Offensive observations from FSU football’s loss to Wake Forest

The final two plays from scrimmage summed up what was a terrible night for Florida State’s offense in rainy Winston-Salem.

Down 22-20 with 35 seconds to play in the game, FSU lost six yards on a fumble. The next play was another six yard loss on a bad snap. The clock ran out and the Seminoles were left dejected on the field as Wake Forest celebrated.

Florida State finished with five yards per play in the game, which was not a good performance from the Seminoles against a Wake Forest defense that ranked 78th in SP+ heading into this week.

The lone bright spot on offense came from Cam Akers, who put up a Herculean effort with 34 touches for 199 total yards. At times, Akers looked unstoppable and he consistently gained extra yards after contact.

Unfortunately, Florida State’s offensive line could not hold up against Wake Forest’s defensive front. The offensive line — which came into this game with injury concerns — also suffered more attrition in the game.

Left guard Brady Scott left the game with an injury, forcing Cole Minshew into action. Later in the game, center Baveon Johnson was forced off the field with an injury as well. Andrew Boselli took over at center, marking the first major action for the walk-on since returning to the team this summer.

Abdul Bello and Jauan Williams had split reps at left tackle throughout the season, but true freshman Darius Washington took over the spot midway through the game. A three-star recruit, Washington held his own at times, but gave up the pressure on James Blackman’s interception.

Florida State’s passing game was also inconsistent.

Blackman finished with 280 yards (6.5 yards per attempt), two touchdowns and an interception while completing 62 percent of his passes. Blackman also played the entire game, which marked a change from Willie Taggart’s previous philosophy to rotate between him and Alex Hornibrook.

It was another game where Florida State failed to find the explosive element in its passing game. Blackman hit Tamorrion Terry for a 36-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, but that was the only semblance of explosiveness from the offense.

On a (somewhat) positive note, Florida State only committed four penalties on offense: three false starts and a holding penalty. Not great, but not terrible!

Overall, it was a rough game for the Seminoles. Wake Forest racked up eight tackles for loss and Florida State barely managed to get their offense going.

Just last week, Wake Forest gave up 62 points to Louisville. In this game, Florida State struggled to get to 20 points.

It was an ugly game and the rainy atmosphere only served to dampen the mood surrounding the FSU program.