Florida State had enough big plays to hang around with Alabama. What it didn’t have was enough stops, enough balance, or enough margin for error.
That’s the ugly part of Saturday’s loss. The Seminoles moved the ball in chunks and even built a multi-touchdown lead in the second quarter, but the game tilted hard once the defense started leaking points and the offense’s turnovers kept piling up. Now FSU is back home for Central Arkansas before a three-game stretch against Virginia, Louisville, and Miami.
“There’s obviously, a handful of plays that we’d love to have back, because I still felt like we left points out there on the field where we got to be better. Unfortunately, defensively, did not play to the standard after those first four drives,” Mike Norvell said Monday to the local Tallahassee media.
The scoreline tells you Florida State was competitive. The details explain why it still lost.
The first and biggest swing: Alabama scored on nine straight drives after the Seminoles opened by forcing a pair of three-and-outs. That’s a brutal sequence for any defense, and it only got worse when the Tide ripped off three touchdowns in 132 seconds to close the first half. A 21-6 Florida State lead flipped into a 26-21 Alabama advantage, and the Noles never fully recovered.
From there, Alabama kept the pressure on by finding the end zone on its first two possessions of the second half, then rolling into five straight touchdown drives. Florida State’s defense simply never got back on schedule, and it never forced a punt after the first quarter.
“We look at how much are we asking guys to do, the confidence, the speed, the reactions of what shows up on film because it’s not good enough. They scored on nine straight drives in the game… And so, that was definitely, something that was disappointing to see.
I mean, we did get a little worn down there towards the back part of the game. They did a good job throughout it and our depth has been tested.”
The run defense was the other major crack. Alabama managed just 13 rushing yards on 10 carries in the first quarter, which made it look like Florida State might have the front to hold up.
That didn’t last. By the fourth quarter, the Tide were hammering away on the ground, piling up 124 rushing yards on 14 carries in the final period alone, including 80 yards on the ground during a 90-yard touchdown march that pushed the lead to 50-36.
Depth was part of the problem. Four Florida State defensive linemen played 40 snaps or more, which was well above the 50% cap Norvell says he wants to keep for that group.
On the other side, four defensive linemen played 22 snaps or fewer as the staff kept trying to bring younger pieces along. However that balance is being handled, the result was the same: the front wore down.
“We’re playing a lot of guys that are kind of getting thrust into action a little bit, and that’s an opportunity, but you gotta take advantage of it when you get in the game. And, that’s, that’s part of your continued growth. Some positions are a little thinner than others, when it comes to that.”
Florida State’s offense also lived and died on the explosive play. The Seminoles hit 10 explosive plays, and 344 of Ashton Daniels’ 377 passing yards came on those snaps.
Duce Robinson was a major piece of that damage, finishing with six catches for 135 yards and a touchdown, plus a 40-yard grab. Michai Danzy added three receptions for 89 yards, including a 56-yard catch.
But those chunk gains masked the rougher stretches underneath. Daniels completed fewer than 60% of his passes for the second straight game, and the offense never really found steady rhythm from down to down.
According to gameonpaper.com, Florida State had an explosive-play rate of 17%, which ranked in the 99th percentile, but its 45% success rate sat in the 53rd percentile. In other words, the big shots were there, but the consistency wasn’t.
That’s where the interceptions came in. With so much of the offense built around pushing the ball vertically, Daniels was forced into a few throws he couldn’t afford.
“There might be some games that you throw a few times, right, because of what things look like. Then there’s gonna be times that you got to be able to push the ball down the field. I thought they did a good job in their preparation and executing when we get those opportunities for those throws and plays.”
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With the offense ranking 65th in the FBS and Ashton Daniels sitting at four touchdown passes and four interceptions, the scrutiny around that decision has only grown. Inside the staff, there are other options with more direct quarterback experience, including Tom Herman and Brady White, which makes the current arrangement look even more unusual as Florida State searches for answers through the air. [Read more 🡒]
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The outburst also came with some grit behind it, because Howard was coming off losses to Valdosta and Perry before finally breaking through. Poole also chipped in seven tackles and a tackle for loss, underscoring how much he affects the game on both sides of the ball, and he and his teammates made clear afterward that the lesson was about learning to keep fighting until the end. [Read more 🡒]