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Florida State football film review: Notre Dame 3rd quarter

FSU owned this quarter with strong QB play, and second half adjustments in blitz pickup and defensive pressures.

By Juan Montalvo III
Streeter Lecka

Every week we break down the result of the previous game. Who really played well for the Seminoles against Notre Dame? Which players played poorly? Where did the coaches do well, and when did they screw up?

Read to find out. Note: there are certain schematic and tendency things we do not discuss in these reviews out of respect for our sources, the school and coaching staff.

For other quarters, visit the film review section (All quarters up by tonight).

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D-D At Spot Play Analysis
BRINDZA kickoff 65 yards to the FS0, Whitfield, K. return 30 yards to the FS30 (PROSISE;ONWUALU). Finally, a decent kick return.
1-10 at Fs30 FLORIDA STATE drive start at 14:54.
1-10 at Fs30 Winston, J. at QB for Florida State.
1-10 at Fs30 11 gun Winston, J. sideline pass complete to O'Leary, N. for 1 yard to the FS31 (SHUMATE), clock 14:36. Good pass pro, ND playing coverage, Winston great job to pump the ball and not throw it because O'Leary was not ready when he was about to throw. This goes unnoticed but if he throws it on the first try it might be an INT.
2-9 at Fs31 11 gun Winston, J. post pass complete to Rudolph, T. for 16 yards to the FS47, 1ST DOWN FS (REDFIELD;SHUMATE), clock 14:07. This is quick game, but Winston's anticipation and recognition is so damn good. He is into his throwing motion by the time the linebacker takes his third step, and the throw goes on the money to where the LB vacated. Good pass pro.
1-10 at Fs47 11 Winston, J. rush QX for 5 yards to the ND48, out-of-bounds (DAY), clock 13:52. Play action, ND doesn't bite, Erving/Matias not great blocks but 5 has lots of time and ultimately evades the rush and scrambles. Good job to not force something like he did in the first quarter.
2-5 at Nd48 11 gun Winston, J. post pass complete to Greene, R. for 13 yards to the ND35, 1ST DOWN FS (LUKE;SHUMATE), clock 13:18. Tight set for FSU, another blitz, another good pickup on this drive and Winston finds Rashad in the vacated area backside. Two future pros.
1-10 at Nd35 11 gun Winston, J. ML pass complete to O'Leary, N. for 5 yards to the ND30 (SMITH, J.), clock 12:53. Quick game, cut blocks get the hands of the DL down, O'Leary option route. Right read, ball out perfectly on time. Beautiful.
2-5 at Nd30 11 gun Winston, J. screen pass complete to Williams, K. for 6 yards to the ND24, 1ST DOWN FS, clock 12:16. Poor pass pro here, as ND engages the GCG and the backer shoots the backside A gap. Good design by Notre Dame and they will hit some of these. A more experienced center may alert this, or keep the back in. Ultimately, Winston senses pressure, evades (missed tackle by ND), and throws a probably ill-advised pass to Williams, who makes a tremendous individual effort play to catch the ball and shed the tackler. Winston probably should have taken the sack.
1-10 at Nd24 21 PENALTY FS false start (Erving, C.) 5 yards to the ND29, clock 12:04. I don't get it. Another one from a senior.
1-15 at Nd29 21 gun Winston, J. post pass complete to Wilson, J. for 19 yards to the ND10, 1ST DOWN FS, clock 11:46. This is sick. Notre Dame small blitz, picked up well, Winston fits this ball (not a bad decision) with a precision throw between three defenders and over one. What a ball.
1-G at Nd10 21 gun Stevenson, F. rush left for no gain to the ND10 (JONES, J.), clock 11:09. You do want to make the defense respect the option to run the ball with the fullback, but Ryan Hoefeld gets driven back too far here by a very good nose guard. Honestly, the ball could have gone to the tailback here.
2-G at Nd10 11 gun Winston, J. slant pass complete to Greene, R. for 10 yards to the ND0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 10:37. This is fantastic blitz pickup and football savant stuff from Winston. Notre Dame is in one look, Winston gives a dummy count to see if ND will show its blitz, it does, he checks FSU to a different protection, Notre Dame shifts a bit but doesn't really change its blitz look. Notre Dame blitzes 6, FSU has six to block and picks it up perfectly. Karlos Williams is singled up on Jaylon Smith (future 1st round pick), which is obviously the look Notre Dame wants, but Williams steps up and pops him. Physical and balanced. At this point, the Irish are DEAD. Notre Dame is actually green dogging with a 7th (linebacker will blitz if running back stays in to block, which he does). He's the free rusher, but has no shot of getting to Winston from that distance, and Winston throws a strike to Rashad Greene. Travis Rudolph was also open as a secondary option. The blitz pickup, and the check by Winston, destroyed this Notre Dame blitz.
Aguayo, R. kick attempt good.
Notre Dame 17, Florida State 17
Drive: 9 plays, 70 yards, TOP 04:22
Aguayo, R. kickoff 64 yards to the ND1, MCDANIEL return 16 yards to the ND17 (Northrup, R.;Smith, Terr.). MASSIVE hit from Northrup. Excellent Robot dance following it. Just crushes the returner. Doak is electric.

