What first started out as a close, competitive game in the first half, which most expected between two top 10 teams, turned out to be the exact opposite in the second half as Florida State dominated LSU in all facets by outscoring the Tigers 31-7 in the final 30 minutes of play to come out on top for the second year in a row with a 45-24 win.
“I am quite aware of the score and I didn’t like the way we came out. I’ve got to take accountability of the way we came out in the second half. I got to get our football team to understand and recognize that you have to play this game for four quarters.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on poor second half performance
Entering the game, one of the biggest advantages on paper that the Seminoles had was their wide receiving core against the Tigers’ new look secondary. It was the worse case scenario that the Tigers were hoping wouldn’t happen and that was Florida State’s receiving core having a huge impact in the game.
Florida State’s biggest X factor happened to be a Louisiana native in former Opelousas Catholic wide receiver Keon Coleman, who simply took over the game. The Michigan State transfer ended the game with 9 catches for 122 yards and three touchdowns.
Coleman’s quarterback Jordan Travis was nothing short of incredible and puts his hat into the ring of the early Heisman conversation with a near flawless performance as he completed 23 of 31 passes for 342 yards and four touchdowns plus a rushing touchdown.
Florida State’s other big target Johnny Wilson also was a big factor and proved to be a great counterpart to Coleman with 7 catches for 104 yards.
“Coleman is a tough matchup. Wilson is a tough matchup. I thought we competed there. I don’t know if there was much more else if we could have done.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on what the defensive backs could have done differently against Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson
While Florida State’s passing attack was efficient and impressive so was the Seiminoles’ dominance in the trenches. In the second half, the Seminoles outgained the Tigers 281 yards to 167. LSU QB Jayden Daniels was sacked four times and the LSU ground attack only gained eight yards in the second half.
The first half was better for LSU as they took a 17-14 lead into halftime, but even though the Tigers had the lead at halftime, there were some missed opportunities to break the game open as LSU had two promising drives end with Florida State stopping the LSU offense twice on fourth down. The two fourth down stops occurred in the red zone and it left some points off the board.
“I think they were pretty easy calls. We were trying to run the ball with an option for Jayden to pull it. Those are pretty standard calls and decisions. Both were read option decisions that Jayden was confronted with.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on the fourth down calls
Florida State struck first when Travis connected with Coleman for a 40 yard touchdown to give the Seminoles an early 7-0 lead and also a little bit of foreshadowing into what would be expected throughout the night.
LSU responded as Daniels hit Kyren Lacy for a 33 yard pickup that led to a one yard touchdown run from Tre Bradford to tie the game up at seven a piece.
That would end up being the score heading into the second quarter. The second quarter was what one would expect from both teams as there was some sloppy plays from both teams. Both offenses had some drops while Florida State had multiple personal foul penalties. LSU’s muffed punt problems returned for the second year in a row as Aaron Anderson fumbled a punt, which was recovered by the Seminoles. However, Florida State would not get any points as Travis throws an interception to LSU’s Duce Chestnut.
Jayden Daniels’ elusive running ability was not shown often, but he did break a 40 yard touchdown run to put the Tigers inside the five yard line. Two plays later, Noah Cain plows into the end zone to give the Tigers a 14-7 lead.
Florida State would respond the very next drive by converting three third down conversions and score on a 75 yard touchdown drive with Travis throwing a touchdown pass to Coleman, who came down with the football in the end zone over Major Burns to tie the game up at 14.
Jayden Daniels led a nice two minute drill to set up the Damian Ramos‘ go ahead field goal just before halftime at 17-14, but that was pretty much all the positives would go for LSU the rest of the way.
After Florida State tied the game at 17, LSU had a chance to respond, but Kyren Lacy had crucial drop on third down to end another promising drive.
From that point on, it was all Florida State. The Seminoles took the lead at 24-17 on a one yard touchdown run from Travis that was set up on a 41 yard pass to Lawrance Toafili that was called on fourth down and short.
To end the third quarter, Brian Thomas Jr. had a chance to make a big play, but dropped the football. The very next play to start the fourth quarter, Malik Nabers slipped and the slip was costly as Daniels threw an interception to Renardo Green.
Florida State’s hot offense took advantage of the turnover when the combination of Travis and Coleman connected for the third time of the night to start separating themselves from the Tigers at 31-17.
FSU would score on two more touchdowns from tight end Jaheim Bell with one being a wide open 44 yard touchdown catch from Travis and the other a short touchdown to give the Seminoles a commanding 45-17 lead.
