It happened. Florida State won a football game. The Garnet & Gold's first win in 2024, after a disappointing and shocking 0-3 start to the season, came in a 14-9 street fight over California in Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday night.
Similar to last week, the defense showed up. While Cal may have gained 410 yards of total offense, a lot of it was empty calories.
In back-to-back weeks, the ' Noles played very well at the line of scrimmage. The trenches belonged to Florida State all night; the defense totaled 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
- Patrick Payton: 3 Sacks / 3.5 TFL
- Joshua Farmer: 1 Sack / 3.5 TFL
- Marvin Jones Jr: 2 Sacks
- Darrell Jackson: 0.5 Sack
A team that was punished in the run game the first two games of the season has seen a dramatic increase in defensive success rate against the run, allowing just 107 yards on the ground at 2.9 yards per carry.
Following the team's loss to Memphis last week, many young players on the FSU roster took to social media and clamored for playing time using the hashtag "#freedemyoungins." The young dudes balled out.
Redshirt freshman defensive back Edwin Joseph recorded two tackles, half a sack, and an interception.
Sophomore DB Quindarrius Jones was locked down all night and recorded two tackles and three pass breakups, all of which came on the same drive. His length and physicality will continue to yield him playing time.
Sophomore LB Blake Nichelson recorded eight tackles and half a TFL. Cam Riley was triggering downhill and engaging blockers, something we hadn't seen him do in previous games. Juice Cryer saw a dramatic increase in snaps and has played well. A position group that has received a lot of scrutiny played much better on Saturday night.
Offensively, not much has changed. DJU is still the starting quarterback who has to convince Florida State fans that, despite his performance, he is the best chance the Seminoles have at winning ball games, even if it's a worse offense than Iowa.
If Mike Norvell is this hesitant to opt for Brock Glenn, it has to tell you that the coaching staff has zero faith in Glenn's ability under center.
The run game finally had a pulse. Unlike previous weeks, when the run schemes favored stretching defenses horizontally with misdirections and counters to no success, Saturday night saw the Seminoles getting downhill and vertical on inside zone and power run schemes.
Running backs totaled 26 carries for 121 yards (4.65 YPC): nothing spectacular, but a much-improved performance in that department.
Lawrance Toafili had a very solid night. Consistently getting the best-skill player on the roster the ball does wonders. LT finished the evening with 19 touches for 89 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Outside of Toafili, the offense was pedestrian. Earning every yard is a challenge, and quarterback play is still a problem.
DJ Uiagalelei finished the evening 16/27 for 177 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception. The touchdown pass on a slot fade to Ja'Khi Douglas was a beautiful throw. While he still made the same mistakes he's been making, DJU completed some legit throws Saturday night, particularly on third down.
A much-needed win for the program, the Seminoles end their 0-3 start to the 2024 season in a dog fight to win on family's weekend in Tallahassee.
“It’s been a tough first three weeks of the season, just disappointing in the beginning,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “Going into this week, you say challenge, you say opportunity. We talked about bouncing back. We’re in control of that.”
Florida State is on the road next week for a primetime matchup with SMU on Saturday, September 28th at 8:00 P.M. EST.