1-10 at Nd17 NOTRE DAME drive start at 10:32.
1-10 at Nd17 425 GOLSON middle pass complete to KOYACK for 23 yards to the ND40, 1ST DOWN ND (Andrews, N.), clock 10:21. Zone pressure from FSU, appears to be fire zone (3 deep, 3 underneath). Ramsey and Terrance Smith blitz, Pugh drops into coverage in flat zone. Thomas appears to be cheating up a bit and the TE sits in the vacated hook zone. 24 is badly held because he gets past the RG and it goes uncalled. Ramsey almost knocks this down - very surprising that Golson got this past him. Backer cannot bust the coverage this badly.
1-10 at Nd40 425 GOLSON WS pass complete to FULLER for 5 yards to the ND45 (Darby, R.), clock 09:56. ND snaps this quick (24 on play clock), before FSU is fully set. Trips bunched wide, only 2 men on the trips, they take the easy numbers. Hunter does a good job diagnosing and getting to play quickly, but ND does a good job blocking DBs back with a TE and they get some easy yards.
2-5 at Nd45 425 FOLSTON rush over left tackle for 7 yards to the FS48, 1ST DOWN ND (Edwards, M.), clock 09:35. IZ with jet action to boundary. Well blocked, but both 7 and 24 need to do a better job avoiding or shedding blocks. Folston pings off his blocker at second level and Edwards is able to grab him from being.
1-10 at Fs48 425 CARLISLE rush ER for loss of 1 yard to the FS49, fumble forced by Smith, Terr., fumble by CARLISLE recovered by ND KOYACK at FS49, clock 08:57. Jet sweep to field. Featherston knifes past the TE and barely misses a deep TFL. Hunter does a good job forcing this play inside, where 24 pops Carlisle hard and knocks the ball loose. Their TE is in good position to fall on it because Featherston made him look silly. Luck of the Irish ha ha get it
2-11 at Fs49 425 GOLSON slant pass complete to FULLER for 30 yards to the FS19, 1ST DOWN ND (Smith, Terr.), clock 08:32. Darby isn't 100%. That's pretty clear from a couple plays on this drive. Well run route and head fake by Fuller checks him up a bit, but a full go Darby makes this a tougher catch and run or brings him down. Fuller is off to the races, and you can see Darby limping after him.
1-10 at Fs19 425 PENALTY ND false start (LOMBARD) 5 yards to the FS24, clock 08:21. ND gets called for one. Finally.
1-15 at Fs24 425 GOLSON MR pass complete to PROSISE for 13 yards to the FS11, out-of-bounds (Andrews, N.), clock 07:49. Golson is a playmaker. Made a nice play with his legs here. Stunt on boundary side, where 90 loops behind 44 who comes inside. Pocket collapses, Golson makes a move to go towards field side and draws 44 out of his lane, runs up and dumps it off. Heck of a play from 5 and good scramble rules play from the WR to find an open space. Just tip your cap.
2-2 at Fs11 425 GOLSON slant pass complete to FULLER for 11 yards to the FS0, 1ST DOWN ND, TOUCHDOWN, clock 07:26. Great screen call into blitz. LT does a good job to get in space and they have an LT and Robinson on Darby/Hunter. Big boys win their blocks and it's an easy TD. Great call from Kelly.
BRINDZA kick attempt good.
Notre Dame 24, Florida State 17
Drive: 7 plays, 83 yards, TOP 03:06 A couple really nice calls and plays made by Notre Dame here. Chunk plays came off a bust underneath, a slant with room to run, and a great heads up play from Golson.
BRINDZA kickoff 65 yards to the FS0, touchback.
1-10 at Fs25 FLORIDA STATE drive start at 07:26.
