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Welcome back to our weekly film review sessions of Florida State’s 2018 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.
Coming into this game, there was never any question that FSU’s offensive line would get whipped by Miami’s front seven.
So while it was a surprise that the Seminoles were able to move the ball on Miami’s defense early in the game, the Hurricanes quickly adjusted and squashed Florida State’s offense in the second half. Following halftime, the ’Noles only gained 45 total yards at a tune of 1.5 yards per play.
Essentially, that was the game. Miami was able to rally, thanks to excellent field position from FSU turnovers, and score 21 unanswered points in the second half to seal the win.
Deondre Francois made some good throws in this game, but still finished 15-30 (50 percent) for 129 yards through the air. That’s 4.3 yards per attempt. As you’ll read below, his lone interception in the game was not totally his fault, but you’d like to see better decision-making overall from a fourth-year player.
As expected, Cam Akers and Jacques Patrick struggled to run against Miami’s defensive line. Patrick had some nice carries, but FSU’s offensive line was beaten on many occasions. The two combined for 77 total yards on the ground.
The receivers were largely held in check by the Hurricanes’ secondary, but some praise is required for D.J. Matthews for his efforts in the punt return game and picking up a critical 3rd and 19 late in the game.
Overall, it was a performance you’d expect from an offense ranked 115th in S&P+ going against a defense ranked 14th.
Author’s note: Bud Elliott and Tomahawk Nation contributor Adam Robinson double-teamed the offensive film review. For the most part, their comments were combined. In the few instances they disagreed or had different thoughts, they were separated.
FSU Offense vs. Miami
| Play | Down | Distance | Spot | Personnel | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play | Down | Distance | Spot | Personnel | Analysis |
| Florida State drive start at 13:19 on V42 | |||||
| Francois, D pass complete to Matthews, D for 1 yard to the FS43 (Johnson, J). | 1 | 10 | FS42 | 10 | Matthews runs a quick out to the right side for a gain of 1 yard. Ball could be out quicker by DF. |
| Francois, D pass complete to Murray, N for 10 yards to the UM47, 1ST DOWN FS (Knowles, R;Willis, G). | 2 | 9 | FS43 | 10 | Miami selling out to stop the run and has 1 defender over 2 receivers. Easy read for Francois and good blocking from Terry. This should make Miami respect run later. |
| Francois, D rush for 3 yards to the UM44 (Garvin, J). | 1 | 10 | UM47 | 10 | I don't know if this is an RPO but if it was, there are numbers for the screen. Bello and Scott need to do better with their blocks, but Francois got a few. He is slow. |
| Francois, D sacked for loss of 7 yards to the FS49 (Jackson, J). | 2 | 7 | UM44 | 10 | Both tackles got beat here to cause the sack. Francois needs to step up so he doesn't get squished so often. Miami has a green dog or spy with the backer and there isn't much room to step up. |
| Timeout Florida State, clock 11:09. | 3 | 14 | FS49 | 10 | |
| Francois, D pass complete to McKitty, T for 21 yards to the UM30, 1ST DOWN FS (Johnson, J;Jackson, J). | 3 | 14 | FS49 | 11 | Great playcall to use Miami's aggressiveness against them. Motioning patrick with LB following all the way across the field lets FSU know it is likely man coverage. Good fake by McKitty to jab to outside so his man doesn't follow as quickly. Good block by Arnold. Patrick should cut to inside. |
