Every week we break down the result of the previous Florida State game. Who really played well for the Seminoles against Syracuse? 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 Wednesday evening).
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| D-D | Spot | Formation | Play | Analysis |
| 1-10 | at Su35 | SU ball on SU35. | ||
| 12-Norton, R. kickoff 65 yards to the FS0, touchback. | ||||
| 1-10 | at Fs25 | 10-Sean Maguire at QB for Florida State. | ||
| 1-10 | at Fs25 | 21 Pony Twins | 9S-Jacques Patrick rush over left tackle for 1 yard to the FS26 (13-Thompson, R.;4-Franklin, Z.), clock 14:45. | Power blocking. Patrick follows the pulling linemen but there's better blocking outside. If he bounces it there's a big gain to be had. |
| 2-9 | at Fs26 | 11 Gun | 10-Sean Maguire wide receiver screen right pass complete to 8W-Kermit Whitfield for loss of 4 yards to the FS22 (8C-Cordy, A.), clock 14:07. | Screen variation where Whitfield starts to release upfield then jumps back to receive the pass behind the line of scrimmage. FSU is doing a lot this year to try and break the defense's recognition of the receiver screens. On this play Kermit does a very poor job of selling the release and the defense is not fooled at all. |
| 3-13 | at Fs22 | PENALTY FS false start (8W-Kermit Whitfield) 5 yards to the FS17, clock 13:53. | ||
| 3-18 | at Fs17 | 00 Empty | 10-Sean Maguire sacked for loss of 9 yards to the FS8 (13-Thompson, R.), clock 13:27. | 3 Verts vs. Cuse's Quarters coverage and there would have been multiple WRs wide open if the protection holds up. Unfortunately Mavety gets whipped by a swim move and gives up a sack. Maguire was coming off the deep routes to the drag route but gets hit before he can get it off. |
| 4-27 | at Fs08 | 38-Cason Beatty punt 42 yards to the 50 yardline, 9-Estime, B. return 1 yards to the FS49. | ||
| Drive: 3 plays, minus 17 yards, TOP 01:59 | ||||
| 1-10 | at Fs49 | SYRACUSE drive start at 13:01. | ||
| 1-10 | at Fs49 | 2D-Dungey, E. at QB for Syracuse. | ||
| 1-10 | at Fs49 | 4-2-5 | 2D-Dungey, E. middle right pass complete to 9-Estime, B. for 2 yards to the FS47 (14-Javien Elliott;5-Reggie Northrup). | Quick outs from the two inside receivers out of trips against FSU's soft coverage. Both Brutus and Elliot react well, though Brutus misses the tackle and Elliott has to clean it up. Nice job minimizing the gain. |
| 2-8 | at Fs47 | 4-2-5 | 18-Strickland, D. rush right for loss of 1 yard to the FS48 (44-DeMarcus Walker), clock 12:12. | True zone read with Demarcus Walker going unblocked. Great job of staying home and not giving the QB a clear read, then making the tackle when the DL squeezes the zone lanes out of existence and the back tries to bounce it. Great play by Walker. |
| 3-9 | at Fs48 | 3-3-5 | 2D-Dungey, E. deep pass incomplete to 9-Estime, B., clock 11:49, QB hurry by 14-Javien Elliott. | FSU overloads the right side of the line by looping Josh Sweat around the center while also blitzing Elliott from the slot. Elliot has a free rush and the QB heaves it downfield. Marquez White gets away with pass interference on this play, putting his hand on top of the receiver's shoulder pad and slowing him down. It's legal if they don't call it. |
| 4-9 | at Fs48 | 92-Dixon, R. punt 43 yards to the FS5, fair catch by 3-Jesus Wilson. | Lots of comments about catching this punt on the 5, but depending on how the ball is spinning it may be the right call. If it isn't an end over end kick it make drop dead inside the 5. | |
| Drive: 3 plays, 1 yards, TOP 01:19 | ||||
