Three Key Takeaways From Florida State's Dominant Win Over Charleston Southern

Florida State's season hasn't been nearly what anyone expected heading into 2024. The 'Noles sit at 2-9 after securing their second win of the season last Saturday against Charleston Southern. FSU fired two of its coordinators during their last bye week, and although Charleston Southern isn't exactly a measuring stick for where the team will finish the season or how they will start 2025, there were some bright spots and flashes of what the team could be in a much-needed turnaround with the 41-7 win.

1. Quarterback Luke Kromenhoek Could Be the Future Under Center

Kromenhoek made his first start on Saturday and put together a remarkable 90.2 PFF grade after completing 13/20 passes for three touchdowns and 209 yards. He also made an impact on the ground with 31 yards on eight attempts. That isn't to say that quarterback Brock Glenn is necessarily going to transfer but such a dominant performance shouldn't be overlooked. How he fares in next week's matchup against rival Florida will give a better insight as the true freshman continues to grow.

This was Luke’s 3rd TD pass of the day, the most by an FSU true freshman in their first career start.

His 71-yard TD pass to Ja’Khi Douglas on the first play of the second half was the 2nd-longest completion by a true freshman in program history and longest since 1976 https://t.co/fuEfqPmGpB
— Derek Satterfield (@dsatt_) November 24, 2024

2. The Florida State Defense Put Up a Dominant Performance

Again, this was a notoriously bad Charleston Southern team that went into the matchup with a record of 1-10. But, interim defensive coordinator and linebacker's coach Randy Shannon's defense looked a little different than the previously sometimes predictable press man that they had run all season. They were able to hold the Buccaneers to just 57 rushing yards and had six tackles for loss.

Florida State was able to keep Charleston Southern out of the end zone for 59 minutes. The only score came in garbage time against a mixture of walk-ons and true freshmen. Florida State only allowed 4/12 third down conversions and 275 yards of total offense. Three of those conversions came on the final two drives.

Those numbers will probably look drastically different against UF, but a positive stride is a positive stride.

Ashlynd Barker’s first collegiate INT is the @ReliaQuest Leading with Defense Play of the Game!#NoleFamily | #MakeSecurityPossible pic.twitter.com/hiEgFyrQxO
— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) November 24, 2024

3. The Youth Movement Has Arrived

Running back Kam Davis led the team in rushing yards with 39 on nine attempts, alongside Kromenhoek's dominant performance. Freshman tight end Amaree Williams caught his second touchdown of the season and came up with big plays when the 'Noles needed a conversion alongside tight end Landen Thomas. Thomas was second on the team in receiving yards with two receptions for 36 yards, and running back Micahi Danzy had a humongous 38-yard catch on his one target in the third quarter.

Freshman QB Luke Kromenhoek gets his First Career Passing TD and Freshman TE Amaree Williams gets his Second Career TD pic.twitter.com/G0p78J4fXj
— Clay Fink (@clay_fink) November 23, 2024

Redshirt freshman defensive back Ja'Bril Rawls led FSU with a career-high seven tackles, while walk-on wide receiver Willy Suarez and kicker Jake Weinberg were two of nine players to make their FSU debut. The others were quarterback Trever Jackson, defensive back Ricky Knight III, defensive lineman DD Holmes, long snapper Peyton Naylor, offensive lineman Jonathan Daniels, and defensive linemen D'Nas White and Jamorie Flagg. It is safe to say there were enough snaps to go around for the younger players. With next season approaching, getting these guys reps will be crucial moving forward.

Florida State is set to face the Florida Gators on Saturday, November 30, with a kickoff time of 7:00 p.m.

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