Former Florida State QB resorts to blaming refs with massive reach after upset loss

In their first game since getting blown out by Georgia in the Orange Bowl after they were snubbed from the College Football Playoff, it's fair to say the trip to Dublin was not what Mike Norvell and the Florida State Seminoles had in mind. They came into the contest ranked No. 10 in the preseason AP Top 25 but won't be after Week 0 as the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets pulled off a dramatic upset, 24-21, with a walk-off field goal.

Regardless of how you feel about Florida State this season or their snub last season (and, in turn, how FSU and the fan base handled it), this was a lackluster showing. The defense showed some cracks but, more crucially, the offense looked quite one-dimensional behind D.J. Uiagalelei, who made his first start for the Noles in the third stop of his college football career.

As everyone was piling on Florida State for this loss, though, many fans starting getting defensive. And that ultimately culminated with a big fan and former quarterback, Danny Kanell, who now works with CBS Sports, reaching quite a bit to blame someone for the loss.

Former Florida State QB Danny Kanell takes aim at refs with massive reach after upset loss

Well after Georgia Tech's game-winning field goal had cleared the uprights, Kanell posted a video of a run from the Yellow Jackets' final drive wherein Eric Singleton Jr. caught a pass from Haynes King and then ran up the sidelines to set up the field goal attempt. Kanell asserted, however, that the refs missed Singleton being out of bounds on the play, which allowed the clock to keep running and Georgia Tech to make the kick as time expired.

See for yourself if you agree with Kanell or the refs on the field:

"Clearly out of bounds" is absolutely a reach -- this is a close judgment call at best, one that I think his knee comes down in-bounds. Is it close? Without question. But the two biggest keys would be A. It's hard to really split hairs over this being a missed call when it's so close, and B. This isn't the reason FSU lost.

Perhaps the most necessary point in this is Kanell's argument that Florida State would've gotten the ball back with some time had Singleton been ruled out of bounds on the play. But what does that even guarantee? They would have some 40 seconds (at best) to push the ball down the field, which DJU struggled to do throughout the day in Ireland. I have a hard time imagining him capping off the performance we watched with an under-1-minute drill to win or tie the game.

This isn't to pile on Kanell necessarily. He's a fan and alum feeling the keen sting of an upset loss to start the season in Week 0. I get it -- we all do. But this is grasping at straws a little bit.

What he and every other Seminoles fans should take solace in is that this is Week 0. There is a lot of football left to be played this season and Florida State is a prime candidate to get better, particularly as a defense that lost numerous key starters gels more and as a better offensive identity is established around Uiagalelei. There should be full confidence in Norvell making that happen as we move forward, and FSU can subsequently still compete for an ACC title and a CFP berth.

But take solace in that and don't reach for excuses that aren't there. It's a tough loss to swallow but swallow it you must.