| 1-10 | at Fs05 | FLORIDA STATE drive start at 11:42. | ||
| 1-10 | at Fs05 | 21 Twins | 9S-Jacques Patrick rush over left end for 4 yards to the FS9 (6-Williams, R.), clock 11:27. | Inside zone to the closed side. Really nice blocking opens the lane playside. With this formation vs. this defensive front, the safety is unaccounted for and an aggressive fill keeps the gain to just four yards. |
| 2-6 | at Fs09 | 21 | 9S-Jacques Patrick rush toss sweep right for 9 yards to the FS18, 1ST DOWN FS (8C-Cordy, A.), clock 11:05. | Toss sweep to the field. Tremendous block on the linebacker by Travis Rudolph. On the whiteboard, Syracuse would feel confident that their linebacker can defeat the block of a wide receiver, but on the field Rudolph drives him 8 yards upfield. Great job. Patrick with a head of steam is terrifying. |
| 1-10 | at Fs18 | 21 Twins | 9S-Jacques Patrick rush over right tackle for 2 yards to the FS20 (13-Thompson, R.), clock 10:44. | Inside zone. Rod Johnson doesn't quite get the backside linebacker cut off and Patrick is unable to make a cut because he's running with his head down. Get your eyes up and read the blocks. |
| 2-8 | at Fs20 | 11 Tight | 10-Sean Maguire screen pass complete to 26-Johnathan Vickers for 1 yard to the FS21 (30-Bennett, P.), clock 10:14. | Eberle is slow getting out on the screen pass and can't cut off the linebacker. Would like to see Vickers get upfield faster when he catches this as well. |
| 3-7 | at Fs21 | 11 Gun Tight | 10-Sean Maguire rush left for 4 yards to the FS25, out-of-bounds (33-Hodge, M.), fumble by 10-Sean Maguire, clock 09:41. | Snap is just over the top of Maguire's helmet. Obviously not a good snap, but Maguire gets both hands on it and needs to corral it. Good job recovering the ball and making something out of the play. |
| 4-3 | at Fs25 | 38-Cason Beatty punt 41 yards to the SU34, fair catch by 9-Estime, B.. | ||
| Drive: 5 plays, 20 yards, TOP 02:17 | ||||
| 1-10 | at Su34 | SYRACUSE drive start at 09:25. | ||
| 1-10 | at Su34 | 4-2-5 | 2D-Dungey, E. screen pass complete to 18-Strickland, D. for 62 yards to the FS4, 1ST DOWN SU (42-Lamarcus Brutus), clock 09:12. | Neat play. Syracuse sends the RB on rocket motion to the field, threatening the rocket screen. The FSU defense adjusts, with Brutus rotating down from a 2 high look and James shifting to play centerfield. This creates a numbers advantage to the boundary for the screen to that side. Syracuse schemed themselves a nice gain, but Derwin James not forcing the runner back to the inside of the field turns a 20-30 yard gain into a 60 yard gain. |
| 1-G | at Fs04 | 4-2-5 | 22-Fredericks, J. rush over right guard for 3 yards to the FS1 (91-Derrick Nnadi;5-Reggie Northrup), clock 08:46. | Inside zone. Both Reggie Northrup and Hoskins try to run around blocks rather than taking them on and allow Cuse to shove their way forward. |
| 2-G | at Fs01 | 4-2-5 | 2D-Dungey, E. rush quarterback scramble for 1 yard to the FS0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 08:23. | Demarcus Walker get double teamed on the edge and Jalen Ramsey can't scrape over the top when the QB scrambles backside. Ramsey undisciplined here...must maintain contain. |
| 48-Murphy, C. kick attempt good. | ||||
| Syracuse 7, Florida State 0 | ||||
| Drive: 3 plays, 66 yards, TOP 01:02 | ||||
| 12-Norton, R. kickoff 65 yards to the FS0, touchback. | ||||
| 1-10 | at Fs25 | FLORIDA STATE drive start at 08:23. | ||