1-10 at Fs25 01 gun Winston, J. sideline pass complete to Wilson, J. for 6 yards to the FS31 (LUKE), clock 07:05. Empty set, 6 man protection, appears to be curl/flat but hard to tell with angle. Winston hits Wilson quickly in the flat.
2-4 at Fs31 PENALTY ND offside defense (JONES, J.) 5 yards to the FS36, 1ST DOWN FS, clock 06:49. Jameis gets em with a count.
1-10 at Fs36 11 gun tight Winston, J. sideline pass complete to Williams, K. for 21 yards to the ND43, 1ST DOWN FS (SCHMIDT, J.), PENALTY ND holding declined, clock 06:23. Smash with wheel underneath. Pocket collapses under pressure, Jameis evades it, gets wide, and hits Karlos on the wheel route. Rudolph is absolutely mugged trying to run the corner, and they draw a flag. Incredible throw on the run from Winston. Kid is insane.
1-10 at Nd43 21 gun bunch Winston, J. post pass complete to Rudolph, T. for 20 yards to the ND23, 1ST DOWN FS (REDFIELD), clock 05:56. Houston concept. Winston hits Rudolph on the post. Puts ball in a spot where Rudolph won't get hit, and could run a bit. Winston is just on fire.
1-10 at Nd23 21 singleback Cook, D. rush left for 10 yards to the ND13, 1ST DOWN FS, out-of-bounds (SMITH, J.), clock 05:32. Outside zone, ND has a run blitz on. Well blocked by the line, Stevenson makes a great cut block in space and Dalvin takes it wide. O'Leary drives his man 15 yards. Awesome job to check to this run by Jameis. He saw blitz.
1-10 at Nd13 21 I Cook, D. rush right for no gain to the ND13 (SHUMATE), clock 05:07. Zone right, appears to be some confusion with Stevenson, who just sort of shoots through without doing any blocking, allowing the safety to get in and get Cook behind line. With a block, has a chance to go some yards.
2-10 at Nd13 21 pony Winston, J. rush QX for 8 yards to the ND5 (SCHMIDT, J.), clock 04:09. Post/wheel, Jameis sees no one open, gets out of the pocket quickly. Does a great job pump faking and then stif arming a defender and getting extra yards.
3-2 at Nd05 Timeout Florida State, clock 03:53. Just didn't get set quick enough.
3-2 at Nd05 11 gun Winston, J. sideline pass incomplete to Greene, R., PENALTY ND holding (RIGGS) 3 yards to the ND2, 1ST DOWN FS, NO PLAY, clock 03:49. Riggs just hugs Rashad like he was greeting him at the airport after a long trip. Jameis throws to the spot for a comeback and it draws the flag. I'm not sure if he was throwing to Greene or to catch a free flag. Could easily be the latter.
1-G at Nd02 GL Williams, K. rush over left end for 2 yards to the ND0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 03:38. Noles line up in goal line formation and run wide zone. Hats on hats, Karlos just physically powers his way into the end zone. Probably a generous forward progress. These dudes were bangin on each other, really physical play all around.
Official Review: Ruling on the field is a touchdown. Awesome drive from the Noles. Winston is at his absolute best. Enjoy it - only 8 more opportunities.
Official Review: Ruling on the field stands.
Aguayo, R. kick attempt good.
Notre Dame 24, Florida State 24
Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:54
Aguayo, R. kickoff 51 yards to the ND14, CARLISLE return 18 yards to the ND32 (Vickers, J.). Pooch kick. Waisome just flies on by and gets blown up. Carlisle drags some Noles a few yards.
1-10 at Nd32 NOTRE DAME drive start at 03:32.
1-10 at Nd32 416 FOLSTON rush right for 3 yards to the ND35 (Darby, R.), clock 03:11. IZ right, Folston runs it wide, Andrews does a good job getting to him and hitting him but not bringing him down. Ramsey goes for strip and collision with Hunter lets him free to gain a yard or two extra.
