E.J. Manuel threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns and fifth-ranked Florida State opened the season with a 34-0 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday.

Bert Reed and Greg Dent each had touchdown receptions and freshman Devonta Freeman had a 1-yard touchdown run for the Seminoles (1-0), who entered with their highest preseason ranking in nine years.

Louisiana-Monroe (0-1), which entered as 30 ½ point underdog, has lost 18 straight road openers. The Warhawks, who were picked to finished tied for third in the Sun Belt Conference, are the only team in Division I to open each of the last four seasons against ranked opponents.

The latest was Florida State, which is favored to win its first ACC title since 2005 in Jimbo Fisher’s second season. The Seminoles’ championship aspirations rest on the broad shoulders of Manuel, a 6-4, 245-pound junior who is replacing first-round NFL draft pick Christian Ponder.

Manuel looked both polished and skittish at times against the Warhawks’ 3-3-5 scheme. He completed 22 of 34 passes in his seventh-career start, but also threw an interception in the red zone. Manuel made up for the second-quarter miscue with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Dent that made it 17-0 with 1:09 left in the half. Freeman’s 1-yard plunge with 8:35 left in the third capped a 14-play, 66-yard drive and made it 24-0.

Florida State faces Charleston Southern next week before a measuring-stick rematch with top-ranked Oklahoma. The Sooners blasted the Seminoles, 47-17 last season.