final two drives after the ‘Noles cut it to a one-possession game to hang on for the 38-24 victory.