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FSU football film review: Second quarter vs. NC State

Florida State gets things rolling offensively

By Dakota Moyer and Mark Sanders
NCAA Football: North Carolina State at Florida State Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome back to our weekly film review sessions of Florida State’s 2017 season. Every play broken down, with video and analysis.

As always, this content is best viewed on a computer or tablet, not on a phone.

After a sluggish start, the second quarter is when FSU began to get things moving offensively. The quarter started out with a fourth down conversion from James Blackman to Nyqwan Murray, perhaps indicative of the success the young quarterback was able to have through the air during the game.

If there was one takeaway from this game, it is that Auden Tate is clearly the No. 1 receiver on the roster. His connection with both Blackman and Francois, before the latter went down with injury, is apparent and has been a reliable target for both quarterbacks. At 6-5, 225-pounds, he was able to use his size many times in this game to box out smaller cornerbacks. The Seminoles really need him to be healthy if they are to continue their offensive success.

On defense, the big bust of the game came right before halftime. As you’ll read below, the coverage on this play was fairly basic, yet one simple mistake cost the ’Noles a long touchdown. Can’t have those kind of errors if Florida State wants to rebound against Wake Forest.

FSU vs NC State - 2nd Quarter

D-D At Formation Play Analysis
D-D At Formation Play Analysis
Start of 2nd quarter, clock 15:00.
4-3 ST38 10 Gun Blackman, J bubble screen pass complete to Murray, N for 4 yards to the ST34, 1ST DOWN FS (Fernandez, J.), clock 14:36. 3.1 and FSU throws a screen to the outside with Tate and Gavin blocking. Both get just enough of their defenders to allow room for Noonie to pick up the first.
1-10 ST34 21 Gun Akers, C rush over right end for 2 yards to the ST32 (Chubb, B.;Fernandez, J.), clock 14:07. Power to the TE. Izzo gets a great down block on Chubb and Dickerson pulls and kicks the playside backer. Good inital double team by Minshew and Leonard on the 3 tech but Leonard is unable to work up to the backside backer before he scrapes and makes the tackle.
2-8 ST32 21 Gun Blackman, J screen pass incomplete to Vickers, J, clock 13:52. Play action to Akers and FSU leaks Vickers into the flat. They have this set up nicely but Blackman just misses the touch throw.
3-8 ST32 20 Gun Blackman, J deep pass complete to Tate, A for 24 yards to the ST8, 1ST DOWN FS, out-of-bounds. NCST puts 6 on the line of scrimmage but only rushes 4 at the snap and runs what looks like quarters coverage. Dickerson over steps on his pass set and gets beat inside. Blackman stands in and delivers a beautiful ball to Tate on a fade route while getting hit. Excellent route by Tate to give room to the sideline and catch the ball over his outside shoulder.
1-G ST08 Cosentino, J at QB for Florida State.
1-G ST08 21 I-form Patrick, J rush over left guard for 4 yards to the ST4 (Chubb, B.). Zone Extra. Minshew gets beat by a swim move playside and as a result Vickers runs into the 3 tech. Patrick makes a good move to cutback where Dickerson has washed the nose and created a lane. Kelly does not do a good job scooping up to the backer or this would have been a bigger gain.
2-G ST04 Blackman, J at QB for Florida State.
2-G ST04 21 Gun Patrick, J rush left for no gain to the ST4 (Chubb, B.;Pratt, G.), clock 12:41. Outside Zone weak and to the boundary. Poor blocking all around here. Kelly is initally able to reach Chubb but he can't maintain the block. Vickers is leading and does a really poor job trying to block the rolled up safety. Dickerson also unable to maintain his block on the second level. Patrick gets his helmet ripped off at the end of the run and it's not called.
3-G ST04 Timeout Florida State, clock 12:28.
