FSU Football: Charles Kelly failed to make second half adjustments
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU football was dominant on defense in the first half against Miami, but failed to make critical adjustments in the second half.
I’m all for giving Charles Kelly credit for the FSU football defensive performance in the first half against Miami. The unit was lights out and clearly the best on the field.
They held Miami scoreless and only allowed 1.9 yards per play in the first half. Miami converted just one third down and have 57 yards of total offense.
That’s elite ladies and gentlemen, but then the second half took place.
Miami went on to score 24 points in the second half while averaging 6.51 yards per play. They had 280 yards on 43 plays in the second half.
Guess what?
Miami had 150 yards on its final two drives and averaged 10 yards per play en route to scoring two touchdowns in less than two minutes on each drive.
Miami ran 11 passes and 4 runs plays on those two drives. How is that possible after such domination in the first half from FSU?
The Miami Adjustment
Miami couldn’t run the ball at all against Miami in the first half. In fact, they couldn’t do anything. The adjustment was putting the ball in the air in the second half after realizing they were not going to be able to run the ball.
Florida State Seminoles Football
The primary targets in their passing game were Braxton Berrios and Christopher Herndon IV.
Berrios finished the game with 90 yards on eight receptions and two touchdowns mainly against Kyle Meyers in the slot.
Why didn’t FSU go to its DIME package of six defensive backs on the field knowing Miami wasn’t going to be able to run the ball? Why did FSU leave Meyers with no help against Berrios?
Another question is why was Tarvarus McFadden blitzing on Miami’s second to last drive? It was dumb to blitz there.
McFadden telegraphed the blitz and then gave a piss poor effort on the blitz as he realized it wasn’t going to get close to getting home.
FSU has too much talent on defense to not make the necessary adjustments in the second half. Miami isn’t even a good offense.
Third and Long Conversions
FSU allowed the following third and long conversions:
- Third and 20
- Third and 10
- Third and 10
- Third and 10
So four of Miami’s seven third down conversions came when it was third and 10 or longer. The final two came on the final drive.
It’s totally unacceptable to allow Braxton Berrios to beat you like that Charles Kelly. These types of issues have been occurring the past three seasons with Kelly as defensive coordinator.
Next: FSU Guide To Dealing With Delusional Miami Fans
I don’t expect Jimbo Fisher to fire him during the season, but there’s absolutely no way Jimbo Fisher should be allowed to keep Kelly as defensive coordinator next season.