| Patrick, J rush for 4 yards to the UM26 (Johnson, J). | 1 | 10 | UM30 | 11 | Had numbers on the screen side but hand off up the middle instead. Murray is gesturing to Francois to throw It to him. (Adam) If this is a read it's a really bad one by Francois. Good blocks by Arnold and Eberle. (Bud) |
| Patrick, J rush for 4 yards to the UM22 (Johnson, J), PENALTY UM OFF (Garvin, J) 5 yards to the UM21, NO PLAY. | 2 | 6 | UM26 | 11 | Had numbers on the screen side but hand off up the middle instead. |
| Patrick, J rush for 4 yards to the UM17, 1ST DOWN FS (Johnson, J;Patchan, S). | 2 | 1 | UM21 | 11 | Run up the middle. Bello and Arnold need to do a better job with initial double since DE is unblocked by design. Francois makes right decision to give the ball, but Patrick makes this play in spite of the offensive line. |
| Francois, D pass complete to Gavin, K for 17 yards to the UM0, 1ST DOWN FS, TOUCHDOWN, clock 09:41, PENALTY UM OFF declined. | 1 | 10 | UM17 | 11 | Great play design. FSU uses motion to determine man/zone. McKitty pulls the underneath defender to create a throwing window, and Gavin widens the corner to create room. Ball is thrown on time and is a strike. Nice job to not drift in the pocket by Francois. |
| Aguayo, Ri kick attempt good. | 1 | G | UM03 | ||
| Drive Summary: 8 Plays, 58 yards, 3:38 used. | |||||
| Tyler, L kickoff 65 yards to the UM0, touchback. | 1 | G | FS35 | ||
| Florida State drive start at 06:42 on V25 | |||||
| Patrick, J rush for loss of 1 yard to the FS24 (Pinckney, M). | 1 | 10 | FS25 | 11 | Correct read by Francois. This is just Miami's defensive line whipping FSU's offensive line. We feared in the preview that FSU's lack of quickness with its offensive line would be an issue, and indeed Arnold and Bello get beat to their spots. |
| Francois, D pass complete to Patrick, J for 7 yards to the FS31 (Jackson, M;Redwine, S). | 2 | 11 | FS24 | 11 | Francois could've ran it here based on numbers but good execution by the 4 guys out wide. |
| Francois, D pass complete to Akers, C for 7 yards to the FS38, 1ST DOWN FS (Johnson, J). | 3 | 4 | FS31 | 11 | Short pass over the middle. First down. Good pass protection here and nice job not to drift by Francois. |
| Francois, D sacked for loss of 1 yard to the FS37 (Jackson, J). | 1 | 10 | FS38 | 11 | Francois can't get this ball off. Akers assists with the speed rusher who is around Scott, but the backer comes in. |
| Francois, D pass incomplete to Terry, T (Jackson, M). | 2 | 11 | FS37 | 11 | Stick concept (It seems) with double slant. This looks like pass interference based on the standards by which the game was called against FSU. |
| Francois, D pass incomplete to Gavin, K. | 3 | 11 | FS37 | 11 | Dagger? Post Wheel? Who knows. (Adam) No idea. (Bud) |
| Tyler, L punt 46 yards to the UM17, out-of-bounds. | 4 | 11 | FS37 | ||
| Drive Summary: 6 Plays, 12 yards, 2:27 used. | |||||
| Florida State drive start at 11:26 on V29 | |||||
| Timeout Florida State, clock 11:19. | 1 | 10 | FS29 | 11 | Always seems to happen to every team after a kick off. FSU is one of many teams who has been getting hit with the new clock rule. |
| Akers, C rush for 8 yards to the FS37 (Johnson, J). | 1 | 10 | FS29 | 11 | Great cutback to the left by Akers and good blocking on the left side of OL to seal the defense in. Good job by Brady Scott to run his man inside. |
