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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.
Against the best team in the nation, Florida State came out of the gates strong. I don’t think you could have asked for a better start from the Seminoles.
The defense, which performed at an elite level throughout the night, started off by shutting down Alabama’s offense early. They dared Jalen Hurts to throw on them, and largely were successful stopping the run game.
As Bud and Ingram hinted at in the Nolecast, Derwin James played very close to the line of scrimmage in this matchup. Even with Trey Marshall suspended for the first half, the ’Noles were comfortable with A.J. Westbrook and Ermon Lane as the deep safeties with James playing the STAR (or nickel cornerback) role for the majority of the game.
The defensive line set the tone early. Demarcus Christmas looked like he was shot out of a cannon on several plays and showed an impressive ability to disrupt Alabama’s offensive game plan before it even began.
On offense, it was clear from the start that Florida State was never going to be able to run on Alabama. Jacques Patrick got his opportunities, but the Crimson Tide shut down the run game early on.
But that was okay, as Jimbo Fisher elected to go pass-heavy fairly early in the ball game. Deondre Francois aired it out early and often, connecting with George Campbell and Auden Tate for big gains in the first quarter.
FSU vs Alabama - 1st Quarter
| D-D | At | Formation | Play | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D-D | At | Formation | Play | Analysis |
| Tyler, L kickoff 65 yards to the UA0, touchback. | ||||
| Alabama drive start at 15:00 | ||||
| Jalen Hurts in at QB | ||||
| 1-10 | UA25 | 3-4 | Damien Harris rush for 34 yards to the FS41, 1ST DOWN UA (James, D). | TE/Wing with slot on the opposite side to rotate the secondary. FSU front set to the field and Burns getting man blocked by the TE creates a seam for Harris on outside zone. Good scripted play against a predicted front by Bama. |
| 1-10 | FSU41 | 4-2-5 | Jalen Hurts pass incomplete to Calvin Ridley. | Trips with motion to doubles and a deep shot to Ridley. Hurts overthrows him but Ridley was wide open. Pugh gets decent pressure. |
| 2-10 | FSU41 | 4-2-5 | Damien Harris rush for 5 yards to the FS36 (McFadden, T;Lane, E). | Doubles look outside zone into the boundary again for Bama. Burns is having a tough time setting an edge and Matt Thomas gets chipped creating a lane for Harris. |
| 3-5 | FSU36 | 4-2-5 | Jalen Hurts pass complete to Calvin Ridley for 3 yards to the FS33 (McFadden, T). | Doubles with TE flexed motion Ridley stacked behind the TE. TE clears out and creates space for a Ridley whip route. Nice job by McFadden driving on the ball and making a tackle short of the first. |
| 4-2 | FSU33 | 4-2-5 | Bo Scarbrough rush for 3 yards to the FS30, 1ST DOWN UA (Hoskins, R;Thomas, M). | Doubles with TE in H-Back (off the ball next to the T) alignment to the boundary. Bama runs ZR (zone read) and Scarbrough gets out the backdoor after Burns gets collapsed. Good short yardage defense by FSU but Scarbrough is a load. |
| 1-10 | FSU30 | 4-2-5 | Jalen Hurts rush for no gain to the FS30 (Christmas, D;Sweat, J). | Trips to the field. Christmas with an impressive swim move to force Hurts into Sweat. |
| 2-10 | FSU30 | 4-2-5 | Bo Scarbrough rush for 1 yard to the FS29 (McFadden, T;James, D). | Doubles with TE in a sniffer alignment (behind the tackle). Counter Y to Scarbrough off of a jet fake. Hoskins does a good job of wrong shouldering the TE and McFadden fills well with help from Derwin from the backside. |
