A prime-timematchup on ESPN, between Florida State and SMU on Monday, suffered a delayedkickoff due to a power outage that shut down the stadium lights at DoakCampbell Stadium.
After a 1 hour, 45-minute delay to sort out the electricalissues, enough lights came back on to the joy of fans who remained in the stands.
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The twoteams retook the field, more than ready and anxious for battle. However, once toemet leather, it was lights’ out of a different sort for the Seminoles.
FirstHalf
After forcingan SMU turnover, a three and out on their first offensive possession forFlorida State was a bad omen.
The demonsof miscommunication in the pass defense of the Seminoles manifested themselveson just the second offensive possession of SMU, with a 50-yard strike byquarterback Kevin Jennings to a wide-open Jalen Cooper for an early 7-0 lead.
FloridaState answered with a touchdown drive of their own, capped off with a scoringrun by quarterback Ashton Daniels to tie the game at 7-7.
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After amissed field goal by SMU, the Seminoles gave the ball right back on fourth downwith a toss sweep that was gobbled up for a loss by the gang-tackling SMUdefense in Florida State territory.
SMU scoredon their next two possessions to take a 17-10 lead at halftime.
Takeaways
FloridaState did not correct any of the issues from week zero against New MexicoState, especially in their pass defense. Jennings shredded the Seminoles’ defensive backs for 224 yards and two touchdowns, and completed 74 percent of hispasses (12-of-19). SMU gained 328 yards of total offense on the Florida Statedefense, and is 5-of-8 on third down conversions in the first 30 minutes. SMUis as advertised.
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Coach MikeNorvell was not creative in his play-calling, and Daniels was terrible throwingthe football: 52 passing yards, zero touchdowns through the air. It appearsthat some of that growth experienced during the spring and summer has beenstunted. The Seminoles were 0-for-6 on third down conversions.
TheSeminoles gained just 165 total yards, led by the rushing attack of 113 yards.Running back Ousmane Kromah was the leading rusher in the first half for FloridaState with 69 yards on eight carries (8.6-yard average). Florida State receiverDuce Robinson had just two targets and one catch for 15 yards, and notouchdowns.
FloridaState got the ball first to start the third quarter.
SecondHalf
Florida State’sfirst possession resulted in a punt. On the ensuing drive, Jennings threw aninterception in the end zone. The drive stalled for Florida State, and they linedup to punt the ball. Daniel Hughes kicked the ball away and SMU fumbled thepunt, and it was recovered by the Seminoles.
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On thedrive, Florida State drove down to the red zone of SMU. But a series of runningplays that gained little yardage did not result in a touchdown, and they went for iton fourth down and two yards to go at the SMU nine-yard line. That brought outthe boo birds from the Florida State faithful. Daniels threw a short pass toget a first down. On first and goal, Kromah ran the ball in for a score, andthe extra point was good to tie the game at 17-17.
In the fourthquarter, Florida State could not convert on third down once again and puntedthe ball away to the Mustangs. On third down and six yards to go, Jennings,under heavy duress, completed a pass to receiver Yannick Smith, and Smith brokefree for 79 yards and a touchdown, aided by poor tackling by the Florida Statedefensive secondary. The Mustangs increased their lead to 24-17.
Seeminglyabandoning the passing game for most of the game, Daniels connected withrunning back Sam Singleton Jr. for 39 yards and a touchdown to tie the gameagain at 24-24.
On theensuing drive, soft coverage once again by the Florida State pass defense allowedJennings to connect on several pass plays to move the chains and put theMustangs in scoring position with 2:00 left in the game. Moving the ball andeating up the clock, they got down to the five-yard line.
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On fourthdown, SMU kicked the go-ahead field goal to take a 27-24 lead, and left 0:21seconds on the clock for Florida State to try and go 75 yards for a score. Fourstraight incompletions by Daniels ended the game and handed the Seminoles (1-1)their first loss of the season. SMU (1-0) escapes Tallahassee with a 3-pointwin for their first win of the season.
Takeaways
TheFlorida State defensive secondary clearly has issues with coverage assignmentsand tackling, giving up big yardage pass plays of 79, 64, and 50 yards that allwent for touchdowns. Ashton Daniels cannot throw the football, and coach MikeNorvell knows it. The Seminoles ran the ball 45 times and attempted only 23passes. Daniels was 12-of-23 for 125 yards and a touchdown, and added 71 yardson the ground and another score. Kromah is a workhorse and rushed for 116 yardsand a touchdown, the second straight week he gained over 100 yards rushing.
TheFlorida State defense, while they flushed Jennings out of the pocket, recordedzero sacks and only four tackles for loss. Jennings picked apart the Seminolessecondary and finished with a 72 percent completion rate, 430 yards passingand two touchdowns.
Florida Statehas a bye week coming up this weekend as they try to regroup and focus on theirroad contest against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sep. 19.