| Akers, C rush for 1 yard to the FS38 (Garvin, J). | 2 | 2 | FS37 | 11 | 72 got pushed straight back into the backfield but it didn't matter because it actually left a hole up the middle. Miami DT is very close to being offside. |
| Akers, C rush for no gain to the FS38 (Johnson, J). | 3 | 1 | FS38 | 11 | If McKitty holds his ground and doesn't get squeezed inside, Akers probably wouldn't have cut it back outside. (Adam) Should Francois throw the screen here with 3 on 1.5? (Bud) |
| Tyler, L punt 41 yards to the UM21, fair catch by Thomas, J. | 4 | 1 | FS38 | ||
| Drive Summary: 3 Plays, 9 yards, 1:43 used. | |||||
| Florida State drive start at 08:13 on V15 | |||||
| Francois, D pass incomplete to Terry, T. | 1 | 10 | FS15 | 12 | Terry could've caught this if the pass was a tiny bit less in front. Also, maybe a missed late hit penalty but it's kind of close. Perfect play call. Love the aggressiveness. |
| Rasul, A rush for 6 yards to the FS21 (Quarterman, S). | 2 | 10 | FS15 | 11 | We've run this a few times in prior games. I like this play. |
| Timeout Florida State, clock 07:39. | 3 | 4 | FS21 | 11 | |
| Francois, D pass incomplete to Terry, T (Jackson, M). | 3 | 4 | FS21 | 11 | Inc over the middle. DJ was wide open on the wheel route for a possible TD or huge play if he had waited a touch longer and looked to the left side. (Adam) Disagree with Adam here. The safety was plenty deep and the ball was out quickly. The blitz was picked up very well, but the issue here is that Terry is being held. (Bud) |
| Tyler, L punt 55 yards to the UM24, Dallas, D return 6 yards to the UM30 (Brewton, C), PENALTY UM IB (McCloud, Z) 10 yards to the UM20, 1st and 10, UM ball on UM20. | 4 | 4 | FS21 | ||
| Drive Summary: 3 Plays, 6 yards, 0:54 used. | |||||
| Florida State drive start at 06:29 on H43 | |||||
| Akers, C rush for 2 yards to the UM41 (Finley, R). | 1 | 10 | UM43 | 11 | Run up the middle. Akers gets a couple, well blocked, but if he could have seen the cutback lane he might have something off the left side. Not worth criticism because he is hitting the hole as designed, which is an improvement. |
| Francois, D pass complete to Gavin, K for 9 yards to the UM32, 1ST DOWN FS (Johnson, J;Bandy, T). | 2 | 8 | UM41 | 11 | Gavin runs a short hitch route on the left side of the field. 1st down. Nice switch up to what FSU does in the passing game out of this set. Quick game out of this set which makes it hard to press. |
| Francois, D pass incomplete to Gavin, K. | 1 | 10 | UM32 | 11 | This is what FSU usually does out of this set. Bad throw by Francois. Does not give his receiver a chance. Keith Gavin had a step and a good throw could have been a TD. |
| Francois, D rush for 6 yards to the UM26 (Willis, G). | 2 | 10 | UM32 | 11 | Francois runs to the left and looks like he injured his knee. Not a good job by 75. |
| Blackman, J pass complete to Murray, N for 1 yard to the UM25 (Pinckney, M). | 3 | 4 | UM26 | 11 | Blackman in the game. Good playcall but 72 needs to stay engaged so Murray can get up field. (Adam) Disagree with Adam. I think 56 for Miami just makes a great play. 72 thinks he is going past him into backfield. (Bud) |
| Aguayo, Ri field goal attempt from 42 GOOD, clock 04:20. | 4 | 3 | UM25 | 42 Yards. Aguayo makes it(!) | |
| Drive Summary: 6 Plays, 18 yards, 2:09 used. | |||||
