Florida State is Back?

FSU Defeats Clemson

 

     

       ESPN's College Gameday was in Tallahassee. Fans on both sides were fired up for this game. The atmosphere around this game was electric. FSU is trying to return to the being one of the nation's elite programs. Clemson is trying to build off last season's success. One team came away from Saturday night's game closer to their goal. That team was Florida State.

 

     I attended the game, and it might be one of the best, if not the best, game I have seen since the late 90's to the early 2000's. FSU came out and got punched in the mouth early, but they never looked panicked. The Noles took every punch that Clemson had, trick plays and all. The defense gave up 37 points, but they made the stops when it counted. Florida State's offense was firing on all cylinders. The most balanced attack I have seen out of Florida State in a very long time. Granted, it wasn't against the best defense they will face this year, but it was still very impressive.

   

    The Seminoles trailed early in the third quarter 28-14. Doak was silent. I started wondering just how many more trick plays Clemson could come up with......but I looked at FSU's players and saw a calming confidence. It was almost as if they knew that if they could just take the lead, this game would be over. From that point on, it was all Florida State. The Seminoles went on a 35-9 run and crushed the Tiger's hope for an upset.

 

    What do we take away from this game? Is FSU back? Well, the Noles are certainly on the right track. What about Clemson? The Tigers have some work to do. One thing that Clemson better pay attention to; Clemson felt like the only way to score points in this game was with trickery. I am sorry, Tiger Fans, it only works for so long. Trick plays, Really? That was Dabo Swinney's great game plan. Use FSU's strength against them. It worked for about a half plus one play in the second half. You can't expect to win games against elite teams with trick plays. It was very clear early in this game that the Tigers were pulling out all the stops. Double passes, fake field goals, and misdirection screen passes......It will only take you so far.

 

       Florida State made a statement in this game. Now, they have to respond the right way after a big game. The Noles have to take care of business the way they are expected. It starts next week against South Florida.

 

    Check us out on Facebook. Don't forget to send in your questions and comments on week 4's action (jeremy.cf2d@yahoo.com).  Tomorrow I will recap the rest of week 4's key games and give a preview of what to watch in week 5's matchups.