For two quarters it looked like Florida State football was back. Then the second half started and it was more of the same bad FSU we saw last year.
It was a tale of two halves for Florida State and Boise State.
For the first 30 minutes, it looked like Florida State had fixed their offense. The installation of Kendal Briles as the team’s offensive coordinator appeared to have an instant impact.
Florida State raced out to a 7-0 lead behind a 38-yard touchdown run by Cam Akers who reminded fans of how great he was two years ago as a freshman. Then, quarterback James Blackman looked like he made significant strides as a passer. Blackman had three touchdown passes in the first half, including two on plays of 75 and 58 yards. This was the type of offense Florida State head coach Willie Taggart and Seminoles fans hoped to see.
They only saw it for the first two quarters before last year’s dreadful offense returned.
Florida State blew a 31-13 lead to lose 36-31 to Boise State and their true freshman quarterback Hank Bachmeier. Florida State is now 80-2 when leading by 18 points or more over the last 15 seasons. The other loss? Last year’s debacle vs. Miami. That’s the story of Taggart’s Tallahassee tenure.
It’s a new year but the same trash offense by Florida State that already has many Seminoles fans wondering how soon they can get out from under this contract and buy him out. Florida State’s new-look offense disappeared in the second half when they were shutout and outscored by 23.
Just when you thought the much-maligned FSU offensive line was strong enough to move the defensive line and protect the quarterback, it wasn’t.
Just when it looked like Blackman could be a threat this year and lead FSU to eight or nine wins, the dread of wondering if they can even make it back to a bowl game has set in.
Just when it looked like FSU wasn’t a total dumpster fire, someone squirted some gasoline on the fire to fan the flames on Taggart’s hot seat.
This is a team that won the National Championship in 2013 and had the Heisman Trophy winner who went on to be a No. 1 pick the next year in Jameis Winston. This is a team that set a modern NFL record with 29 draft picks from 2013-2015.
It’s remarkable how far this program fell in such a short time.
Jimbo Fisher’s exit accelerated Florida State’s march toward irrelevancy and the hire of the overmatched Taggart who never accomplished anything of merit at Western Kentucky or Oregon was the equivalent of smashing the gas pedal.
It would be unthinkable to envision any kind of scenario where an FSU defense got eviscerated by a true freshman quarterback, let alone a true freshman quarterback at a Group of Five school.
Bachmeier threw for 407 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Boise State also ran for 214 yards, including 142 and two scores from Robert Mahone. In other words, FSU’s defense was manhandled.
Remember the good old days when Florida State was the one man-handling the opposition. Not the team getting bodied by the opposition?
Blackman didn’t play terribly, there were several positives to take from the first half the team can rally behind and try to stay motivated. That would require you having faith in Taggart to keep his team motivated and not give up as it appeared they did last year when things went south.
Week 1 is always a weird week because you have to be careful about not reading too much into what you see in the opener. There are always kinks to work out when you have new coordinators and new players running new systems.
However, in the case of Florida State, the new is more of the same old Florida State that set a new low by missing a bowl game last year.
Just when you thought FSU had hit rock bottom, Taggart and the Noles manage to break new ground.