| Tyler, L kickoff 65 yards to the UM0, touchback. | 1 | G | FS35 | ||
| Florida State drive start at 03:30 on H36 | |||||
| Patrick, J rush for 3 yards to the UM33 (Carter, A). | 1 | 10 | UM36 | 11 | Huge punt return by DJ sets up great FP for FSU. Death march by FSU begins. Good block by Derrick Kelly. |
| Patrick, J rush for 3 yards to the UM30 (Patchan, S). | 2 | 7 | UM33 | 11 | Simple designed hand off up the middle to JP. (Adam) Is this a read? Who is he reading? If it's the end it's a misread. (Bud) |
| Patrick, J rush for 6 yards to the UM24, 1ST DOWN FS (Willis, G). | 3 | 4 | UM30 | 11 | Love the call to run here. FSU has numbers, and this call indicates it may have gone for it on fourth down. Miami is gassed. |
| Patrick, J rush for 3 yards to the UM21 (Pinckney, M). | 1 | 10 | UM24 | 11 | FSU going really fast on this drive. Eberle can't get a piece of the backer and he just trips up patrick. This could have gone for 15+ |
| Patrick, J rush for 9 yards to the UM12, 1ST DOWN FS (Redwine, S). | 2 | 7 | UM21 | 11 | 6th inside run in a row. Punishing drive. Patrick blowing his way into another 1st down. Excellent blocking by the OL with tempo against a worn out Miami defensive line. McKitty gets away with a hold but releases in time for it to not be called. |
| PENALTY FS false start (Scott, B) 5 yards to the UM17. | 1 | 10 | UM12 | 11 | Out ran ourselves for the 2n…I mean 1st time. Definitely only one false start on this drive |
| Francois, D pass complete to Terry, T for 17 yards to the UM0, 1ST DOWN FS, TOUCHDOWN, clock 01:32. | 1 | 15 | UM17 | 11 | FSU is not trying to score on this concept, it's just trying to get back half of its long D/D. But Murray occupies the deep defender and Francois throws this fully on time. |
| Aguayo, Ri kick attempt good. | 1 | G | UM03 | ||
| Drive Summary: 6 Plays, 36 yards, 1:58 used. | |||||
| Florida State drive start at 00:36 on V48 | |||||
| Francois, D pass complete to Terry, T for 20 yards to the UM32, 1ST DOWN FS (Jackson, M). | 1 | 10 | FS48 | 10 | Terry went up and caught a 50-50 ball down the sideline. |
| Francois, D sacked for loss of 4 yards to the UM36 (Garvin, J). | 1 | 10 | UM32 | 10 | Same play. Francois could have stepped up more, but he's hit right as he throws. Kelly gets smoked. |
| TEAM pass incomplete. | 2 | 14 | UM36 | 10 | Francois spikes the ball. |
| Aguayo, Ri field goal attempt from 53 GOOD, clock 00:00. | 3 | 14 | UM36 | 53 Yards. Aguayo makes it(!!!) | |
| Drive Summary: 4 Plays, 16 yards, 0:36 used. | |||||
| Florida State drive start at 15:00 on V25 | |||||
| Francois, D pass incomplete to Terry, T (Jackson, M). | 1 | 10 | FS25 | 10 | Could've gone to Murray on the left side if he looks over there. Terry is tightly covered and Francois had Murray on a linebacker. |
| Akers, C rush for 1 yard to the FS26 (Patchan, S;Pinckney, M). | 2 | 10 | FS25 | 10 | Francois could've been more aggressive and pulled this ball. 72 lets 93 through it looks like. |
| Francois, D pass incomplete to Murray, N, QB hurry by Jackson, J. | 3 | 9 | FS26 | 11 | Francois was threw it too far outside due to the pressure. Scott gets beat immediately and the ball is thrown quickly. |
| Tyler, L punt 39 yards to the UM35, Dallas, D return 5 yards to the UM40, out-of-bounds (Vickers, J). | 4 | 9 | FS26 | Almost block | |
| Drive Summary: 3 Plays, 1 yards, 0:57 used. | |||||
| Florida State drive start at 08:11 on V11 | |||||
