Florida State Falls Flat on Face, Get Handled 24-3 in Embarrassing Opening Loss
Josh Jackson threw two touchdown passes, one early and another late, and No. 20 Virginia Tech handled 19th-ranked Florida State 24-3 in the rain Monday night to spoil coach Willie Taggart’s debut with the Seminoles.
Florida State looked dysfunctional and disorganized most of the night, finishing with five turnovers, a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown and a missed field goal.
“Tough loss,” said Taggart, a former head coach at Oregon, South Florida and Western Kentucky. “Not what any of us expected. We didn’t play a good game at all. It was very sloppy. It’s hard to win a football game with five turnovers.
“We have to play much better. That’s on all of us, starting with me.”
Sums up the night for Willie Taggart and FSU. pic.twitter.com/HFk9bFPNxJ
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 4, 2018
The Hokies were good at the start and even better with the game on the line.
Jackson connected with Eric Kumah over the middle with less than 6 minutes to play. Kumah bounded through three arm tackles and raced 49 yards for the game-sealing score. Jackson also opened the game with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Damon Hazelton in the corner of the end zone. Jackson lofted a pass that cornerback Levonta Taylor looked lost trying to defend.
Jackson completed 16 of 26 passes for 207 yards. Kumah finished with four catches for 86 yards.
Kumah also scored on special teams, scooping up the team’s 75th blocked punt since 1987. It was fitting since former Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, known for his “Beamerball” brand of special teams, was on hand as an honorary captain.
The outcome probably shouldn’t have been too surprising since the Hokies finished 9-4 in Justin Fuente’s second season and returned a number of key players, including Jackson. The Seminoles are coming off a 7-6 season and are still getting acclimated to a new coaching staff and new schemes on both sides of the ball.
“I saw a lot of guys ticked off in the locker room, a lot of guys crying,” Taggart said. “We’ll see how guys come back and respond. … You have to do it quick.”
Fun times at FSU. pic.twitter.com/gIJLGcd6WW
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) September 4, 2018
Little went right for Florida State all night:
— Receiver Nyqwan Murray fumbled on the team’s opening possession, giving Virginia Tech great field position and leading to a field goal.
— Ricky Aguayo missed a 32-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
— Murray appeared to score on a 30-yard pass from Deondre Francois later in the second. Instead of challenging the call, the Seminoles hurried to the line and were flagged for a false start. FSU had to settle for a short field goal.
— Logan Tyler had his punt blocked by Chris Cunningham at the 3-yard line. Kumah scooped it up and scored, putting the Hokies up 17-3.
— Taggart went for it on fourth-and-3 at the Virginia Tech 21. Francois’ pass fell incomplete.
The Seminoles essentially provided huge assists on both of Tech’s touchdowns and cost themselves another 10 points.
“We didn’t do a whole lot of adjusting,” longtime Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. “We fit up the speed reads and created negative plays.”
Virginia Tech had a chance to make it a three-score game late in the third quarter, but Fuente went for it on fourth down at the 1. Steven Peoples was stopped short of the goal line, keeping it a 14-point game and giving the Seminoles life.
FSU looked like it might cut the lead in half after Cam Akers broke loose for an 84-yard gain midway through the fourth, but Akers and fellow running back Amir Rasul botched a handoff in the backfield and wasted the scoring opportunity.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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