What went right, wrong on defense in FSU’s blowout win over Southern Miss

No. 4 Florida State won its home opener in style on Saturday night, beating the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 66-13 in a game that saw the Seminoles throw in depth pieces early in the second half.

Southern Miss had just 70 yards in the first half and while the Golden Eagles ended the day with 258 yards, that production came when the game was well out of hand.

What went right

• Taking care of business: Florida State did what it needed to do against the Golden Eagles on Saturday night, holding Southern Miss to just three points until late in the third quarter when the Seminoles’ starters had already gotten comfortable on the sideline. According to GameonPaper, which provides live advanced analytics, Southern Miss’s offensive EPA was -12.87. FSU’s by comparison? 25.48.

• Getting significant reps for depth: With the game more than secured by the time the third quarter was hitting the midpoint, Florida State got the chance to play plenty of its youth and depth pieces against a quality opponent — and those players stepped up, keeping the level of execution consistent. In the second half, when Southern Miss ran 40 plays in comparison to just 20 from FSU, the Golden Eagles averaged just 4.7 yards per play. Getting game experience is one thing — holding their own and ensuring that the game reflected domination from start to finish.

What went wrong

• Uh? No shutout?

Florida State: Defense Total Stats vs. Southern Miss

• Total Tackles: 53
• Solo Tackles: 23
• Tackles for Loss: 4
• TFL Yards: -19
• Pass Breakups: 5
• QB Hurries: 7
• Sacks: 2
• Sacks Yards: -13
• Takeaways (FR-INT): 0-1
• Forced Fumbles: 0
• Fumble Recoveries: 0
• FR Yards: 0
• Interceptions: 1
• INT Yards: 30
• TDs (INT-FR): 1-0