| Akers, C rush for 13 yards to the FS24, 1ST DOWN FS (Johnson, J). | 1 | 10 | FS11 | 11 | If Matthews faircatches this, it's at the 25 instead of the 11. Akers on nice run inside for the first down. Miami slants to the field and it's a run to the boundary so the blocking angles are easy. |
| Francois, D pass incomplete to Murray, N (Garvin, J). | 1 | 10 | FS24 | 11 | Batted in the air |
| Akers, C rush for 4 yards to the FS28 (Redwine, S;Odenigbo, T). | 2 | 10 | FS24 | 11 | 54 couldn't block down on DT (probably a 3 tech). Instant penentration but Akers makes something out of the play to get positive yards inside |
| Francois, D pass complete to Gavin, K for 8 yards to the FS36 (Dean, J), PENALTY FS holding off-setting, PENALTY UM targeting off-setting, NO PLAY. | 3 | 6 | FS28 | 11 | Somehow these 2 offset and FSU has to replay the down. Kelly called for obvious hold. |
| Francois, D sacked for loss of 8 yards to the FS20 (Redwine, S), fumble by Francois, D recovered by UM Willis, G at FS20. | 3 | 6 | FS28 | 11 | Has to see the overload blitz coming. Get rid of the ball. Excellent blitz by Miami. The timing is perfect. |
| Drive Summary: 4 Plays, 9 yards, 1:29 used. | |||||
| Florida State drive start at 04:53 on V25 | |||||
| Francois, D sacked for loss of 3 yards to the FS22 (Bethel, P). | 1 | 10 | FS25 | 11 | FSU has two guys to block #97 and they are both way too slow to do it as the DE goes around them. |
| Francois, D pass intercepted by Pinckney, M at the FS20, Pinckney, M return 3 yards to the FS17. | 2 | 13 | FS22 | 11 | McKitty has to flatten his route and come further inside. 70 couldn't get up to 2nd level fast enough or else this is another big play. Safe play turns to disaster. |
| Drive Summary: 2 Plays, -3 yards, 0:36 used. | |||||
| Florida State drive start at 04:11 on V25 | |||||
| Francois, D rush for loss of 6 yards to the FS19 (Willis, G). | 1 | 10 | FS25 | 11 | No one was concerned with blocking anyone so this would've died in the backfield regardless of who had the ball. |
| Francois, D rush for 13 yards to the FS32 (Pinckney, M). | 2 | 16 | FS19 | 11 | Francois scrambles and gets a large amount yards. Makes 3rd down manageable. OL gets smoked again. |
| Francois, D pass complete to McKitty, T for 8 yards to the FS40, 1ST DOWN FS (Smith, M). | 3 | 3 | FS32 | 11 | Good play call and good throw over the middle to pick up the 1st down |
| Francois, D pass complete to Rasul, A for loss of 2 yards to the FS38, fumble forced by Smith, M, fumble by Rasul, A recovered by FS Rasul, A at FS38. | 1 | 10 | FS40 | 11 | Loss of 2 yards on the check down. Arnold is slow and it messes up the protection. |
| Francois, D pass incomplete to Murray, N. | 2 | 12 | FS38 | 11 | Murray gets rocked but isn't targeting. |
| Francois, D pass complete to Matthews, D for loss of 2 yards to the FS36 (Carter, A). | 3 | 12 | FS38 | 11 | 70 probably should've taken 5 and let 54 go inside. Instead, 5 went unblocked |
| Tyler, L punt 23 yards to the UM41, out-of-bounds, PENALTY UM holding (Silvera, N) 10 yards to the UM31, 1st and 10, UM ball on UM31. | 4 | 14 | FS36 | ||
| Drive Summary: 6 Plays, 11 yards, 2:57 used. | |||||
| Florida State drive start at 14:46 on V47 | |||||
| Akers, C rush for 11 yards to the UM42, 1ST DOWN FS (Johnson, J). | 1 | 10 | FS47 | 11 | Good run from Akers. The bubble threat holds one backer and the DE respects Francois keeping it for some unknown reason. |