LSU would break their scoreless second half with a 75 yard touchdown pass from Daniels to Brian Thomas Jr., but the big play came too little too late for the Tigers. Daniels finished the game completing 22 of 37 passes for 347 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Brian Thomas Jr. led the Tigers in receiving with seven catches for 142 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Bradyn Swinson had a nice debut with five tackles, one TFL, and a quarterback hurry, but it was a night that certainly didn’t have a lot of positives for the Bayou Bengals.
Florida State starts the season with a dominant season opening statement while LSU, which entered the season with such lofty high expectations, has a lot to figure out.
Next week, the Florida State Seminoles will host Southern Miss while LSU will look to have a much needed bounce back week against Grambling.
“It means everything as to what our mindset is. How do we handle this? Is this what we want to be? Do we look at this and ask if this is the team we want to be? It is how you respond to them. They have a chance to respond to this very disappointing loss in the second half. How they handle themselves 24/7 will be intriguing to me.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on what is next moving forward after embarrassing loss
Final Stats:
Offensive Cumulative Stats:
STAT | LSU | FSU |
---|---|---|
NET TOTAL YARDS | 460 | 494 |
NET RUSHING YARDS | 113 | 135 |
Rushing Attempts | 27 | 34 |
Average Per Rush | 4.2 | 4.0 |
Rushing TDs | 2 | 2 |
Yards Gained | 144 | 151 |
Yards Lost | 31 | 16 |
NET PASSING YARDS | 347 | 359 |
Completion-Attempts | 22-37 | 24-32 |
Completion Percentage | 59% | 75% |
Avg Per Completion | 15.8 | 15.0 |
YAC | 261 | 174 |
Passing TDs | 1 | 4 |
Drops (%) | 0 (00%) | 3 (09%) |
TOTAL 1ST DOWNS | 22 | 22 |
Rushing 1st Downs | 6 | 7 |
Passing 1st Downs | 13 | 13 |
Penalty 1st Downs | 3 | 2 |
TOTAL PLAYS | 64 | 66 |
Avg Yds/Play | 7.2 | 7.5 |
Rushing-Passing | 27-37 | 34-32 |
Offense Efficiency Comparison:
STAT | LSU | FSU |
---|---|---|
RED ZONE ATTEMPTS | 3-5 | 4-4 |
Red Zone Points | 17 | 24 |
RZ TDs Rush-Pass | 2-0 | 2-1 |
RZ FG Made-Att | 1-1 | 1-1 |
RZ Turns | 2 | 0 |
3rd Downs | 3-10 | 9-14 |
4th Downs | 0-3 | 1-1 |
Penalties | 2-30 | 7-63 |
Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 0-0 |
Pts Off Turns | 0 | 7 |
POSSESSION TIME | 24:37 | 35:23 |
Special Teams Comparison:
STAT | LSU | FSU |
---|---|---|
Punts-Avg | 3-45.0 | 3-46.0 |
Inside20 | 2 | 1 |
Field Goals | 1-1 | 1-1 |
Kick Returns | 4-51 | 1-0 |
Punt Returns | 1–3 | 0-0 |
Defensive Comparison:
STAT | LSU | FSU |
---|---|---|
TACKLES | 68 | 65 |
Solo Tackles | 26 | 33 |
Tackles for Loss | 4 | 5 |
TFL Yards | -16 | -31 |
Pass Breakups | 2 | 6 |
QB Hurries | 4 | 2 |
Sacks | 0 | 4 |
Sacks Yards | -0 | -26 |
Takeaways FR-INT | 0-1 | 1-1 |
Forced Fumbles | 0 | 0 |
Fumble Recoveries | 0 | 1 |
FR Yards | 0 | 0 |
Interceptions | 1 | 1 |
INT Yards | 2 | 0 |
TDs INT-FR | 0-0 | 0-0 |
LSU Passing
# | PLAYER | C-A | YDS | TD | I | C% | RTG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 | DANIELS,J | 22-37 | 347 | 1 | 1 | 59 | 141.8 |
LSU Receiving
# | PLAYER | NO | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG | TGT | C% | YAC | DR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 | THOMAS JR.,B | 7 | 142 | 1 | 75 | 20.3 | 9 | 78 | 98 | 0 |
8 | NABERS,M | 6 | 67 | 0 | 21 | 11.2 | 13 | 46 | 32 | 0 |
86 | TAYLOR,M | 4 | 39 | 0 | 15 | 9.8 | 4 | 100 | 34 | 0 |
2 | LACY,K | 3 | 37 | 0 | 33 | 12.3 | 7 | 43 | 26 | 0 |
32 | BRADFORD,T | 1 | 55 | 0 | 55 | 55 | 1 | 100 | 45 | 0 |
1 | ANDERSON,A | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 100 | 26 | 0 |
6 RECEIVERS | 22 | 347 | 1 | 75 | 15.8 | 37 | 59 | 261 | 0 |
LSU Rushing:
# | PLAYER | ATT | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 | DANIELS,J | 15 | 64 | 0 | 40 | 4.3 |
27 | WILLIAMS,J | 4 | 44 | 0 | 35 | 11 |
21 | CAIN,N | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
32 | BRADFORD,T | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0.3 |
4 RUSHERS | 27 | 113 | 2 | 40 | 4.2 |
LSU Punting:
Punter | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | I20 | 50+ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BRAMBLETT,J | 3 | 135 | 45 | 65 | 2 | 1 |
LSU Field Goals:
