Offensive Observations from Florida State’s loss to Boise State

After a spectacular first half for the Seminoles where starting quarterback James Blackman connected on 14-of-27 passes for 278 yards and 3 touchdowns, Florida State’s offense didn’t show up in the second giving fans frustrating flashbacks of 2018. The Seminoles’ second half featured just 68 yards of total offense allowing Boise State to hang 23 unanswered points on the ’Noles.

Florida State had an opportunity to increase its’ lead over the Broncos by another touchdown in the middle of the third quarter, but wide receiver Keith Gavin struggled once again to catch the ball dropping a beautiful deep pass from Blackman that should have been an easy touchdown.

Ultimately, the momentum finally appeared to shift in the Broncos favor after running back Cam Akers fumbled on the very next drive. Creeping into the red zone, Akers fumbled on Boise State’s 33-yard line with just five minutes left in the third quarter. Even though the Seminoles were up ahead 31-19, the turnover put the ball back in the Broncos’ hands and Boise State put together a 7-play 69-yard drive that ended with a touchdown decreasing the Seminole’s lead, 31-26.

Florida State’s final nine drives looked like this: seven punts, a fumble, and the ’Noles’ finished off the game with a turnover on downs. Florida State finished 1-12 on third down compared to Boise State’s 10-19.

The good:

Aside from the fumble, Cam Akers looked healthy finishing with 116 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

The Seminoles’ offense was explosive at times. Akers finished Florida State’s opening drive with a 38-yard touchdown run. This was the first time the Seminoles’ scored on a season-opening drive since 2015 against Texas State. Florida State’s second drive was a 1-play 75-yard touchdown pass to Tamorrion Terry. Terry tied Florida State’s record for most 70-yard touchdown receptions, a record he now shares with Ron Sellers, Peter Warrick, and Rashad Greene.

Lastly, the last time Florida State scored three touchdowns in the first half was against Delaware State in 2017. The 31 points scored would have won eight of the Seminoles games last year as Florida State only averaged 21.9 points per game.