| 3-9 | FSU29 | 4-2-5 | Jalen Hurts pass complete to Bo Scarbrough for 4 yards to the FS25 (Lane, E). | Doubles with the boundary side tight. Bama motions Scarbrough out and throws to him. Ermon Lane with a perfect open field one on one tackle. |
| 4-5 | FSU25 | A. Pappanastos field goal attempt from 42 MISSED - wide right, spot at FS25, clock 10:57. | ||
| Drive: 9 plays, 50 yards, TOP 04:03 | ||||
| FSU drive start at 10:57 | ||||
| Deondre Francois in at QB | ||||
| 1-10 | FSU25 | 11 Gun | Francois, D pass incomplete to Tate, A. | Y trips with Bama in Cov 2. Francois throws the go to Tate but can't drop it in the window. |
| 2-10 | FSU25 | 01 Empty | Francois, D pass complete to Gavin, K for 9 yards to the FS34 (S. Hamilton). | Spread bunch and Bama in a Cov 2 shell. FSU isolates Gavin on an ILB and the other two WR clearout. Easy read for Francois. |
| 3-1 | FSU34 | 12 Bunch | Francois, D rush for 3 yards to the FS37, 1ST DOWN FS (Terrell Lewis;Rashaan Evans). | Tight bunch against Bama 3-4. Francois runs QB sneak for the first. |
| 1-10 | FSU37 | 10 Gun | Francois, D pass complete to Campbell, G for 21 yards to the UA42, 1ST DOWN FS (Hootie Jones). | Doubles and Gavin goes in orbit motion. FSU runs a form of the stick concept and Francois scrambles to hit Campbell who high points the ball nicely. Leonard gets beat with speed but Francois does a nice job ducking under the rush and allowing Rick to run the end by him. |
| 1-10 | UA42 | 12 Gun | Francois, D rush for 2 yards to the UA40 (Terrell Lewis). | 2 TE Doubles with boot action. Fitzpatrick blitz throws this play off from the get go. Saunders gets held on the backside and Francois is forced to step up and get what he can. |
| 2-8 | UA40 | 21 I | Gavin, K rush for 6 yards to the UA34 (S. Hamilton). | I formation with orbit motion from Noonie. FSU runs a double reverse but Gavin is a little deep so the play takes longer to develop. Gavin is a step away from breaking this for 6. |
| 3-2 | UA34 | Timeout FSU, clock 07:58. | ||
| 3-2 | UA34 | 12 Gun | Francois, D pass incomplete to Murray, N. | Y-Trips with Saunders on the backside. Short motion from Noonie for coverage recognition. Bama is in Cov 1 and Francois misses Noonie wide open in the flat. |
| 4-2 | UA34 | 11 Gun | Francois, D sacked for loss of 4 yards to the UA38 (S. Hamilton). | Doubles with Noonie motion to trips. Same play from a different setup and Francois misses Gavin wideopen on a flag route as Bama blows the coverage. Ricky Leonard gets beat across his face by Hamilton who eventually makes the sack. |
| Drive: 8 plays, 37 yards, TOP 03:09 | ||||
| Alabama drive start at 07:48 | ||||
| 1-10 | UA38 | 4-2-5 | Damien Harris rush for 1 yard to the UA39 (McFadden, T;Lane, E). | Y trips Counter Y. Nnadi drives the guard into the puller and creates a pile. |
| 2-9 | UA39 | 4-2-5 | Jalen Hurts pass complete to Jalen Hurts for loss of 1 yard to the UA38 (Lane, E). | Trips HB motion. Bama tries to outnumbering with the back to the trips side and it would have worked if not for superman Derwin James almost picking the ball off on his rush. |
| 3-10 | UA38 | 4-0-7 | Jalen Hurts pass complete to Calvin Ridley for 21 yards to the FS41, 1ST DOWN UA (Nasirildeen, H). | Spread bunch with man from FSU. Bama does a good job of getting Ridley matched up on a true freshman and he gets open for a chunk play. |
| 1-10 | FSU41 | 4-2-5 | Damien Harris rush for 3 yards to the FS38 (Pugh, J;Nnadi, D). | Y trips and another boundary run by Bama. FSU sets their front to the boundary this time with Pugh. Hoskins over runs Harris who is able to spin inside for a short gain. |
