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FSU-Louisville: Gameday News, Notes, and Game Thread

By Mike McDaniel

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Game #6: Louisville (2-3, 1-1 ACC) Vs. #11 Florida State (5-0, 3-0 ACC), 12:00 ET–ESPN

Game Thread

3:17 PM–

That’s a wrap, Seminoles win 41-21 over Louisville and improve to 6-0 on the season. Everett Golson grew up today in this offense, and continues to make strides in the passing game.

3:05 PM–

Golson continues to look extremely comfortable on the run, as he finds a wide open Ryan Izzo for the touchdown. Seminoles put it away, for a second time. Its 41-21.

2:59 PM–

Dalvin Cook turns the corner on a run off the left side and grabs at his hamstring as the Seminoles drive down the field late in the fourth quarter. That should be the end of his day after a gutty effort, and Heisman-worthy second half.

2:50 PM–

Lamar Jackson could not have placed a more perfect throw over the top to James Quick, who pulls in his third touchdown pass of the day from 39 yards out. 34-21 Seminoles lead it. Coverage was not bad on that play, and has shored up quite a bit in the second half, but this team cannot let their guard down.

2:41 PM–

Golson makes an unbelievable throw off of his back foot as he finds Travis Rudolph in the back of the endzone for a 12 yard touchdown pass. ‘Noles are rolling behind an offense that made some outstanding halftime adjustments. 34-14 Seminoles.

2:36 PM–

Seminoles go with a draw play on 3rd and 11, and Cook exemplifies once again just how good he is, as he breaks a couple of tackles and picks up a first down. Surprised that they didn’t throw with Golson there, as he entered that play six of nine for 142 yards and a touchdown on 3rd down today.

2:31 PM–

On a crucial 3rd down and 8, Golson hangs in and delivers a beautiful throw to Travis Rudolph, who sat down in the middle of the field for a first down. The Seminoles are marching deep into Louisville territory as they try to extend the lead to three scores as we begin the 4th quarter.

2:22 PM–

Lamar Jackson is forced to throw, which as expected, is going to do him in. The freshman makes a crucial mistake, throwing an interception to former walk-on Javien Elliot on a pass intended for James Quick deep down the seam. Elliot just entered the game at the Star on the last possession, replacing Tyler Hunter. Forcing Jackson to throw and keeping him in the pocket is how you win the game against a running quarterback. ‘Noles go back to work.

2:19 PM–

Dalvin Cook turns the corner, Louisville can’t contain, and Dalvin takes it to the house from 14 yards out.

2:14 PM–

The Seminoles dial up the blitz at the perfect time, as Derwin James makes another impact play, coming in to drill Lamar Jackson and force a fumble. He makes play after play for this Florida State defense. First down for the Seminoles.

2:08 PM–

Tyler Hunter has been benched in the Florida State secondary. Former walk-on Javien Elliot is in the game at the Star position.

2:04 PM–

Everett Golson running for his life all day with the shoddy offensive line play, but throws an absolute strike to Kermit Whitfield across the middle on the run, and he does the rest. 70 yards to paydirt. 20-14 Seminoles re-gain the lead.

1:58 PM–

Lamar Jackson was able to break contain multiple times on that drive, marching the Cardinals right up the field and ultimately finding James Quick, who burned Tyler Hunter for the third time today and the second time on a touchdown pass. Hunter has been thrown into difficult situations, but he has been a huge liability in coverage. Cardinals re-gain the lead, as it’s now 14-13.

1:49 PM–

Cook to the house on the next play, turns the corner on a run and takes it 54 yards. 13-7 Seminoles.

1:48 PM–

Cook looks refreshed to start the second half, turns up the field on a screen with great burst. First down.

1:24 PM–

A real ugly first half on offense for the Seminoles, as the Cardinals lead it 7-6 at the break.

1:20 PM–

Florida State was rolling on offense, but after Dalvin Cook took a screen pass for 26 yards, he pulled up lame on the sideline and is now being looked at on the trainer’s table. Meanwhile, Golson continue to struggle finding receivers in a timely manner. Concerns abode for the Seminoles.

1:11 PM–

The Seminoles force a punt after getting it together in the secondary. This team is flawed, but they have the athletes on the defensive side to make adjustments and keep the team in the game when the offense is struggling. Derwin James is a big-time talent. He and Josh Sweat have been the most exciting freshmen on the defensive side of the ball, while Trey Marshall has been the most consistent when he’s been playing.

1:05 PM–

The offensive line was pretty bad on that drive. Can’t play like that and expect to win.

12:59 PM–

For all of the criticism I’ve given Jalen Ramsey for his man-to-man coverage, he embarrassed Reggie Bonnafon there, shoving him about five yards out of bounds in press coverage. Meanwhile, the ‘Noles dialed up the pressure on Jackson, who seemed utterly confused throughout that entire drive. Three-and-out, and the Seminoles take over. Let’s see how much of Dalvin Cook we see on this drive.

12:52 PM–

I like the back-shoulder throw by Golson, although it fell incomplete at the goal-line intended for Kermit Whitfield. Aguayo converts on a 32-yard field goal and it’s now 7-6 Louisville. We aren’t seeing a ton of Dalvin Cook carries, have to wonder if they just don’t trust the running game now (which would be hard to believe after last week), or if that hamstring might be bothering him a bit. He did appear to get up slowly after a run to the right late in the first quarter. Pure speculation on my part, however.