3-G ST04 10 Gun Blackman, J middle pass complete to Tate, A for 4 yards to the ST0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 12:24. NCST in some type of zone coverage with 6 defenders lined up with their heels on the goaline. Noonie has an option route from the slot with Tate running a post from the outside. Excellent timing and ball placement from Blackman in getting the ball up and over the backer.
ST03 Aguayo, R kick attempt good.
NCST 10, FSU 7
Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 05:56 TOP
Tyler, L kickoff 65 yards to the ST0, touchback.
NC STATE drive start at 12:24.
1-10 ST25 34 Finley, R. crossing pass incomplete to Louis, S., clock 12:19. Play action boot. FSU in tight man coverage as Finley tries to hit the slot on a whip route but it's a rare, inaccurate throw.
2-10 ST25 4-1-6 Finley, R. slant pass complete to Louis, S. for 8 yards to the ST33 (Aime, W), clock 11:56. NCST runs the Inside Zone/Slant RPO again to the slot receiver. Again FSU checks to a weak blitz which creates an auto throw read for the QB. Westbrook is too loose in his coverage amd then doesn't finish the tackle, allowing the receiver to pick up another 4 yards.
3-2 ST33 4-1-6 Finley, R. screen pass complete to Samuels, J. for no gain to the ST33 (James, D), clock 11:25. Play action boot from NCST. FSU in man coverage with Derwin as a robber. He shows great awareness to drive on the H back in the flat who is coming from the other side of the formation.
4-2 ST33 Cole, A.J. punt 33 yards to the FS34, fair catch by McFadden, T.
Drive: 3 plays, 8 yards, 01:29 TOP
FLORIDA STATE drive start at 10:55.
1-10 FS34 12 Pistol Blackman, J deep out pass complete to Tate, A for 15 yards to the FS49, 1ST DOWN FS (McCloud, N.), clock 10:34. FSU runs waggle (PA boot with a deep crosser) with a pulling guard for protection on the boot. Good protection as Blackman is under control, gets his feet set and delivers a catchable ball to Tate who has created good seperation on a comback.
1-10 FS49 21 Pistol Akers, C rush up middle for 5 yards to the ST46 (Fernandez, J.;Kidd-Glass, T.), clock 09:58. Inside Zone with Vickers inserting into the weak A gap. Good design here by FSU that allows the OL to stay on double teams and gets Vickers up on a backer. Vickers however chases the playside backer who is taking himself out of the play rather than turning inside and picking up the weak backer or this would have been a bigger gain.
2-5 ST46 21 Gun Akers, C rush left for 2 yards to the ST44 (Bryant, E.), clock 09:26. Outside Zone strong. The DE over Izzo slants outside so Izzo correctly washes him. Vickers is the lead here and needs to read the block of Izzo and cut inside. Instead, he goes outside, runs into the DE and leaves the safety unblocked. FSU had good numbers here if Vickers does his job.
3-3 ST44 11 Gun Patrick, J rush draw play for 4 yards to the ST40, 1ST DOWN FS (Morehead, J.), clock 08:48. Counter Trey weak. FSU has this blocked up really well. The safety is uncounted for from the backside and he comes across and makes the tackle. Patrick needs to make this guy miss one on one.
1-10 ST40 12 Pistol Akers, C rush over right guard for no gain to the ST40 (Boone, S.). Inside Zone. Akers looks to cut this back too quickly. Needs to press the hole a little longer. It appears there was a hole to the front side. He cuts back where Campbell let's a defender through freely to make the tackle.
2-10 ST40 12 Gun Blackman, J crossing pass complete to Tate, A for 7 yards to the ST33 (Fernandez, J.;Alston, J.), clock 07:48. 3 step drop and Blackman thorws a nice ball to Tate on an in route. Kelly one on one with Chubb and gets beat inside and Blackman takes a big hit. Good gain to get to a manageable third down.
3-3 ST33 Timeout Florida State, clock 07:22.
3-3 ST33 11 Gun Blackman, J rush quarterback scramble for 11 yards to the ST22, fumble forced by Chubb, B., fumble by Blackman, J recovered by ST Boone, S. at ST2. NCST shows blitz and drops. Blackman looks to get the ball out quick but appears to have no one open and he steps up to run. Puts a nice spin move on the first defender and tries to slide but Chubb makes a great play from behind to jar the ball lose. Looks close but there's not indesputible evidence.
