Saturday Georgia Tech beat Florida State in a stunning 24-21 victory resetting the expectations of what Georgia Tech could accomplish in 2024.
There is always a flipside. Florida State went from #10 in the nation with a defensive line that many considered to be the best in the country to question marks galore.
Thankfully for Florida State, the loss only dents their playoff hopes, but doesn’t cripple them. It’s not without precedent either. National Championship-caliber teams can recover from shocking losses to unranked teams. In the last decade, it’s happened several times. Here are just a few examples.
In 2014 Ohio State recovered from a 2 TD home loss to Virginia Tech to go 14-1 and won the national title.
In 2016 Clemson lost at home to Pittsburgh 43-42 and won the national title.
In 2017 Clemson lost at Syracuse 27-24 and made the playoff
In 2019 Oklahoma lost 48-41 at Kansas State and made the playoff.
So it’s not time to panic for FSU, and those that totally dismiss them just yet probably want to hold off on things. First Georgia Tech was always going to be a very dangerous opener. A team returning the majority of their offense fresh off a bowl win, and a 4th quarter game with Georgia where the Jackets O-Line more than held their own against the Bulldogs front was going to be a problem.
The Jackets experienced O-Line controlled the LOS against a talented defense that clearly lacked chemistry. This wasn’t too surprising, but FSU’s inability to consistently move the ball on offense against Georgia Tech’s defense was.
I believe in time FSU’s defense will be fine. They won’t see many offenses as difficult to prepare for and physical as Georgia Tech’s. It will get better. I’m confident in that.
It’s the Noles offense that will separate Norvell’s team from going 8-4 or 10-2, 11-1. While new QB DJ Uiagalelei can’t and shouldn’t take the sole blame for Nole’s offensive struggles, it sure did look a lot the Clemson’s offenses he led. There was no consistency getting the ball downfield, other than the Noles’s final 4th qtr TD where DJU looked solid making heady decisions and timely throws.
If Mike Norvell can harness that out of his offense, the Noles will be fine. If not it will be a massive struggle against any defenses of quality. The O-Line – a point of strength going into the season needs to play a whole lot better. Receivers have to create separation, and DJU has to make plays under duress not just when the pocket is clean.
The pieces are there for an FSU turnaround, especially on defense. The offense? Yep, that’s the question we’re all waiting for the answer to as Georgia Tech exposed a lot of current issues with the Noles.
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