FSU FOOTBALL
Florida State football capped off an upset victory versus the Alabama Crimson Tide yesterday afternoon by a score of 31-17. Minus the opening drive by the Crimson Tide, where they scored a touchdown, the Seminoles took control and never looked back.
The Seminoles dominated on the offensive and defensive sides of the football. It was most encouraging seeing offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn get in his bag to deliver knock-out punch after knock-out punch against Alabama. It felt like "old times".
RUSHING ATTACK
Florida State football knew that it wanted to run the football in 2025 with the acquisition of offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. His UCF Knights averaged 248.1 rushing yards per game last season, even when they didn't perform well on the field with a 4-8 record.
Florida State fans heard that the squad wanted to run the football last year, but were only able to muster 89.9 rushing yards per game. That isn't the standard for the Seminoles.
Well, that aspect changed on Saturday afternoon as the Seminoles' offense had its way against Alabama, where they had 46 carries for 236 rushing yards and four touchdowns. It was a committee approach, but one player stood out to me a lot.
That contributor was true freshman running back Ousmane Kromah. I have had high expectations for him since he arrived in Tallahassee this summer. This was for good reason since the Georgia Bulldogs were heavily pursuing him, and he had 1,356 yards and 15 touchdowns during his senior year of high school.
I know that high school and college are two totally different games, but it helps that he was highly productive. Kromah made the most of his opportunities as he rushed seven times for 31 yards and had one reception for seven yards.
The most noteworthy play in the contest for Kromah was midway through the second quarter when Florida State was up by a score of 14-7, the offense was faced with a 2nd down and 10, and decided to use the true freshman on an inside run. He had a 14-yard carry, where he was seen dragging four Alabama defenders at the end of the play.
It was around where I expected the Georgia native to finish carry-wise, but that physical run was so encouraging to see from the youngster, where Kromah can build on the opportunity for the coming weeks.