| 1-10 | at Fs25 | 21 Pony | 10-Sean Maguire deep pass complete to 15-Travis Rudolph for 75 yards to the SU0, 1ST DOWN FS, TOUCHDOWN, clock 08:08. | Post alert vs. Quarters and Rudolph does the rest. If Syracuse is going to allow FSU to create 1v1 matchups with their DBs, it's going to be a long day for them, they simply do not have the speed to run with Rudolph. Tremendous individual effort after the catch to score. |
| 19-Roberto Aguayo kick attempt good. | ||||
| Syracuse 7, Florida State 7 | ||||
| Drive: 1 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:15 | ||||
| 19-Roberto Aguayo kickoff 65 yards to the SU0, touchback. | ||||
| 1-10 | at Su25 | SYRACUSE drive start at 08:08. | ||
| 1-10 | at Su25 | PENALTY SU false start (55-Trudo, R.) 5 yards to the SU20, clock 08:08. | ||
| 1-15 | at Su20 | 4-2-5 | 27-Morris, G. rush left for 9 yards to the SU29 (27-Marquez White), clock 07:50. | Inverted veer catches Josh Sweat peeking inside. Not sure if Brutus or White is the force defender here, but they are both late getting involved in the play, allowing the back to get the corner. |
| 2-6 | at Su29 | 4-2-5 | 3-Philips, E. rush right for 5 yards to the SU34 (4N-Giorgio Newberry), clock 07:18. | Inside zone give to a wing back who motions into the backfield. FSU's linebackers are slow and out of position. |
| 3-1 | at Su34 | 22-Fredericks, J. at QB for Syracuse. | ||
| 3-1 | at Su34 | 4-2-5 | 22-Fredericks, J. rush over right guard for 2 yards to the SU36, 1ST DOWN SU (91-Derrick Nnadi), clock 06:40. | Inside zone. Northrup and Hoskins both try to fill the playside gap and the back cuts behind Northrup. Stay in your gap, Reggie. |
| 1-10 | at Su36 | 2D-Dungey, E. at QB for Syracuse. | ||
| 1-10 | at Su36 | 4-2-5 | 2D-Dungey, E. sideline pass complete to 18-Strickland, D. for loss of 4 yards to the SU32 (5-Reggie Northrup), PENALTY SU personal foul (55-Trudo, R.) 15 yards to the SU21, NO PLAY, clock 06:13. | Play action rollout from gun is played well as everybody stays home. Elliott doesn't get the receiver on the ground, but throws him backwards and allows Reggie Northrup to clean up the play. |
| 1-25 | at Su21 | 4-2-5 | 27-Morris, G. rush right for 10 yards to the SU31 (44-DeMarcus Walker), clock 05:44. | Inside veer again. This time it's Demarcus Walker's turn to get caught inside and give up contain to the field. |
| 2-15 | at Su31 | 4-2-5 | 2D-Dungey, E. sideline pass complete to 3-Philips, E. for 2 yards to the SU33 (14-Javien Elliott), clock 05:08. | Quick game. OL cuts the DL and Cuse completes the speed out for minimal gain. Great job not allowing any run after catch. |
| 3-13 | at Su33 | 3-3-5 | 2D-Dungey, E. rush quarterback scramble for no gain to the SU33 (9-Josh Sweat), clock 04:20. | Play action on 3rd and 13 is an interesting call. FSU is in pure pash rush mode and Sweat beats the LT around the edge, forcing the Cuse QB to step up and try to escape the pocket. Sweat chases him down from behind but doesn't get credited with the sack as the ball gets back to the line of scrimmage. There was a huge lane that a scrambling QB would have been able to exploit. |
| 4-13 | at Su33 | 92-Dixon, R. punt 50 yards to the FS17, downed. | ||
| Drive: 6 plays, 8 yards, TOP 04:10 | ||||
| 1-10 | at Fs17 | FLORIDA STATE drive start at 03:58. | ||
| 1-10 | at Fs17 | 00 Empty | 10-Sean Maguire sideline pass complete to 3-Jesus Wilson for 11 yards to the FS28, 1ST DOWN FS, out-of-bounds (15-Dowels, J.), clock 03:47. | Snag concept to the trips side with a whip route to the back side. Great job of using contact to create separation by Bobo Wilson and nice ball placement to allow him to run after the catch by Maguire. |
