Column: FSU’s stars shined against Alabama; it wasn’t nearly enough

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It’s no state secret that this is a deeply flawed Florida State football roster.

Some questionable decisions in how the money was divvied up, both positionally and in which players were brought in or retained.

But the roster has some bright spots, most notably at the offensive skill positions.

Say what you will about the quarterback, the offensive line, or the defense, there are some winning running backs and wide receivers on this year’s FSU team.

To have any chance at pulling off another upset of Alabama, the Seminoles were going to need standout games from those players.

As it turns out, they got them from pretty much all of them.

Duce Robinson was targeted eight times and had six catches for 135 yards — nearly double the 75 combined he had through the first two games — and his first score of the season.

Ousmane Kromah ran for 80 yards and another score, bringing his season totals to 311 yards and three scores in as many games.

Micahi Danzy (89 receiving yards) and Sam Singleton Jr. (68 receiving yards before leaving the game with an injury and using crutches to get back to the locker room) continued to showcase their playmaking ability.

They combined to spark FSU’s hot offensive start, which saw the Seminoles jump out to a 21-6 lead early in the second quarter and give just enough hope.

But even though they all delivered, it didn’t make a dent. The other holes on the roster were too big to overcome against Alabama.

The defense, which started with consecutive three-and-outs after managing just one in the first two games combined, allowed Alabama to score the next nine times it got the ball after that before it went into victory formation.

Ashton Daniels had a weird game that was both productive (his 377 passing yards were the most for FSU since the Wake Forest game in 2023) and far too mistake-prone (three interceptions).

While he amassed quite a few yards, I’m not sure I’d classify many of the throws he made as particularly tough. All in all, he largely looked like a quarterback not good enough to handle that stage or an opposing defense of that caliber.

His offensive line didn’t help Daniels in moments, but he also made matters worse at times by holding onto the ball far longer than was advisable in that setting.

That left a few very strong performances from FSU’s best players not amounting to much in the grand scheme of things.

And it leaves the Seminoles in a 1-2 hole, not likely to get much better with three more games in succession against teams that were ranked this week on the horizon after next week’s matchup with FCS Central Arkansas.

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