The Florida State Seminoles had a new man roaming the sideline and their star quarterback returning, but it still was not enough.
In the final game of college football’s Week 1, the Virginia Tech Hokies entered the game as a touchdown underdog against the Florida State Seminoles. Florida State had a new coach and new life to a program coming off it’s worst season in over a decade. It was the Hokies who left Tallahassee smiling.
New coach Willie Taggart was brought in to help the Florida State offense get going. He was known as an offensive mind with a high-powered, up-tempo attack. Quarterback Deondre Francois was the guy to run the offense and the Seminoles were excited to have him back. It was the offense that failed FSU tonight, putting up only three points in a blowout loss.
Virginia Tech had little continuity but they had it where it counts; at quarterback and coach. On the field, Josh Jackson ran the offense to perfection with great reads on his run-pass-options and keeping calm under pressure. Coach Brian Fuente leaned on long-time defensive coordinator Bud Foster to ride that unit to victory.
The Hokies got off to a hot start and 17-3 lead mid-way through the first half. It was the run game on offense and the run defense that made the two touchdown lead happen. This was a typical Virginia Tech victory, including the patent “Beamer Ball” which manifested itself in a blocked punt return for a touchdown.
Francois struggled, thanks in part to his offensive line struggling throughout the night. The run game never got going, save for a Cam Akers 80-yard scamper that injected life into the home crowd. Unfortunately an ill-advised Wildcat formation led to a fumble and no points on the team’s best offensive drive.
Here are three takeaways from the game that saw Florida State go down.
3. Florida State is in trouble up front
The Florida State offense has a five-star talent at every skill position, including quarterback Deondre Francois. Unfortunately that does not matter with the horrid offensive line in front of them. Cam Akers broke off one big run but the rest of the night the run game was non-existent.
Meanwhile, Francois threw three interceptions thanks a lot to the pressure in his face. There was never a doubt that the Hokies defense could put away any chance of an FSU drive. Florida State will need to fix that offensive line, and get under control as a whole offensively if they want to bounce back from this loss.
2. Both teams have fierce defenses
It was the Virginia Tech defense that will get the headlines but both teams showed off a lot of team speed and aggressive defenses tonight. The Hokies dominated at every level. Up front, Ricky Walker showed VT fans that Tim Settle will not be missed. On the back end, Caleb Farley picked off Francois twice with athletic plays and added a sack for good measure. While only rushing three the Tech defensive line was disruptive and caused headaches for the Seminole offense all night.
After a tough start where VT ran the ball at will, the FSU defense bounced back a bit in the middle of the game. It felt like they were on the field for at least four times the amount of time as their offense. That fatigue really showed on Tech’s last touchdown where receiver Eric Kumha broke arm tackles on his way to the end zone. The defense can bounce back but coach Willie Taggart needs to slow his offense down and sustain drives or their fatigue will outshine their talent.
1. Beamer Ball lives on in Blacksburg
When head coach Frank Beamer roamed the sidelines at Virginia Tech they were known for his brand of football, “Beamer Ball”. That meant that the Hokies were always going to be good on special teams and forcing big turnovers. Now new coach Justin Fuente has been down in Blacksburg making his predecessor proud. Virginia Tech blocked a punt for a touchdown and continuously pinned the Seminoles in terrible field position.
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This game was one by the Hokies special teams and a dominant defense working together. That is what Frank Beamer must have enjoyed as he watched live his Hokies dominate the Seminoles. An opening statement win for Virginia Tech on the road against an ACC opponent wraps up the first weekend of college football.