| 1-10 | at Fs28 | 20 Gun Pony | 10-Sean Maguire sideline pass complete to 3-Jesus Wilson for 6 yards to the FS34, out-of-bounds (15-Dowels, J.), clock 03:22. | Play action quick hitch against soft coverage. Taking the free yards. Lazy fake from both the QB and the back. |
| 2-4 | at Fs34 | 22 | 9S-Jacques Patrick rush toss sweep right for 21 yards to the SU45, 1ST DOWN FS (15-Dowels, J.;20-Hudson, C.), clock 02:56. | This time it's Lane's turn to crack the linebacker on the toss sweep. |
| 1-10 | at Su45 | 21 | 10-Sean Maguire deep pass complete to 15-Travis Rudolph for 45 yards to the SU0, 1ST DOWN FS, TOUCHDOWN, clock 02:36. | Either Quarters or Cover 2 Invert. Either way, it ends up with man on man coverage against Rudolph and these guys can't run with him. |
| 19-Roberto Aguayo kick attempt good. | ||||
| Florida State 14, Syracuse 7 | ||||
| Drive: 4 plays, 83 yards, TOP 01:27 | ||||
| 19-Roberto Aguayo kickoff 64 yards to the SU1, 27-Morris, G. return 15 yards to the SU16 (30-Sh'Mar Kilby-Lane). | ||||
| 1-10 | at Su16 | SYRACUSE drive start at 02:31. | ||
| 1-10 | at Su16 | 4-2-5 | 2D-Dungey, E. sideline pass incomplete to 22-Fredericks, J., clock 02:25. | Play action, sprint out, screen to the back leaking out the backside. Nice job of staying home and taking a good angle to the back by Northrup. |
| 2-10 | at Su16 | 4-2-5 | 2D-Dungey, E. middle right pass complete to 3-Philips, E. for 3 yards to the SU19 (18-Ro'Derrick Hoskins), clock 02:05. | Quick hitch vs. soft coverage. Great job all half by FSU of tackling the short routes and keeping the gain minimal. |
| 3-7 | at Su19 | 4-2-5 | 2D-Dungey, E. deep pass incomplete to 82-Cornelius, A., clock 01:41. | Fade route vs. Man Free coverage. Great coverage by White and the QB throws it out of bounds. |
| 4-7 | at Su19 | 92-Dixon, R. punt 62 yards to the FS19, 3-Jesus Wilson return 4 yards to the FS23, out-of-bounds (92-Dixon, R.), PENALTY FS illegal block (30-Sh'Mar Kilby-Lane) 10 yards to the FS13, 1st and 10, FS ball on FS13. | Block in the back wipes out a great punt return. | |
| Drive: 3 plays, 3 yards, TOP 01:04 | ||||
| 1-10 | at Fs13 | FLORIDA STATE drive start at 01:27. | ||
| 1-10 | at Fs13 | 10 Gun | 10-Sean Maguire screen pass complete to 9S-Jacques Patrick for 9 yards to the FS22, out-of-bounds (15-Dowels, J.), clock 01:20. | Flare screen. Good blocking. Throw is a little late and forces Patrick to slow up for it. |
| 2-1 | at Fs22 | 21 Bunch | 9S-Jacques Patrick rush over right tackle for 9 yards to the FS31, 1ST DOWN FS (23-Thomas, J.), clock 01:04. | Counter Trey is blocked well by the line and fullbacks, but it's Bobo cracking the safety inside that really springs the run. Can't say enough about the job the WRs are doing blocking like they mean it. |
| 1-10 | at Fs31 | 00 Gun | 10-Sean Maguire sideline pass complete to 3-Jesus Wilson for 8 yards to the FS39, out-of-bounds, clock 00:39. | Bobo beats the corner right off the line when he gets an outside release and the corner opens his hips inside. Great catch and extension to get the toes down inbounds on the speed out. |
| 2-2 | at Fs39 | 21 | 9S-Jacques Patrick rush over left guard for 3 yards to the FS42, 1ST DOWN FS (4-Franklin, Z.;51-Simmons, D.), clock 00:20. | Inside zone is blocked well initially. Really nice seal by Eberle. Mavety can't stay on his feet and get the linebacker blocked or this play goes for more. |
| Drive: 4 plays, 29 yards, TOP 03:32 | ||||
| Florida State 14, Syracuse 7 |