Drive: 7 plays, 64 yards, 03:47 TOP
NC STATE drive start at 07:08.
1-10 ST02 34 Gallaspy, R. rush right for no gain to the ST2 (Pugh, J;Samuels, S), PENALTY FS face mask (Pugh, J) 15 yards to the ST17, 1ST DOWN ST, NO PLAY. Split Zone. Pugh makes a good play iniitially to take on the H back but grabs the facemask of the ballcarrier to help NCST get off their own 2 yard line.
1-10 ST17 34 Finley, R. deep pass incomplete to Harmon, K., clock 06:49. FSU rushes 5 as NCST tries to test FSU's freshman corner on a fade. Samuels in phase with excellent coverage as the ball is a little overthrown.
2-10 ST17 4-2-5 Finley, R. wide receiver screen left pass complete to Samuels, J. for loss of 6 yards to the ST11, out-of-bounds (Burns, B), clock 06:17. Play action screen by NCST in an effort to hold the outside backer. Derwin gets a jump and jukes the blocker to blow up the play. Want to see him finish here but good hustle by the rest of the defense helps him out.
3-16 ST11 PENALTY ST delay of game (Finley, R.) 5 yards to the ST6, clock 05:56.
3-21 ST06 4-1-6 Finley, R. wide receiver screen right pass incomplete to Hines, N., dropped pass, clock 05:45. Motion to empty and NCST tries to hit the HB on a bubble. Fisher said that Adonis Thomas needed to bump out more so they don't get out-leveraged. In the end it doesn't matter because the HB drops the pass.
4-21 ST06 Cole, A.J. punt 45 yards to the FS49, McFadden, T return 15 yards to the ST36 (Griffiths, T.;Bodine, B.).
Drive: 3 plays, 4 plays, 01:33 TOP
FLORIDA STATE drive start at 05:35.
1-10 ST36 21 I-form Blackman, J wide receiver screen left pass complete to Murray, N for 15 yards to the ST21, 1ST DOWN FS (Moore, A.), clock 05:22. This play is a part of FSU's bubble series. Blackman sees a numbers advantage outside and throws a perfect ball to Noonie. Really good block by Tate on the outside.
1-10 ST21 21 I-form Akers, C rush over left guard for 2 yards to the ST19 (Frazier, S.;Smith-Williams), clock 04:43. Split Zone. NC slants the backside 3 tech inside. Kelly chases and gets his hips turned and is unable to work up to the backer as a result. Good job by Akers this time to stick his foot in the ground and take what's there.
2-8 ST19 21 Gun Blackman, J screen pass complete to Akers, C for 6 yards to the ST13, out-of-bounds (Pratt, G.), clock 04:15. Play action to Akers. He delays and then slips to the flat and Blackman gets it to him for a nice gain. Izzo is working a corner post to the same side and if Blackman waits a half second longer this opens up for a TD.
3-2 ST13 22 I-form Akers, C rush over right end for no gain to the ST13 (Moore, A.), clock 03:36. FSU motions Saunders outside the RT and runs a pin-n-pull toss. Saunders has really bad footwork as he runs into Leonard who is trying to pull. As a result, FSU cant get everyone blocked and Akers does his best to lower his should to pick up the first.
4-2 ST13 Aguayo, R field goal attempt from 30 MISSED - wide right, spot at ST20, clock 03:07.
Drive: 5 plays, 23 yards, 02:28 TOP
NC STATE drive start at 03:07.
1-10 ST20 4-1-6 Finley, R. middle left pass complete to Meyers, J. for 7 yards to the ST27 (Andrews, N), clock 02:47. Nate Andrews in soft man coverage over the slot receiver and NCST goes at him.
2-3 ST27 4-1-6 Finley, R. wide receiver screen right pass complete to Samuels, J. for 4 yards to the ST31, 1ST DOWN ST (Meyers, K;James, D), clock 02:35. Bubble to Samuels to the field out of 2x2. Taylor triggers well on the stalk block by the receiver but his technique is not great. Needs to have his eyes up and cannot give up the outside. Contain, hold your ground and allow the defense to pursue inside-out.
