The college football season started with a bang. Georgia Tech shocked the country by kicking a game-winning field goal to knock off the top ten Seminoles 24-21. FSU came into the game at a ten-point favorite, and fans and critics left it feeling drastically underwhelmed by what they saw. After rebuilding through the transfer portal again, many folks saw FSU as a college football playoff lock. However, the less talented Georgia Tech team dominated the 'Noles physically on both ends of the ball. It was especially shocking because FSU reporters and ESPN analysts claimed the FSU would have a dominant offensive and defensive line. The most surprising of all of these things is that Florida State was out-coached and out-game-planed by the Yellow Jackets. To discuss what happened on Saturday afternoon, I'll break down the game and show clips of what happened and why.
FSU Offense Stalls
Florida State started with the ball in Ireland, and the drive was very successful. They marched the ball 75 yards down the field in seven plays and even successfully converted a two-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead early in the first quarter. On that drive, FSU gave the ball to their highly athletic playmakers and let them do their thing. They called good plays that showed they weren't afraid to be there and knew their team was better than Georgia Tech. Lawrence Toafili capped off the drive with a 28-yard touchdown run. That was his first carry of the game, and it was supposed to be just the appetizer of what he would accomplish in this game. Unfortunately, Toafili would finish the game with only eight carries. Another part of why that drive worked so well was the play calls. The explosive Jaylin Lucas, who FSU acquired in the transfer portal, had two touches that possession, resulting in first downs. Despite the early success, Lucas would only receive one more hand-off for the rest of the game. After this drive, the offense fell apart, and they would not have another successful one until the fourth quarter.
What hindered the offense in the rest of the game was the playcalling. Not throwing the ball downfield and utilizing your playmakers created many stalls in the offense's production. In the first half, DJ Uiagalelei's average depth of target was -0.1 yards down the field. To me, that felt like a complete waste of Uiagalelei's talents. FSU brought DJ in because of his arm strength and ability to throw the ball down the field. DJ's arm talent was nonexistent on Saturday because he didn't get the chance to showcase it. FSU called passing plays as if they were in wildcat formation or their quarterback was a true freshman. DJ is a redshirt senior who is one of the country's most experienced college football players; why treat them like he can't throw a football? If you don't trust him, put someone else in. When FSU was trailing, I finally saw the passing plays I expected to see all game. DJ started airing the ball out in the fourth quarter, resulting in success. Which made me think, why weren't they doing this the whole time?
On FSU's final possession, DJ Uiagalelei led the team to a 15-play 84-yard drive that ended in a touchdown. On that drive, DJ completed six passes for 82 yards. Two completed passes occurred on fourth and longs, and another converted on third down. Down by seven, DJ showed actual guts in that drive, and when allowed to throw the ball more than two yards down the field, he did well. I don't understand why he wasn't getting this opportunity earlier in the game when FSU struggled immensely in the run game.
The FSU run game had high expectations going into the year. They were supposed to be one of the best-run offenses in the country. They were supposed to dominate Georgia Tech. Last season, Georgia Tech had one of the worst run defenses in the entire country. Things took a sour turn for the Noles on Saturday. Georgia Tech flipped those expectations on its head and dominated FSU's run game. They finished the game by rushing for only 98 yards on 31 attempts. That averaged out to a measly 3.2 yards per attempt. It's genuinely disappointing to see because of how good this offensive line is supposed to be. The FSU offensive line is one of the most experienced position groups ever, having multiple sixth-year seniors. The FSU offense also consists of a stable of quality running backs who were all supposed to shine on Saturday but also struggled. Though those two position groups struggled, the play-calling worsened things.
Georgia Tech stacked the box with defenders during the game, trying to take away the run. Florida State was either arrogant or obtuse here as they continued to try and run the ball despite the failures that came with it. It's like FSU was hoping that, at one point, a run would break free like it did on that first drive. That never came, of course, and that left FSU with their hands in their pockets as they were embarrassed by that Georgia Tech defense.
Georgia Tech Dominates the Trenches
The success of the Georgia Tech offense was not surprising to me. I knew they had a lot of good players returning from last year. However, they succeeded in more areas than just moving the football. They ate up the clock. College football added new rules to the game clock this year. The clock will only stop after every first down if you're inside the final two minutes of each half. Georgia Tech took massive advantage of this rule and essentially shortened the game. Each team only had seven possessions, whereas last year, you would usually see that number double on average. The most impressive use of this rule was in the fourth quarter when Georgia Tech drained so much clock that FSU only had ONE possession in the entire quarter. Lowering the number of times FSU was on offense allowed Georgia Tech to never get behind by much and never gave FSU a chance to respond. This game plan was a genius coaching strategy that made Brent Key look like an elite coach, which he might be.
Georgia Tech historically has been a heavy running team, and it's only been over the last few years that they've developed more of a modern offense with lots of passing. FSU decided they would play their defense for most of the game to help defend the pass. However, that backfired as Georgia Tech had no problems reverting to that heavy run offense. Georgia Tech ran the ball at will against the 'Noles. FSU thought they could rely on their talented defensive line to hold their own in the run game. The defensive line fell flat, and Georgia Tech rushed for 190 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. The Tech offensive line bulldozed their way forward, doing whatever they wanted. The will at which they ran the ball shocked me. Many FSU defensive linemen are supposed to be high-round draft picks next season. FSU's stars of the defense I talked about last week were all shut up and shut out. The lack of success on the interior should not discredit Georgia Tech's offensive line. Their experience proved how reliable and efficient they are. This game proved that the Georgia Tech offense is legit, and they will be a problem this season.
Along with the defensive line, the FSU linebackers needed help. The question marks I had about the linebackers going into the game proved to be a worthy concern because they looked flat-out lost at times. Even when they weren't lost, they looked slow. Several times, a linebacker would read a play correctly, and they would get outrun by whoever they were chasing. Several times, Haynes King would keep the ball and run down the sideline before cutting upfield and gaining seven or eight yards. If this unathletic and unintelligent play from the linebackers continues, it'll be a long season.
What's Next for the 'Noles?
Losing a game this early in the year won't destroy FSU's post-season chances, especially with the new CFP expansion. They can treat this as a bad loss but not a season-ending loss. So it's back to the grind this week. Shake off the jet lag and get back to work. FSU's next game will be on Labor Day against Boston College. It'll be their home opener, but it will welcome fewer fans because of the construction in the stadium. FSU needs a big bounceback in this one, but unfortunately, I have my concerns because their opponent is Boston College. Boston College, of course, isn't a powerhouse, but last year, Boston College gave FSU big-time fits as they barely beat the Eagles 31-29. If last year's team struggled with them, it could be even worse with this year's team, especially when quarterback Thomas Castellanos is returning. FSU has to hope they got all their first game jitters out, and the coaches must be ready to make the proper adjustments. Primetime for the Noles awaits again, and all eyes will be on the garnet and gold again.
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