Florida State started slow but eventually pulled away from the visiting South Florida Bulls on Saturday, 34-14. With the victory, FSU improved to 2-0 for the fifth straight year as it gets set to open ACC play against Boston College. After reviewing the film of the Seminoles’ victory against South Florida, here’s what went right and what didn’t:
What Went Right:
The running game. Dalvin Cook ran for 266 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries, good for a 8.9 yards-per-carry clip. Cook’s 30 carries included an electrifying 74-yard touchdown run that showed both his agility and power. Special teams also looked better with punter Cason Beatty rebounding from his horrific Week 1 performance. Beatty punted seven times for a 40.6 yard average, repeatedly flipping field position. Lastly, the defense played extremely well, holding South Florida to 4.6 yards-per-pass and 4.1 yards-per-rush. The one big breakdown came on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 71-yard USF touchdown.
What Went Wrong:
Everett Golson and the passing game, and what Cook’s 30 carries says about this team going forward. Golson looked bad for most of this game, looking lost within the offense and repeatedly making bad throws. He also had horrendous pocket presence, often bailing out of a clean pocket, scrambling and then being forced to throw it away. It didn’t help that the Seminoles’ receiving corps was average at best with several drops. There was a noticeable adjustment after halftime where more zone-read packaged plays were called and Golson seemed to be more comfortable with them. You have to think this will be a bigger part of the offense going forward, especially early in games.
This early passing dysfunction forced Cook’s workhorse numbers and that’s not a good sign. It was enough to beat USF but it won’t be good enough to beat some other opponents on FSU’s schedule. There were also a lot of unforced errors and penalties — seven for 50 yards to be exact. This team is very young and this game was a growing pain. At this point, even an ugly win is a win the Seminoles will take, but FSU needs to make significant progress or it could find itself dropping a game it shouldn’t.