1-10 ST31 4-2-5 Nichols, D. rush left for loss of 2 yards to the ST29 (Wilkerson, J), clock 01:58. Ouside Zone lead to the field. FSU moves Derwin into the box. Fred Jones gets a great jump on the ball, forcing the runner to cutback where Aime and Wilkerson are in pursuit.
2-12 ST29 4-1-6 Finley, R. post pass complete to Meyers, J. for 71 yards to the FS0, 1ST DOWN ST, TOUCHDOWN, clock 01:34. 2x2, fake toss and Finley hits the slot down the seam. Andrews in man coverage but inexplicably looks in the backfield at the fake, hesitates and is beat. Derwin is the last line of defense and the receiver makes him miss and is off to the races.
FS03 Wise, C. kick attempt good.
NCST 17, FSU 7
Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards, 01:33 TOP
Bambard, K. kickoff 66 yards to the FS14, Gavin, K return 27 yards to the FS41 (Lacy, N.).
FLORIDA STATE drive start at 01:29.
1-10 FS41 11 Gun Blackman, J sideline pass complete to Gavin, K for 9 yards to the 50 yardline, clock 01:10. 3 step drop and Blackman delviers the ball with good timing to Gavin on an out route. The throw is too low. Needs to get this outside and allow Gavin to get out of bounds.
2-1 FS50 11 Gun Blackman, J throw away pass incomplete to Gavin, K, PENALTY FS illegal motion (Gavin, K) 5 yards to the FS45, NO PLAY, clock 01:02. Freshman mistake from the QB here. Needs to make sure everyone is set before snapping the ball.
2-6 FS45 11 Gun Blackman, J sideline pass complete to Campbell, G for 12 yards to the ST43, 1ST DOWN FS, out-of-bounds (Alston, J.), clock 00:57. Fire zone blitz from NCST that gets a free rusher to the QB. Blackman mishandles the snap but is able to quickly adjust and delivers a strike to Campbell on a comeback from the opposite hash. Arm talnt on full display here.
1-10 ST43 11 Gun Blackman, J sideline pass complete to Tate, A for 9 yards to the ST34, out-of-bounds (Alston, J.), clock 00:53. FSU starting to take advantage of the off coverage from the NCST corners as they hit another comeback near the sticks.
2-1 ST34 11 Gun Patrick, J rush left for 12 yards to the ST22, 1ST DOWN FS (Pratt, G.;Alston, J.), clock 00:35. Ouside Zone to the boundary. Good gain as FSU has numbers here. Dickerson misses his assignment. He needs to turn inside and pick up the backside backer and this can be an even bigger gain.
1-10 ST22 11 Gun Blackman, J flag pass incomplete to Murray, N, clock 00:29. Play action. Excellent protection from the OL here. Murray has a step on the DB but Blackman just overthrows this by about 5 yards.
2-10 ST22 PENALTY FS false start (Eberle, A) 5 yards to the ST27. Blackman seems to indicate this penalty is on him.
2-15 ST27 11 Gun Blackman, J sideline pass complete to Tate, A for 9 yards to the ST18, out-of-bounds (Alston, J.), clock 00:25. Another out breaking route vs off coverage. Good job by FSU continuing to take what the defense gives you.
3-6 ST18 11 Gun Blackman, J slant pass complete to Tate, A for 7 yards to the ST11, 1ST DOWN FS (Alston, J.), clock 00:18. NCST adjusts and presses up Tate to the boundary but he is able to beat press and win with an in-breaking route.
1-10 ST11 TEAM clock pass incomplete, clock 00:17. They let the whole NC State team run on the field and stopped the game like a timeout had been called, for whatever reason, big momentum changer.
2-10 ST11 11 Gun Blackman, J sacked for loss of 9 yards to the ST20 (Chubb, B.), clock 00:12. Kelly beat around the edge by Chuub here but this is on Blackman. Ball needs to come out and if it's not there he should step up in the pocket.
3-19 ST20 Timeout Florida State, clock 00:12.
3-19 ST20 Timeout NC State, clock 00:12.
3-19 ST20 Timeout NC State, clock 00:12. C'mon, man.
3-19 ST20 Timeout NC State, clock 00:12. Seriously?
3-19 ST20 Aguayo, R field goal attempt from 37 GOOD, clock 00:05.
NCST 17, FSU 10
Drive: 10 plays, 39 yards, 01:24 TOP
Tyler, L kickoff 65 yards to the ST0, touchback.
NC STATE drive start at 00:05.
1-10 ST25 TEAM rush for loss of 2 yards to the ST23.
2-12 ST23 End of half, clock 00:00.
HALFTIME: NCST 17, FSU 10

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