Tomahawk strike at FSU football game in Dublin, Ireland
Florida State Athletics captured this video from the sidelines of Aviva Stadium before FSU played Georgia Tech on August 24, 2024 in Dublin, Ireland.
Contributed video by FSU Athletics
The Florida State football team entered the 2024 season with confidence that their defense could be better than the one in 2023.
While that statement may still be true, the 10th-ranked Seminoles’ unexpected 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech in Ireland on Saturday has called that assumption into question.
The Seminoles allowed a total of 336 yards on offense, including 190 running yards. The Yellow Jackets scored three rushing touchdowns on three attacks inside the red zone.
“This offense was No. 1 in the league a year ago, they’ve brought everyone back and have a lot of dynamic players,” said FSU coach Mike Norvell.
FSU’s defensive identity and mindset revolves around physical play from the front line through the secondary. Unfortunately, Georgia Tech won the physical battle.
FSU’s defense must be ahead of the game when dealing with dual-threat quarterbacks
FSU has struggled with mobile quarterbacks in the past, and Haynes King was effective enough to disrupt the Seminoles, completing 11 of 16 passes for 146 yards and adding 54 rushing yards on 15 carries.
Georgia Tech was able to successfully run the football laterally, and the defense failed to force the ball inside. The Seminoles were unable to contain King when he had the ball in his hands. FSU’s starting quartet on the inside combined for six tackles, none of which resulted in a loss.
Norvell said the biggest factor in FSU’s defensive woes was making the necessary accents.
“Haynes is a really good quarterback,” Norvell said. “He’s so dynamic in his game, he can run, and he’s got great speed. At times we were in one position, but he did a good job of getting to the rim.”
FSU’s defensive line was completely overwhelmed by Georgia Tech’s front five, especially on the right side, but Norvell saw it differently.
“I’ll watch the film,” Norvell said. “I don’t think it was a lack of physicality. There are a few plays here and there where we’re on the edge of the blocks. We need to get better and closer together in certain situations.”
Florida State football team needs to be better at tackling
The biggest disappointment in FSU’s defense was poor tackling in the open field. The Seminoles were unable to pull out the win.
Georgia Tech also created open running lanes for running back Jamal Haynes, who had a big run, finishing with 75 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 6.8 yards per carry.
On one play in the fourth quarter, Haynes broke four tackles on a short run to him, resulting in a first down and a third down. Georgia Tech went 3 of 3 in the red zone.
It’s time for FSU to get back to the fundamentals of inside-out play and wrapping up instead of playing hand tackles and chases all day.
Outlook: FSU defense can recover against Boston College’s dual-threat QB
This was not a good performance for the Seminoles after Norvell preaches physicality and consistency on defense.
Fortunately, the season is still long and FSU has more than enough time to recover and correct its mistakes before its showdown against Boston College at 7:30 p.m. on Labor Day at Doak Campbell Stadium.
With Thomas Castellanos, Boston College also has a mobile quarterback who ran for a total of 3,361 yards on offense last year.
The Eagles nearly beat the Seminoles, with Castellanos leading the way with 305 passing yards, 95 rushing yards and four total touchdowns. FSU pulled away with a 31-29 win, but trailed throughout the game.
What an opportunity for the FSU defense to rebound, shut down the junior quarterback and avoid an 0-2 start in the ACC.
CLEARLY = ACC
* = Neutral location
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Reach him via email at [email protected] or at X @_Da_pistol.
