Seminoles Surrender Back Breaking Play in 4th Quarter

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Florida State football was defeated at home 27-24 by No. 19 SMU in their ACC opener on Labor Day at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Head coach Mike Norvell entered this season on the hot seat after losing 17 games combined over the last two seasons. With No.13 Alabama, No. 25 Louisville, and No.7 Miami left on the schedule, the SMU game was thought to be winnable, in what will be a tough ACC schedule for Florida State. 

Florida State brought in 23 transfer portal players to help address the glaring holes on both sides of the ball. Specifically, Norvell needed to address the offensive line, linebackers, and quarterback position. He added five offensive linemen, one of the top linebackers in the portal, and starting quarterback Ashton Daniels.

Against SMU, Norvell's newly built offensive line helped running back Ousmane Kromah run for 116 yards on 22 carries (including a 54 yard run). Outside of a few other plays, Florida State didn't play great on either side of the ball, but managed to stay in the game through the fourth quarter.

In spite of SMU committing four turnovers, both teams went back and fourth with the scoring well into the fourth quarter. In what was a backbreaking play, the biggest play in the game came in the fourth quarter when Yannick Smith caught a 79 yard touchdown shortly after Kromah tied the game 17-17 late in the third.

Florida State ended up going 2 for 15 on third down, which tells you that the offense struggled in spite of getting extra opportunities with the four turnovers. Ashton Daniels went 12 for 23 in the air, and only passed for 125 yards (compared to 430 passing yards by SMU’s Kevin Jennings).

SMU’s Smith finished the game with five receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown, but it was his fourth quarter touchdown that really hurt Florida State. Tony White's defense gave up 585 yards in the game.

Norvell's new look offense never was in rhythm, never had momentum, and often in the game was overwhelmed by SMU’ defensive front. Florida State didn't put together great scoring drives, but instead scored on athletic plays from individual efforts.

Florida State's Sam Singleton answered Smith’s 79 yard touchdown with a 39 yards touchdown catch and run, scoring his second touchdown in as many games. For the second week in a row, Singleton was the team's leading receiver.

A key factor in SMU being able to put pressure on Norvell offense was its ability to keep All ACC wide receiver Duce Robinson out of the game. Robinson earned virtually every preseason honor you can get, but was limited to two catches in the game. Florida State struggled to find the 2nd and 3rd options throughout the night.

Florida has a bye this week, and travels to Alabama on September 19.

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