| Francois, D pass complete to Matthews, D for 3 yards to the UM39 (Gray, T;McCloud, Z). | 1 | 10 | UM42 | 11 | Easy concept. |
| Francois, D pass complete to Matthews, D for loss of 6 yards to the UM45, Matthews, D for no gain to the UM45, PENALTY FS illegal forward pass (Matthews, D) 5 yards to the 50 yardline. | 2 | 7 | UM39 | 11 | Officials need to do their jobs better. - Adam Bullshit. - Bud |
| Francois, D pass complete to Matthews, D for 19 yards to the UM31, 1ST DOWN FS, out-of-bounds. | 3 | 18 | FS50 | 11 | Great play call. Francois gets blasted. |
| Akers, C rush for 1 yard to the UM30 (Quarterman, S). | 1 | 10 | UM31 | 11 | If this is a read, it's the wrong one. |
| Francois, D rush for 4 yards to the UM26 (Quarterman, S). | 2 | 9 | UM30 | 11 | Good decision. Minshew is beaten almost immediately. |
| Francois, D pass incomplete to McKitty, T, QB hurry by Pinckney, M. | 3 | 5 | UM26 | 11 | McKitty's route gets disrupted and Francois' pass is way off |
| Aguayo, Ri field goal attempt from 43 MISSED - short, spot at UM27, clock 12:42. | 4 | 5 | UM26 | 43 Yards. Wide Left. Just not even in the vicinity. This one was key. | |
| Drive Summary: 8 Plays, 27 yards, 2:04 used. | |||||
| Florida State drive start at 11:52 on V25 | |||||
| Patrick, J rush for 2 yards to the FS27 (Bethel, P). | 1 | 10 | FS25 | 11 | Francois could've been more aggressive and pulled this ball. Francois doesn't hold the mesh very long, so the DE doesn't really have to commit to RB or QB. |
| Francois, D pass incomplete (Jackson, J). | 2 | 8 | FS27 | 11 | Something is telling me that we could've gone for a swing screen double pass here. Scott is smoked off the snap and even if Francois steps up he is getting killed. |
| Francois, D pass incomplete to McKitty, T (Pinckney, M). | 3 | 8 | FS27 | 11 | If this isn't deflected, huge play here or even a TD if things go perfectly. Pressure off the front side, but this pass needs more loft. |
| Tyler, L punt 55 yards to the UM18, Thomas, J return 0 yards to the UM18, fumble by Thomas, J recovered by UM Thomas, J at UM10, Thomas, J for 34 yards to the UM44 (Aime, W). | 4 | 8 | FS27 | ||
| Drive Summary: 3 Plays, 2 yards, 1:11 used. | |||||
| Florida State drive start at 08:36 on V18 | |||||
| Akers, C rush for 8 yards to the FS26 (Garvin, J). | 1 | 10 | FS18 | 11 | Tough run on first down. |
| Akers, C rush for loss of 3 yards to the FS23 (Jackson, J;Odenigbo, T). | 2 | 2 | FS26 | 11 | I think Francois needs to pull this ball and throw the screen. As it is with the run play, |
| Francois, D pass incomplete to Terry, T. | 3 | 5 | FS23 | 11 | Possible interference. Great coverage by Miami. |
| Tyler, L punt 52 yards to the UM25, Dallas, D return 49 yards to the FS26, out-of-bounds (Tyler, L). | 4 | 5 | FS23 | ||
| Drive Summary: 3 Plays, 5 yards, 1:23 used. | |||||
| Florida State drive start at 05:39 on V20 | |||||
| Patrick, J rush for loss of 2 yards to the FS18 (Willis, G). | 1 | 10 | FS20 | 11 | QB needs to read this and throw the bubble IMO. As it is, almost the entire offensive line except brady Scott gets beat. |
| Francois, D pass incomplete to McKitty, T. | 2 | 12 | FS18 | 11 | Defender got into the passing lane a bit and it was too far outside |
| Francois, D sacked for loss of 10 yards to the FS8 (Garvin, J). | 3 | 12 | FS18 | 11 | Francois' helmet came off. Play is dead. Derick Kelly gets smoked. |
| Tyler, L punt 34 yards to the FS42, out-of-bounds. | 4 | 22 | FS08 | ||
| Drive Summary: 3 Plays, -12 yards, 1:27 used. |