Kicker | Time | Dist | Result |
---|---|---|---|
D.Ramos | 2nd-00:00 | 36 | GOOD |
TOTAL | 1-1 | LONG OF 36 |
LSU All Purpose Yards:
Player | Tot | Rush | Rec | KOR | PR | IR-FR | TDs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
THOMAS JR.,B | 142 | 0 | 142 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
NABERS,M | 67 | 0 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
DANIELS,J | 64 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
LSU Defense:
# | Player (Starter) | TotTk | Solo | Sack | TFL | Int | BrUp | QBH | FF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | O.Speights (LB) | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
8 | M.Burns (DB) | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
24 | Z.Alexander (CB) | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
4 | H.Perkins Jr. (LB) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
13 | B.Swinson | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
14 | A.Sam (S) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
90 | J.Guillory (DL) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3 | G.Brooks Jr. (S) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
18 | M.Wingo (DT) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
22 | D.Chestnut | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2 | O.Oghoufo (LB) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
15 | S.Ryan (DB) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
30 | G.Penn III | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
99 | J.Jefferson | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
35 | S.Jones (DE) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
94 | P.Shand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TOTALS | 68 | 26 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
LSU Punt Returns:
Returner | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ANDERSON,A | 1 | -3 | -03 | 0 | 0 |
LSU Kick Returns:
Returner | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ANDERSON,A | 3 | 39 | 13 | 17 | 0 |
CLAYTON JR.,G | 1 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 0 |
TOTAL | 4 | 51 | 13 | 17 | 0 |
LSU Team Stats By Quarter:
1st | Rush | Pass | CAI | TotY | Avg | 3rds | Pens | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 10 | 10-12 | 12-151 | 8-12-0 | 163 | 7.4 | 1-2 | 0-0 |
2nd | 5 | 9-93 | 10-37 | 3-10-0 | 130 | 6.8 | 1-4 | 0-0 |
3rd | 4 | 4-18 | 7-38 | 5-7-0 | 56 | 5.1 | 1-2 | 1-15 |
4th | 3 | 4–10 | 8-121 | 6-8-1 | 111 | 9.3 | 0-2 | 1-15 |
Total | 22 | 27-113 | 37-347 | 22-37-1 | 460 | 7.2 | 3-10 | 2-30 |
LSU Scoring Summary:
Qtr | Clock | Score | Type | Play | Drive | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 03:48 | TD | RUSH | T.Bradford 1 yd rush (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD) | 9/75/4:05 | 7-7 |
2 | 06:02 | TD | RUSH | N.Cain 1 yd rush (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD) | 5/51/1:47 | 7-14 |
2 | 00:00 | FG | D.Ramos 36 yd Field Goal | 10/67/0:57 | 14-17 | |
4 | 01:15 | TD | PASS | B.Thomas Jr. 75 yd reception thrown by J.Daniels (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD) | 1/75/0:11 | 45-24 |
Florida St. Passing:
# | PLAYER | C-A | YDS | TD | I | C% | RTG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 | TRAVIS,J | 23-31 | 342 | 4 | 1 | 74 | 203 |
5 | SPANN,D | 1-1 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 242.8 |
PASS TOTALS | 24-32 | 359 | 4 | 1 | 75 |
Florida St. Receiving:
# | PLAYER | NO | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG | TGT | C% | YAC | DR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | COLEMAN,K | 9 | 122 | 3 | 41 | 13.6 | 12 | 75 | 52 | 0 |
14 | WILSON,J | 7 | 104 | 0 | 22 | 14.9 | 9 | 78 | 33 | 2 |
6 | BELL,J | 2 | 49 | 1 | 44 | 24.5 | 4 | 50 | 33 | 1 |
9 | TOAFILI,L | 2 | 49 | 0 | 41 | 24.5 | 2 | 100 | 45 | 0 |
84 | MORLOCK,K | 2 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 100 | 4 | 0 |
1 | WRIGHT JR.,W | 1 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 18 | 1 | 100 | 2 | 0 |
3 | BENSON,T | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 100 | 5 | 0 |
7 RECEIVERS | 24 | 359 | 4 | 44 | 15 | 32 | 75 | 174 | 3 |
Florida St. Rushing:
# | PLAYER | ATT | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | BENSON,T | 12 | 47 | 0 | 14 | 3.9 |
13 | TRAVIS,J | 7 | 38 | 1 | 13 | 5.4 |
