College football is back, folks.
Tasked with putting a cap on a tremendous Week 1 slate, the LSU Tigers and Florida State Seminoles had what may end up being the game of the year in college football.
Down 14 points with less than five minutes remaining, the Tigers put together a 15-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to cut the Seminole lead to 24-17. Brian Kelly’s defense forced a three-and-out on the next Seminole possession, but LSU returner Malik Nabers muffed the ensuing punt to essentially hand the game away to Florida State — or so everyone thought.
Knocking on the goal-line’s door, Florida State fumbled and handed the ball right back to LSU on its own one-yard line.
With just 1:05 remaining, LSU drove 97 yards to set themselves up at the Florida State goal line with just 0:01 remaining. LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels dropped back and delivered a strike to tie the game and send it to overtime. Wait, what’s that? They have to make the extra point? Well, obviously they’re going to do that.
Wrong.
LSU kicker Damian Ramos had his kick blocked, and the Tigers fell short in Kelly’s debut as their coach. LSU ended the night with two muffed punts, a blocked kick and a blocked extra-point attempt on special teams, essentially handing the game to Florida State.
The poor special teams performance is easy to point to as how LSU could lose when entering the game as three-point favorites at its home-away-from-home — Mercedes Benz Superdome. FanDuel Sportsbook had Florida State moneyline set at +152, meaning a $100 bet on the Seminoles would have cashed out $252 total, but not before making you sweat it out a bit.
