Reviewing FSU-Maryland

FSU lost yet another conference game this week against Maryland's football - not basketball - team 27-24. Even though the loss is very disappointing to see, there were a lot of positive things to take from it.

Former 5-star QB Xavier Lee found out he was going to make his first collegiate start about an hour before game time because Drew Weatherford had tendinitis in his ankle (or so they say). The sophomore made the most of his opportunity as he looked great all night. Lee threw for 286 yards with 2 TDs and no interceptions. He made all the throws and played well enough to win, but numerous drops by his receivers hurt the Seminoles again. Lee also contributed 50 yards on the ground and used his mobility to move around until a teammate would break open somewhere. His performance was very encouraging and definitely has opened up a true QB controversy. I would like to see him start again next week against Virginia.

This is very rare, but I really liked the play-calling by whoever that was in the booth. ESPN kept saying that it was Jeff Bowden when they showed FSU's box, but honest to God I didn't see him in there. And from seeing the plays we were running throughout the night, especially in the ground game, I really do question who was calling the shots. In the past, we would abandon the running game as soon as we fell behind. And when I say abandon, I mean absolutely zero running. However, last night we fell behind very early and still ran the ball the entire game and with success. As a team, we had 34 carries for 172 yards. That is over 5 yards a carry. The type of running plays we ran is also what surprised me. There was a lot more misdirection and plays that allow the line time to move guys out of the way. This balance allowed us to rack up 458 yards of total offense. Let's see more of this in the future.

Chris Davis and Greg Carr played very, very well, but the receiving corps really needs to cut back on the drops.

The defense struggled early in the game, but really turned it on in the 2nd half, allowing just 7 points. It's obvious that the defense isn't nearly the same after losing so many key players throughout the season. Hopefully all of this playing time by young players will pay off in the years to come. Future NFL LBs Lawrence Timmons and Buster Davis made their share of big plays, but in the end it wasn't enough.

FSU outgained the Terps 458 yards to 223. That should always result in a W. We lost this game because of all the little things. A big first half fumble, 13 penalties for 100 yards, 4 dropped passes, and a blocked FG at the end that would have tied the game are the reasons for a defeat like this. Maryland megacoach Ralph Friedgen put together a solid gameplan that gave his less talented team its best chance to win and it paid off.

The Noles have fallen to 4-4, the worst start in Tallahassee since Bowden's first season. In a time when things seem to be at an extreme low for FSU, the improvements showed by Xavier Lee and the offensive coordinator (whoever that was) should give us reason to believe there is hope for a better future sooner than we thought.