FSU Rapid Reaction: FSU 34 Virginia 20

The game between the Florida State Seminoles and Virginia Cavaliers has just gone final, here’s some FSU rapid reaction:

A win is a win.

That’s the takeaway tonight. FSU won 34-20. The Seminoles are in control of their own destiny and as long as they keep doing that — keep winning — they’ll make it into the playoff.

But if you were expecting Florida State to turn that proverbial corner and put it all together tonight, chances are you’re less than thrilled with how the Seminoles looked tonight. Once again FSU turned in an incomplete effort — rife with errors in all three phases — and pulled out another lackluster win on a night they should have rolled.

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At the outset of the season, FSU’s secondary and its all-senior offensive line looked like they would be the strengths of the team. As of the first week of November, that still hasn’t been the case though.

Part of the issue with the secondary stems from the pass rush — or lack thereof — and the fact that in FSU’s pattern-matching system the DB’s can be left out to dry if the front can’t reach the QB and force a quick throw. This defense is designed to get the ball out fast, the DB’s are often told to break on the first move to try and capitalize off a hot throw. If the pass rush fails to get there on time that leaves the secondary hanging– they’re susceptible to double moves and it increases coverage busts.

Tonight, once again, the pass rush did the secondary few favors. If anything, the best pass rushes — and three of the sacks — came from the DB’s themselves. It’s arguable that FSU’s secondary blitzed better than it covered tonight.

That’s never good.

PJ Williams also got beat a couple of times in the first half on touchdowns. Considering how highly-touted Williams is– that’s surprising. But credit Virginia for making a couple of nice plays and keep in mind that Williams was in good position on both throws. You aren’t going to pitch a shutout in your FSU career– even Deion gave up plays. But Williams has been victimized more than usual this year. While he did come back and play a good second half, it’s worth noting that when teams have attacked Williams this season, he’s given up some plays.

As for the offensive line, this unit just continues to struggle. The run game did materialize down the stretch — FSU had a fantastic final drive to ice the game — but too often blown assignments and stupid mental errors ended up costing the Seminoles on their drives. There were false starts — something you can’t have from your seniors — and protection gaffes.

And even when the line did protect Winston– he was off at times.

Though he finished with 261 yards and a TD, he also tossed back-to-back picks in the first half and missed on several other throws– not that he got much help from his drop-happy receiving corps. Winston connected with just four different targets on Saturday night and the passing game never got into a consistent rhythm.

It isn’t all bad for FSU though, the Seminoles are still unbeaten– still in control of their own destiny. And the defense — despite struggling to get off the field on third down — gave up just 37 rushing yards on 32 attempts.

Now FSU has to prepare for a road date with rival Miami– and it looks like Dalvin Cook may not be available.

The freshman tailback hurt his right leg tonight and was unable to put any weight on it as he left the field. Cook stood by himself, head hung, on the sideline for the remainder of the game. We’ll update you on his status as soon as we have more information.

Wrapping Up: It might not have been pretty, but a win is a win.

FSU lives to fight another day.

It may not seem like much, but that’s more than you can say for Auburn.

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