Florida State handles The Citadel in Home Opener

The Florida State Seminoles opened their home schedule tonight, soundly defeating the Bulldogs of The Citadel by a score of 37-12. This was a game about answers, as the Seminoles left Dallas with plenty of questions. What of the Depth on the DL? And offensive diversity? How would the freshmen perform? We got some definite answers tonight, but new questions emerged.

“Spread the Love”

That’s what Rashad Greene had to say about his 11-catch, 203-yard effort in Arlington. It’s not that the senior WR minds contributing — he played the entire game last week — but he realized that the ‘Noles will need to be more diverse if they want to meet this year’s lofty goals. In his own words, “we’ve got to do this together.”

FSU looked determined to do just that tonight, and succeeded. Seminole signal callers went 25-32 for 284 yards, completing passes to 10 different receivers. The ‘Noles wanted to get tight end Nick O’Leary more involved, and he led the way, catching five balls for 51 yards and a score.

The running duties were also nicely divided: five non-QB players rushed for FSU. Karlos Williams carried the ball nine times for 66 yards and a score. That’s a YPC of  7.3, a drastic improvement from the 2.9 average he posted against Okie State. Mario Pender continued to impress, chipping in 38 yards on seven carries (5.4 YPC), and Dalvin Cook showed certain promise that included his first TD run. Tonight’s attack also featured some creativity, as Whitfield picked up 33 yards on a couple of reverses.

Defensive Line Depth

We got a look at this early. Too early. Due to a spate of cut-block induced lower-leg injuries, the ‘Noles were forced to their bench, probably earlier than they would have preferred.

Eddie Goldman limped off on the defense’s first series, and was replaced by Justin Shanks. Shanks went down shortly thereafter, and Desmond Hollin got the call and played well. Nile Lawrence-Stample went out as well, and none of the three returned. Derrick Mitchell, Jr. again saw significant snaps. Frosh DT Derrick Nnadi was the first rookie in for the ‘Noles, as expected, and showed some nice explosion in the middle. Redshirt-freshman Keith Bryant got some run, too, and so did Demarcus Christmas. Freshman Rick Leonard got on the field in the fourth quarter as well, as did Lorenzo Featherston (although he nearly blocked a couple of punts earlier).

Despite the score, The Citadel had some success with its option attack, but the DL fared well– most of the issues stemmed from cornerbacks not getting off blocks and covering the pitch man on the edge.

Young Guns

Anticipating a less-than-competitve result, FSU fans heading into Doak were excited to see some freshmen for the first time. Those freshmen didn’t disappoint.

Running Back Dalvin Cook looks like a star in the making. He nearly broke his first run for a long touchdown, and wound up collecting 67 yards and his first touchdown as a Seminole. He showed a great mix of speed, shake, and the ability to run through tackles.

Jesus “Bobo” Wilson is a sophomore, but he played sparingly last year. He was exceptional in space tonight, also picking up his first career score. Wilson has lightning-fast feet and uses them to get outside quickly. His role in this offense moving forward should continue to increase.

WR Ermon Lane saw the field for the first time and blocked feverishly while also achieving nice separation and hauling in his first couple catches. Fellow freshman wideout Javon Harrison registered his first catch as well.

But Questions Remain…

With the starters still playing, the ‘Noles stalled thrice in the red zone in the second half, not getting into the end zone after halftime. The Citadel actually outscored the ‘Noles 12-9 in the second. Seminole defenders blatantly missed on some sack attempts, and whiffed on several tackles in space. The DBs were also beat a few times by far less talented WRs. The result of this game was never in jeopardy, which is a step in the right direction, but Fisher and his assistants will still have plenty to improve upon in the two weeks prior to hosting Clemson on September 20.