Well, that was disappointing. Florida State was shocked by Georgia Tech 24-21 in Ireland to open up the 2024 college football season, leaving FSU fans scratching their heads as to what just happened.
While mostly everyone in Garnet disappointed on the field, there were a couple of bright spots for the Seminoles if you dare to look close enough. Here is this week’s stock market report following Week Zero.
READ MORE: Florida State Fans and Former Players React to Shocking Loss to Georgia Tech
Ryan Fitzgerald, Kicker
You can have many complaints about this game, but Ryan Fitzgerald‘s performance is not one of them. After struggling to start his career, he was rock solid in 2023, hitting 19 of his 21 FG attempts and all 58 extra points, but none of his kicks last season were longer than 48 yards. He crushed that with both of his kicks today.
His first kick was a 52-yarder to push the ‘Noles lead to 11-7 in the second quarter, but his second was a 59-yard bomb to end the first half, killing his previous career-long of 53 yards, and was the second-longest kick in Florida State history.
They also had some fun with Fitzgerald, sending him on a fake jet sweep to set up the swinging gate 2-point conversion to start the game.
Late 4th Down Conversions
When needed, FSU came through by converting two huge fourth downs. Even on the first attempt that was denied in the first quarter, DJ Uiagalelei read the play correctly, dumping the ball off on a hot route with pressure in his face, Georgia Tech defender Ahmari Harvey just made a great tackle short of the sticks.
In the fourth quarter though, Florida State made two big conversions on their drive to tie the game. First was a 20-yard throw to Ja’Khi Douglas, who sat down in the middle of the zone on 4th-and-7 after the Yellow Jackets dropped eight into coverage. Uiagalelei drifted left and delivered a strike past the arms of an outstretched GT linebacker.
The second was on 4th-and-8 in the red zone as Uiagalelei hit Alabama transfer Malik Benson on a slant for a gain of 19 yards to set up first-and-goal. Those big plays kept FSU in the game as they’d punch it into the endzone soon after that.
Malik Benson, Wide Receiver
Even if Benson finished with a modest stat line of 4 catches for 39 yards, he flashed on the field and was open more than he wasn’t. If Uiagalelei was on target, Benson had his man beat down the sideline and would’ve had a walk-in touchdown but the pass sailed out of bounds.
Benson and Ja’Khi Douglas clearly have chemistry with DJU, the ball just needs to be on-target.
Shyheim Brown, Safety
Shyheim Brown was really the only defender willing to come up and make a tackle, leading both teams with 13 total tackles. He’s one of the leaders on this defense but will need to increase his impact moving forward.
Safeties should never be in the position to make this many tackles to begin with, which is something we’ll touch on later, but at least Brown is willing to make the plays when needed.
DJ Uiagalelei, Quarterback
Maybe this is a hot take, but DJ Uiagalelei didn’t lose Florida State this game, he just didn’t do much to help win either. His “holding steady” also depends on your opinion of him entering the season.
As someone who wasn’t that high on him, he did about what I expected, hitting short completions early to keep the ball moving and hitting timely throws down the stretch to extend drives. But it was clear that Mike Norvell didn’t trust him early on, not attempting a pass past the first-down marker until the end of the first half.
Uiagalelei also missed on a few throws, like the aforementioned deep shot to Malik Benson and another to Ja’Khi Douglas on a crosser that would’ve been a touchdown but it was underthrown. A few passes sailed out of bounds with way too much power behind them, but finishing 19/27 for 193 yards could be a lot worse.
The Offensive Line
What was vaulted as a major strength for this team throughout the offseason was a major disappointment throughout the game. Georgia Tech would overload the right side of FSU’s O-Line on third downs and the ‘Noles didn’t have a response, allowing free rushers in Uiagalelei’s face. After rushing for 58 yards on the first drive, Florida State had just 40 rushing yards for the remainder of the game. With a running back room this talented, that falls on the offensive line.
The struggles started with Robert Scott’s insertion at right tackle. Jeremiah Byers isn’t a world-beater, but Scott was overwhelmed in this game, which is a shame considering how much promise he showed at the beginning of his career. Injuries have just sapped a lot of the athleticism he used to have.
Maurice Smith was solid but overall this unit was disappointing.
The Linebackers
Goodness, this unit was terrible in this game. DJ Lundy took poor angles and was outrun to the flats on multiple occasions, Omar Graham Jr. was nonexistent, and no one could fill the run correctly. Blake Nichelson combined with Daniel Lyons for a TFL and Lundy had one later in the game, but that was it. Lundy also missed a chance at a turnover by trying to scoop up a fumble by Georgia Tech but he overran it and GT fell on it.
Florida State was clearly missing Kalen DeLoach and Tatum Bethune in this game. DeLoach’s ability to run sideline-to-sideline was an underrated aspect of last year’s defense and it won’t get any easier with Thomas Castellanos next week. If they had trouble containing Haynes King, it’s going to be a nightmare next week.
The Defensive Line
Before the game, College GameDay ran a segment stating Florida State’s starting defensive line of Patrick Payton, Marvin Jones Jr., Darrell Jackson, and Joshua Farmer could all be top 100 picks in next year’s NFL Draft based on what scouts had seen in practice.
Those four COMBINED for 6 tackles, 1 QB hurry, and 0 tackles for loss. It was a complete no-show from that unit. With all of the noise surrounding this group this offseason, the hype may have gotten to their heads trying to play for an NFL contract instead of playing as a defense. They were moved off blocks all game and that can’t happen moving forward.
Time Management
This game was poorly managed by Florida State’s offense, starting with the final drive of the first half. FSU got the ball on the 25-yard line and it took them 3:13 to go 34 yards in 9 plays before Fitzgerald hit a bomb of a kick. For lack of a better word, that’s just gross. And it didn’t get better in the second half.
Florida State only had three drives in the second half: 6 plays and 22 yards in 2:13, 6 plays and 11 yards in 3:25, and 15 plays and 84 yards that ate up 8:18. Georgia Tech had done a great job controlling the ball and the clock, and FSU never showed any urgency to combat that. They needed to leave themselves with more than the 6:33 they left on the clock, which Georgia Tech ate up the entirety of before their game-winning kick.
READ MORE: Three Thoughts on Florida State’s Head-Scratching Loss to Georgia Tech
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