Florida State Seminoles: Top 3 Takeaways From Championship Week
The Florida State Seminoles beat Louisville to win the ACC Championship. The 16-6 win wasn’t enough to make the College Football Playoff.
What did we learn about Florida State this weekend?
Offense Fell Off A Cliff
The College Football Playoff Committee was looking for a reason to doubt Florida State’s ability without Jordan Travis at quarterback, and Saturday’s ACC Championship Game gave them that reason. The Seminoles, playing without Travis and backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker, were forced to use third-string quarterback Brock Glenn. Glenn struggled mightily, throwing for only 55 yards with only eight completions. Louisville knew FSU’s passing game was toast, and they keyed in on the run, holding Trey Benson to 67 yards on 18 carries. The only successful play was a 73-yard run for Lawrance Toafili. That play came when Toafili lined up as a Wildcat quarterback. FSU had only 219 yards and just 3.4 yards per play. With Glenn’s ineffectiveness, star wideouts Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman were largely invisible.
Florida State’s Defense Was TremendousYet again, the FSU defense did everything to carry the Seminoles to victory. They held a potent Louisville attack to 188 yards with only 2.7 yards per play. Jack Plummer was 14 for 36 for 111 yards with one interception, and Jawhar Jordan was limited to 52 yards on the ground. The longest pass play for the Cardinals all game was an 18-yard completion to Jordan, as the Florida State secondary was utterly dominant. Jared Verse had two sacks, while Braden Fiske manhandled the Louisville line with three sacks. Louisville’s only two scores were field goals from 33 and 36 yards away. Florida State’s defense deserves to be labeled one of the best in the nation after their performance in the past two contests.
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Where Does FSU Go From Here?
How does Florida State move on from this? At the beginning of every season, every team in the major conferences enters the season knowing that if they win every game and capture the conference championship, they will have a chance to make the College Football Playoff and possibly compete for the National Championship. Florida State went 12-0 in the regular season, including securing a win on a neutral field over LSU. They beat Louisville to win the ACC Championship. The Atlantic Coast Conference went 6-4 in head-to-head matchups with the SEC, and the Seminoles were one of three unbeaten power conference champions. The only thing they did wrong was have Travis get injured late in the season, something they had no control over. For the only time in the four-team playoff era, a major conference unbeaten champion was left out in favor of a pair of teams with one loss. With the Big Ten and the SEC getting even more powerful next season, the ACC is clearly thought of as a “less than” conference, and teams like Florida State and Clemson are no doubt evaluating what moves they can make to secure a place at the table in the expanded 12-team playoff beginning in 2024. For now, the Florida State Seminoles must settle for a meaningless bowl contest against the Georgia Bulldogs.
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