29 | HILL,R | 5 | 29 | 0 | 17 | 5.8 |
9 | TOAFILI,L | 6 | 20 | 0 | 8 | 3.3 |
6 | BELL,J | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
5 | SPANN,D | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
6 RUSHERS | 34 | 135 | 2 | 17 | 4 |
Florida St. Punting:
Punter | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | I20 | 50+ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MASTROMANNO,A | 3 | 138 | 46 | 51 | 1 | 1 |
Florida St. Field Goals:
Kicker | Time | Dist | Result |
---|---|---|---|
R.Fitzgerald | 3rd-09:19 | 33 | GOOD |
TOTAL | 1-1 | LONG OF 33 |
Florida St. All Purpose Yards:
Player | Tot | Rush | Rec | KOR | PR | IR-FR | TDs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
COLEMAN,K | 122 | 0 | 122 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
WILSON,J | 104 | 0 | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TOAFILI,L | 69 | 20 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Florida St. Defense:
# | Player (Starter) | TotTk | Solo | Sack | TFL | Int | BrUp | QBH | FF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 | T.Bethune | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1 | A.Dent (DB) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
7 | J.Jones | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
8 | R.Green (DB) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
11 | P.Payton (DL) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
20 | A.Thomas | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
23 | F.Cypress II (DB) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
38 | S.Brown (DB) | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
4 | K.DeLoach (LB) | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
10 | D.Lundy (LB) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
44 | J.Farmer (DL) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3 | K.Knowles II | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
5 | J.Verse (DL) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
6 | D.Briggs Jr. | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
21 | G.Vance Jr. (DB) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
55 | B.Fiske (DL) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
4 | K.Coleman | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
19 | G.Edmond | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
22 | C.Campbell Jr. | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
26 | C.Holmes | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
36 | O.Graham Jr. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
54 | B.Turner, Jr. | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
99 | M.Ray | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TOTALS | 65 | 33 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
Florida St. Punt Returns
Returner | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
---|
Florida St. Kick Returns
Returner | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
THOMAS,A | 1 | 0 | 00 | 0 | 0 |
Florida St. Team Stats By Quarter
1st | Rush | Pass | CAI | TotY | Avg | 3rds | Pens | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 4 | 3-16 | 9-94 | 6-9-0 | 110 | 9.2 | 2-3 | 5-53 |
2nd | 5 | 8-23 | 12-80 | 8-12-1 | 103 | 5.2 | 4-6 | 1-5 |
3rd | 5 | 9-17 | 6-115 | 6-6-0 | 132 | 8.8 | 1-3 | 1-5 |
4th | 8 | 14-79 | 5-70 | 4-5-0 | 149 | 7.8 | 2-2 | 0-0 |
Total | 22 | 34-135 | 32-359 | 24-32-1 | 494 | 7.5 | 9-14 | 7-63 |
Florida St. Scoring Summary
Qtr | Clock | Score | Type | Play | Drive | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 07:53 | TD | PASS | K.Coleman 40 yd reception thrown by J.Travis (PAT KICK by R.Fitzgerald GOOD) | 9/86/4:01 | 7-0 |
2 | 01:01 | TD | PASS | K.Coleman 21 yd reception thrown by J.Travis (PAT KICK by R.Fitzgerald GOOD) | 10/75/5:01 | 14-14 |
3 | 09:19 | FG | R.Fitzgerald 33 yd Field Goal | 9/60/5:41 | 17-17 | |
3 | 02:42 | TD | RUSH | J.Travis 1 yd rush (PAT KICK by R.Fitzgerald GOOD) | 7/87/3:45 | 24-17 |
4 | 10:18 | TD | PASS | K.Coleman 7 yd reception thrown by J.Travis (PAT KICK by R.Fitzgerald GOOD) | 8/57/4:32 | 31-17 |
4 | 07:00 | TD | PASS | J.Bell 44 yd reception thrown by J.Travis (PAT KICK by R.Fitzgerald GOOD) | 3/57/1:01 | 38-17 |
4 | 01:26 | TD | RUSH | J.Bell 4 yd rush (PAT KICK by R.Fitzgerald GOOD) | 6/54/3:21 | 45-17 |