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    FSU football can't produce enough plays to stop Miami
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    FSU football can't produce enough plays to stop Miami

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    After Saturday's 36-14 loss to ACC opponent Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium, Florida State football is 1-7 on the season.

    It's the first time since 1975 that FSU has fallen to 1-7, and no matter how the season goes the rest of the year, Mike Norvell won't be able to escape a losing record.

    It will be Norvell's third losing season in his five-year tenure at FSU.

    The Hurricanes ended their three-game losing streak against the Seminoles and remain undefeated. They improve to 8-0 this season and continue to accumulate wins to compete in the College Football Playoff.

    FSU's offense tried to keep up with the Hurricanes and prepared well against their star quarterback Cam Ward, who had just a season-low 208 yards and no touchdowns, but none of that showed on the board.

    Here you can find the grades for FSU's performance.

    More: Ashlynd Barker injury update: FSU football player injured in game against Miami

    Offense: F

    The offense didn't show much explosiveness throughout the game.

    Miami took advantage of FSU's difficult offensive line by putting a lot of pressure on FSU's quarterbacks, Brock Glenn and Luke Kromenhoek.

    Both completed 11 of their 32 passes combined for 115 yards.

    “These guys are going to get better and I’m very excited about both of them,” Norvell said. “I appreciate their approach to the work and what we do and just try to put them in the best position.” ”

    In the second quarter, Kromenhoek showed some flashes on offense, including a 42-yard run on fourth-and-1 that set up FSU's first scoring drive that would result in a Caziah Holmes touchdown.

    Because of the big running game, Kromenhoek became FSU's top rusher with 71 yards on 11 attempts. With the loss of Kam Davis, the running game no longer played a big role.

    The true freshman continued to show potential as he became more accustomed to the speed of the game. However, he still struggled under pressure and missed some open shots.

    “He’s doing a really good job, he’s learning a lot in each of these games,” Norvell said.

    “Situations and scenarios that come up are going to be monumental for him and his future, and going in he was obviously able to create some things with his legs.”

    “He drove us downfield and managed to get into the end zone, and then we wanted to go ahead and give him a few series and chances there.”

    Miami would sack him three times. Glenn tied the game in the fourth quarter, throwing a touchdown pass to Malik Benson with 18 seconds left in the game.

    Benson saw the progress he saw from Glenn and Kromenhoek and liked how differently they handled the offense.

    “Obviously the game didn't go the way we wanted it to, but you just see both guys have improved, like Luke stepping up as a freshman and Brock just keeping his cool and things like that,” Benson said.

    More: Todd Stroud's visit to Bobby Bowden in 2019 ended with both showing the U sign

    Defense: C-

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    FSU football players Malik Benson and Omar Graham talk about the loss to Miami

    FSU football players Malik Benson and Omar Graham talk about the loss to Miami

    FSU's defense frustrated Ward the entire game, and he even became so frustrated that he threw a pill on the ground on the sideline.

    FSU's defense put enough pressure on Ward and brought him down with four sacks. Two of those came on blitz plays with linebacker Omar Graham Jr. and DB Edwin Joseph.

    The defense kept the Seminoles in the game. The secondary covered Miami's receivers well, including their top target Xavier Restrepo, who only had 24 yards and four catches.

    “I don’t really like moral victories,” Graham said.

    “We should have won the game. We should have been there for our offense. The offense doesn't score and we win the game. I mean, that’s cool, but I think we should have been better in all phases.”

    While the Seminoles did a good job of containing the Heisman-contending quarterback by not allowing him a passing touchdown all night, they struggled with run-on-third-down stops.

    Miami was 7 of 9 on third-down conversions in the first half and 8 of 14 for the entire game. As Miami continued to run offense, FSU's defense was unable to get off the field and dominated in times of possession.

    Mark Fletcher Jr. and Damien Martinez scored two touchdowns in the first quarter and FSU trailed 14-0. Martinez led the Hurricanes with 148 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

    Fletcher added 71 more on the ground. Miami produced 445 yards of total offense. FSU's defense received six penalties for 50 yards. Two of those were illegal substitutions, which Norvell described as poor communication.

    “We had a couple of third downs where we had to get off the field and because of some penalties and outsiders we couldn't get off the field,” Graham said. “I feel like we just need to get better at it.”

    More: FSU Football's Darius Washington opted out against Miami; Jacob Rizy makes his starting eleven debut

    Special Teams: B

    For the most part, FSU's special teams receive high marks for their performance alone. There was nothing special about the special forces.

    Two of senior Alex Mastromanno's three punts went over 50 yards, with 56 being the longest. Samuel Singleton Jr. made two runs for 20 yards on a kickoff return, putting the Seminoles in good field position.

    There were game-changing plays like blocked kicks and punts. Miami's kicker Alejandro Borregales made 3 to 3 field goals. Ryan Fitzgerald has failed to field an attempt in four of the last five games.

    More: Florida State-Miami football history: Series record between Seminoles and Hurricanes

    Coach: D

    Norvell's game plan was aggressive despite limiting his offense. He will make bold decisions by trying everything in the fourth round. The Seminoles went 4 of 7 on fourth-down conversions.

    Norvell's decision to stay with Kromenhoek for most of the game was the right decision and gave him the opportunity to examine the freshman quarterback as he gained more playing experience.

    The defense wasn't great, but it was enough to allow FSU to put up points, something they hadn't been able to do all year.

    FSU's offense remains subpar, averaging just 14 points and has yet to produce a 300-yard performance.

    More: FSU Football's Darius Washington opted out against Miami; Jacob Rizy makes his starting eleven debut

    2024 FSU football schedule: TV channels, dates and start times

    • Saturday, August 24th: vs. Georgia Tech* (Aer Lingus College Football Classic) lost 24-21
    • Monday, September 2nd: vs. Boston College* | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo) lost 28-13
    • Saturday September 7th: Bye
    • Saturday September 14th: vs. Memphis | lunch | ESPN (Fubo) lost 20-12
    • Saturday September 21st: vs Cal* | 7 p.m.| ESPN2 (Fubo) won 14-9
    • Saturday September 28th: at No. 22 SMU* | 8pm EST | ACC Network lost 42-16
    • Saturday, October 5th: vs. No. 9 Clemson* | 7 p.m.| ESPN (Fubo) lost 29-13
    • Saturday, Oct. 12: Bye
    • Friday, October 18th: at Duke* | 7 p.m. | ESPN2 (Fubo) lost 23-16
    • Saturday, Oct. 26: at No. 5 Miami* | 7 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo) lost 36-14
    • Saturday November 2nd: vs North Carolina*
    • Saturday November 9th: at Notre Dame No. 11 | 7:30 p.m. | NBC (Fubo, Peacock)
    • Saturday November 16th: Bye
    • Saturday November 23rd: against Charleston Southern
    • Saturday November 30th: against Florida
    • Saturday December 6th: ACC Championship Game (Charlotte, NC)

    Always east

    * = ACC

    Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him by email at [email protected] or at X @_Da_pistol.

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