| 2-7 | FSU38 | 4-2-5 | Jalen Hurts rush for 20 yards to the FS18, 1ST DOWN UA (Hoskins, R;Pugh, J). | Trips and FSU in Cov 1. Hurts reads it immediately and catches FSU with their backs turned. Hurts makes McFadden miss and is gone for 20. Rush has to do a better job of containing Hurts in the pocket. |
| 1-10 | FSU18 | 4-2-5 | Bo Scarbrough rush for no gain to the FS18 (Hoskins, R;Westbrook, A). | Y trips OZ to the field. Bama is trying to run at Burns but this time he eats up two blocks and Hoskins stays inside out on the ball making an impressive solo tackle on Scarbrough. |
| 2-10 | FSU18 | 4-2-5 | Jalen Hurts pass incomplete to Calvin Ridley (Westbrook, A). | Stack doubles motion Ridley to trips. FSU mans up the trips and AJ Westbrook is able to knock Ridley out of bounds on a wheel route just before getting a toe down inbounds. |
| 3-10 | FSU18 | 4-2-5 | Jalen Hurts rush for no gain to the FS18 (Westbrook, A), fumble by TEAM. | Y trips to the field. Some confusion in the secondary as Derwin and Hoskins end up doubling the TE. 6 picks up Scarbrough on a wheel route dodging a pick by Ridley. This forces Hurts to scramble. |
| 4-10 | FSU18 | A. Pappanastos field goal attempt from 35 GOOD, clock 04:30. | ||
| FLORIDA STATE 0, ALABAMA 3 | ||||
| Drive: 9 plays, 44 yards, TOP 03:18 | ||||
| JK Scott kickoff 65 yards to the FS0, Gavin, K return 10 yards to the FS10 (Daniel Wright). | ||||
| FSU drive start at 04:26 | ||||
| 1-10 | FSU10 | 01 Empty | Francois, D pass complete to Gavin, K for 5 yards to the FS15 (Trevon Diggs;Da'Ron Payne). | Empty tunnel screen to Gavin. Perfect call against an aggressive rush and off coverage. |
| 2-5 | FSU15 | 21 I | Patrick, J rush for 3 yards to the FS18 (Da'Ron Payne;Rashaan Evans). | I formation with orbit motion from Noonie. FSU runs inside zone into the teeth of the Bama defense. Eberle gets knocked back forcing Dickerson to stay on the double and not get up to the backer. Patrick does a good job banging for 3 yards. |
| 3-3 | FSU18 | Timeout FSU, clock 03:07. | ||
| 3-3 | FSU18 | 11 Gun | Francois, D pass complete to Izzo, R for 11 yards to the FS29, 1ST DOWN FS (Ronnie Harrison). | Doubles with Gavin motion to trips. Bama is in man and Francois locks on Izzo on a Y-option route. Izzo sits down against Harrison. |
| 1-10 | FSU29 | 11 Gun | Francois, D pass complete to Tate, A for 38 yards to the UA33, 1ST DOWN FS (Anthony Averett). | Y doubles. FSU runs naked boot action and Francois hits Tate on a 50-50 post against robber coverage (safety robs the slot safety going across the field). Tate uses his big frame well to make the play. |
| 1-10 | UA33 | 11 Ace | Patrick, J rush for no gain to the UA33 (Isaiah Buggs). | Y doubles under with Noonie on jet motion. FSU runs IZ weak but Minshew gets beat across his face. There's not alot there as Bama maintains a numbers advantage. |
| 2-10 | UA33 | 11 Gun | Francois, D pass complete to Murray, N for 10 yards to the UA23, 1ST DOWN FS. | Y doubles against a house blitz by Bama. Unsure if Patrick should adjust and pick up Hand but Francois stands in and hits Noonie where the blitzers came from. |
| 1-10 | UA23 | 12 Gun | Patrick, J rush for no gain to the UA23 (Terrell Lewis). | Y trips with Saunders backside. ZR RPO but Bama crashes hard and Francois hash to give. Backside pursuit stops Patrick before he can get going. |
| 2-10 | UA23 | 11 Gun | Francois, D pass complete to Gavin, K for 4 yards to the UA19 (Anthony Averett). | Y trips and another house blitz by Bama from the nub side. Gavin runs a quick hitch and Francois hits him right away. Good ball placement by Francois and Gavin uses his big frame. |
| END OF 1ST: FLORIDA STATE 0, ALABAMA 3 |