Citadel Reaction to playing FSU: “Something you tell your Grandkids”

FSU handled The Citadel, as expected, on Saturday night, using the game as an opportunity to test its depth and get new players some needed experience. A program like Florida State has games like this on the schedule each year: contests against overmatched squads that serve as glorified scrimmages and allow coaches to further evaluate the entirety of their rosters.

These games may not be fan favorites, but they’re necessary, and they’re everywhere. Texas A&M just played Lamar. Baylor hosted Northwestern State. And McNeese State gave Nebraska all it could handle. It’s a sort of win-win: the small school gets a nice payday (The Citadel left Tallahassee with a check for $440,000), and the powerhouse gets a willing sparring partner.

Of course, this isn’t the gloss-over game on the schedule for players at schools like The Citadel. Since the rest of the Bulldogs’ schedule is comprised of former FSU punching bags like Charleston Southern and Chattanooga, this is The Citadel’s lone foray onto the national stage. Most Bulldogs players and coaches will never compete in the environment they experienced Saturday night, and they addressed this after their hard-fought 37-12 loss to the Seminoles.

First-year Citadel head coach Mike Houston addressed his team’s experience at Florida State after the game:

"Incredible atmosphere to play in for our football team. I told the guys it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to play the defending BCS National Champion in their home opener and face the reigning Heisman Trophy award winner and the team that is ranked No. 1 in the country right now. Great home atmosphere for them and a great setting for our kids to play in."

Houston was asked if he saw any weaknesses on the FSU squad: “No. Not from our vantage. I mean it’s the best football team we have ever faced.”

Bulldogs senior defensive end Justin Oxendine spoke of trying to contain that Heisman winner: “I mean he’s a great guy . A great quarterback. I mean, I can’t say anything negative about him. He’s an upstanding guy, played really, really well. He’s just a great football player. ”

Oxendine summed up the trip south for himself and his teammates: ” I mean, this is something you tell your grandkids. You played the No. 1 team in the country. I mean, that’s not something many people get, especially at our level. So, I mean I can tell my grandkids I played a Heisman trophy winner. I played the No. 1 team in the country and went out there and competed.”

Florida State moves on. The thoughts of its coaches, players, and fans are now squarely focused on the Seminoles’ September 20 showdown with the Clemson Tigers. The Citadel, like FSU, has a bye week to heal up before continuing its own season. Conventional wisdom says not to carry a loss around with you too long. But Citadel players will carry this one for the rest of their lives, and with their heads held high.