2-7 at Nd35 416 GOLSON deep pass incomplete to BROWN, C., clock 02:53. Noles in cover 3, Golson goes for the one on one matchup with PJ and Brown on a go route. Overthrows it, but PJ was in phase. Great coverage.
3-7 at Nd35 416 GOLSON middle pass incomplete (Edwards, M.), clock 02:49. Noles send the house. 6 man pressure, forces Golson to throw it quick, Edwards jumps up and swats it. Amazing pressure and great play from 15. Golson is 5'11 not 6'1 so batting balls needed to be a theme and it was.
4-7 at Nd35 BRINDZA punt 52 yards to the FS13, fair catch by Greene, R..
Drive: 3 plays, 3 yards, TOP 00:50 Great defense on this drive, top to bottom. Great time to force a 3 and out, too.
1-10 at Fs13 FLORIDA STATE drive start at 02:42.
1-10 at Fs13 11 pistol Cook, D. rush over right end for 3 yards to the FS16 (SMITH, J.), clock 02:28. Noles have numbers to run wide zone to field side, but unblocked defender Jaylon Smith makes an unreal play in pursuit. Not many backers in CFB can get behind the backside OT, cut around and beat a fast player like this kid did. Just a really impressive athlete. His burst here is incredible, and he changes direction insanely quick.
2-7 at Fs16 11 gun tight Winston, J. sacked for loss of 8 yards to the FS8 (OKWARA), PENALTY FS personal foul (Jackson, T.) 4 yards to the FS4, clock 01:35. Really nice play from the defender here. Cook does a solid cut block but the defender manages to land and bear crawl to a point he can grab Winston's legs. Cam has to stay on it. Tre Jackson's too old for this sort of garbage. Play was over and he dove straight onto a kid. Hard to hear a whistle but you just can't do this.
2-19 at Fs04 3rd and 19.
3-19 at Fs04 11 gun Cook, D. rush up middle for 5 yards to the FS9 (SCHMIDT, J.), clock 01:17. Power up the middle for a handful of yards. Just getting space to punt. Jackson's error costs the Noles the series. Have to get space to punt.
4-14 at Fs09 Beatty, C. punt 54 yards to the ND37, RIGGS return 5 yards to the ND42 (Hunter, T.). I'm pretty confident Beatty is a clutch player. Much like this 2014 Noles team, he does just enough not to lose you games.
Drive: 3 plays, minus 4 yards, TOP 02:01 Couple nice plays from Notre Dame, but a throwaway third down because of Jackson.
1-10 at Nd42 NOTRE DAME drive start at 00:41.
1-10 at Nd42 PENALTY ND false start (MARTIN, N.) 5 yards to the ND37, clock 00:41.
1-15 at Nd37 416 GOLSON screen pass complete to ROBINSON, C. for 4 yards to the ND41 (Smith, Terr.), clock 00:29. Ramsey nearly swats this down, but Golson stays composed and fakes him out. Quick screen, and Andrews nearly tackles him for a loss but misses it. Big man drags rest of the squad for a couple extra yards.
2-11 at Nd41 416 GOLSON sideline pass complete to FULLER for 6 yards to the ND47, PENALTY FS personal foul (Featherston, L.) 15 yards to the FS38, 1ST DOWN ND. Quick outs, Fuller wide open with room to run but slips. Can't see what Featherston did on the broadcast, but there was some swiping back and forth around the heads and he got caught.
1-10 at Fs38 1st and 10.
Drive: 2 plays, 20 yards, TOP 04:01
Notre Dame 24, Florida State 24 Q3 featured some big time players making some big time plays. Winston was probably at the best he's ever been, and Golson made some great plays also. Both sides just had to tip their caps a few times.

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