12:49 PM–

Timeout on the field as the ‘Noles face a 3rd and 10 in the red zone after being stopped on back-to-back plays proceeding an Everett Golson dart to Travis Rudolph. The Cardinals have picked their spots with the blitz, and after responding well to pressure early, Golson looks like he wasn’t able to identify the blitz on back-to-back plays to bring up this 3rd and long situation.

12:45 PM–

Trey Marshall will not return to the game today, per the FSU athletic department and multiple reports.

12:41 PM–

With one quarter in the books, 7-3 Cardinals. Meanwhile, the ‘Noles drive is kept alive by a facemask of Kermit Whitfield. The Cardinals have done an admirable job stopping the speed option of the Seminoles that was so successful last week against Miami. If Jimbo Fisher wants to get the ball to Cook in space, he’s going to have to try going about it a different way. The Cards are bringing so much pressure that passes to the flat or quick crossing routes should be an effective adjustment, especially on early downs. Let’s see what happens.

12:35 PM–

Lamar Jackson to James Quick on back-to-back plays give the Cardinals the early lead. It was apparent that there was confusion in the secondary once Marshall came out, and Bobby Petrino and the Cards took immediate advantage. We saw some of this last week in coverage when Marshall was ejected, and it’s something that is obviously going to need to be fixed.

12:33 PM–

Trey Marshall heading to the locker room, favoring his left arm. Doesn’t look encouraging for the Seminoles. Expect a heavy dose of Derwin James in the secondary once again, with perhaps some Tyler Hunter mixed in at the Star position as well.

12:28 PM–

Everett Golson is leaving a ton to be desired. Threw a duck to Mavin Saunders who made a great catch on the sideline. On that play, Bobo Wilson was streaking down the seam and Golson missed him. Two plays later, after a bad snap, Golson makes the right read, which is important, but throws low to Bobo Wilson on a crossing route that picked up 16, but could have gained much, much more. After an incomplete pass on 3rd down, Aguayo puts the ‘Noles on the board with a 43-yard field goal. The Louisville defense is standing up to Dalvin Cook and the running game thus far, so will Golson adjust in the passing game? Better throws is all they need, as he has made the right reads for the most part thus far.

12:17 PM–

Cannot help but continue to be impressed with Josh Sweat. Makes an extremely athletic play to stop the quarterback-turned-running back-turned-receiver Reggie Bonnafon short of the first down. He lines up as a defensive end, but has the athleticism to play at linebacker. Would not be surprised to see him line up in a variety of different looks before this season is over for the Seminoles.

12:12 PM–

The Cardinals dial up the blitz to force an ugly three-and-out for the Seminoles. Golson seemed to see the blitzes before they came, but was unable to check into an effective play. The ‘Noles will need Golson to be at his best, because this Louisville defense is going to try to slow down Dalvin Cook and force Golson to try to beat them, which he hasn’t had to do to this point in the season.

12:09 PM–

Florida State defense dials up the blitz after the Cardinals were able to convert a couple of first downs. Freshman DE Josh Sweat did a nice job on that drive keeping contain on Jackson, forcing him to stay within the pocket and try to make some throws. ‘Noles force a punt.

12:06 PM–

‘Noles have done a very nice job keeping Jackson in the pocket on the first drive. The Cardinals convert on a 3rd and 12, however, after Jalen Ramsey gets beat in man-to-man coverage on a crossing route. That’ll be something to watch today.

12:01 PM–

Late arriving crowd in Tallahassee, as we are about to get underway at the Doak. The ‘Noles will kick to start the contest.

11:00 AM–

Jameis Winston has returned to Tallahassee to cheer on the ‘Noles against Louisville.

Pre-Game Information

After a narrow escape against in-state foe Miami last Saturday night, the Seminoles will try to avoid a home let down against a pesky Louisville team, which has won two straight after largely under-performing in the first quarter of their schedule in 2015. The ‘Noles will have to contain Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson, as he has been extremely elusive in the running game to date. A full video preview of this game can be found here, but without further a do, here are your gameday news and notes.

News and Notes

The Injuries

  • G Kareem Are, RB Mario Pender, TE Jeremy Kerr are all OUT of today’s contest.
  • Although Are is listed as out, he is dressed out and participating in warm-ups.
  • RB Dalvin Cook and S Nate Andrews are listed atop the depth chart, and neither are listed on the injury report. Expect both to start.
  • With Andrews returning to safety, Trey Marshall returns to the Star position in the secondary after being ejected for targeting in the first quarter against Miami.

Questions Surrounding Terrance Smith

  • LB Terrance Smith was expected to miss the contest today, as he was listed on the injury report as OUT.
  • However, Smith is still listed atop the depth chart as the starting weak-side linebacker. This will be something that we will continue to monitor as we get closer to gametime.

Stats to Watch

  • According to Curt Weiler of TomahawkNation.com, WR Kermit Whitfield is 151 kick return yards away from setting the Florida State all-time record. He could set the new mark today with a big day in the return game.
  • Additionally, Weiler notes that the Seminoles are 36-1 in their last 37 games against unranked opponents, and they lead the all-time series against the Cardinals 13-2.

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