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Post Mortem Route : Tigers fall to FSU, 23-24

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A heartbreaking blocked extra point probably isn’t the way Brian Kelly envisioned losing his first game at LSU. Credit where credit is due though, Florida State played an amazing game led by their star QB and an amazing haul of transfers who showed out in a big way in a big game. 

Jordan Travis is the Florida man:

In the words of Andy Moore (@AJMoore21 on Twitter) “I told you so”.

I was sceptical of Jordan Travis coming into this game, even with my apprehension regarding LSU’s somewhat shaky secondary, he proved me wrong though and put the rest of college football on notice with an incredible performance that should have the rest of the ACC worried.

With that said the stat line of 260 yards and 2 touchdowns doesn’t really show how good he was all night. With LSU’s elite defensive front coming after him on every play Travis kept cool making plays with his arms and legs. He found Ontaria Wilson in the endzone twice, once with a beautiful flea flicker that left the LSU defence with their hands in their pockets and again when Wilson hauled in a one handed grab for one of the most impressive catches of the week.

Johnny Wilson and Myach Pittman also made their presence felt; seemingly unguardable for a majority of the contest and to round off the Seminoles attack, running back Treshaun Ward was also harder to bring down than Derrick Henry as he went up against one of the best defensive lines in college football. 

Florida State’s defence was also solid, not allowing LSU to get into a rhythm until late with Albany transfer Jarred Verse blowing past the LSU offensive line on almost every play. Verse racked up two sacks, three tackles and enough pressure to suffocate any signal caller out there.

Tatum Bethune and Renardo Green seemed to be everywhere as well, wrapping up LSU players left, right and centre ensuring finding the endzone was almost impossible for the Tigers.

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The All-American underachiever, Kayshon Boutte:

With 2 catches for 20 yards Kayshon Boutte very much disappointed last night especially as he’s the best receiver in college football (in my humble opinion). Boutte looked bothered and lethargic all night but is poised for a big bounceback as the Tigers face southern next week, probably just needed to shake the cobwebs off. 

Jayden Daniel’s looked shaky early behind a bad line, bad snaps and some bad reads. He managed to bounce back as the game progressed becoming the second LSU QB to pass for 200+ yards and rush for 100+ yards in a single game. Daniels found Jaray Jenksins twice for the end zone while hitting Mason Taylor, Brian Thomas Jr. and Malik Nabers as he moved down field. Nabers suffered the wrath of the LSU fan base this morning as his 2 dropped punts allowed FSU to get two scoring opportunities inside the 10 one of which was turned into points.

The LSU defence went exactly as expected, a shaky secondary exploited by a star QB when they should’ve been picking up slack from the offensive line that lost Maason Smith early to an injury and Ali Gaye to one of the most reckless plays I’ve seen from a player in a while. Despite his early trip to the medical tent BJ Ojulari looked solid all game with freshman Harold Perkins getting stuck in early and Senior safety Jay Ward showing his understanding of the defence and leadership skills as he helped control the defence from the secondary early on trying to pick up the slack left by his corners throughout the game. 

Oh and LSU’s kicker struggled, punter looked good though…

A disappointing outing for the new look Tigers but an absolutely stellar performance from FSU, a team I will very much look forward to seeing in the coming weeks. An ACC championship should be their goal now.


For more follow me on YouTube and twitter @KieranHorneCFB

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WEEK 0 – CFB WINNERS AND LOSERS

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College football is back, and so is our weekly look at who the biggest winners and losers of the weekend’s action were.

WINNERS

Ryan Hilinski

In a battle between two transfer QBs, many would have favoured Nebraska’s Casey Thompson to be the more impressive prospect against Northwestern’s Ryan Hilinski. For long periods of the first half that may have been the correct opinion as Thompson spread the ball around early and often.

However, it was Hilinski who ended up driving his team to their first win of the season with some consistent and accurate play. The backstory of the former South Carolina signal caller is beset with challenges. In the year prior to his collegiate career he was dealt a devastating blow as his older brother took his own life. Despite this, Hilinski was named the starter for his freshman season with the Gamecocks, before losing that role the following season.

Now, with less perceived pressure outside of the SEC and a season under his belt in Evanston, the California native has every chance of succeeding with the Wildcats.

Chase Brown

The University of Illinois doesn’t produce a lot of NFL talent, since 2019 only five players have been drafted after plying their trade at Memorial Stadium. Chase Brown is looking to buck the trend and become the next player on that list with a huge season for the Fighting Illini.

After one game it is certainly looking good for him. Against an average Wyoming side, Brown put up 151 yards and two scores on the ground, adding 16 yards and a touchdown through the air. It certainly looks like Brett Bielma will turn to Brown to be the difference maker after using him in a job-share role last season. 

Games against Indiana and Virginia will give the Canadian the chance to showcase his talent against higher quality opposition over the next two weeks. 

FSU’s RB Room

With the exception of the Nebraska-Northwestern game, the week 0 slate didn’t really throw up many close games. What it did offer was some of the better teams the chance to give their depth players some snaps.

FSU have always produced good players in the rushing department and with Jashaun Corbin leaving for the NFL, the starting gig appeared up for grabs. Mike Norvell will be presented with a good problem going into next weekend’s matchup with LSU as three Noles’ backs went for more than 100 yards on Saturday.

Treshaun Ward got the start, turning 14 carries into 127 yards and two scores, with power back Trey Benson and Lawrence Toafili each topping reaching triple figures and adding a score apiece. It may only have been Duquesne, but there’s some positive signs for the Seminoles ahead of their visit to New Orleans.

LOSERS

Scott Frost

Saturday’s defeat means that Nebrasksa have now lost 21 games by less than one score under Scott Frost. It’s hard not to feel a bit sorry for Frost given how different the outlook would be for him if even ten of those games had gone the other way.

However, that sympathy falls away given the proud boast that the Nebraska coaching staff had worked their offensive line so hard that they were vomiting multiple times a day. Maybe, given the outcome of Saturday’s game, Frost and his coaching staff should work on both their decision making and the mentality of their team. 

After starting the second half strongly, Frost opted to go for an onside kick to keep the ball in Casey Thompson’s hands. The plan failed, Northwestern got the ball back and from there the momentum stayed with Ryan Hilinski and co. 

Mike DiLiello

This one was not so much for the all round performance, but unfortunately for Mike DiLiello he became the first player to go viral this season. The Austin Peay QB threw a bad interception and proceeded to give his all to track down the Western Kentucky CB. Sadly it got worse for DiLiello as he stumbled and fell down in stages as the CB jogged in for the score.

Wyoming’s Passing Offense

It could be considered unfair to single out Wyoming for criticism, but given the small slate of games their offense is the third ‘loser’ this week. The Cowboys have produced some considerable talent over the years, including arguably the best QB in the NFL at present, Josh Allen.

However, it was a sorry showing for Craig Bohl’s men on Saturday as they managed just 30 yards through the air in the 38-6 defeat to Illinois. Utah State transfer, Andrew Peasley, got his first start in Wyoming colours, but it was a sorry performance as he averaged 1.5 yards per attempt with just five completions on 20 throws going for 30 yards. He’ll look to bounce back against Tulsa next week.

By Andy Moore – @ajmoore21