3 UP, 3 DOWN: Louisville
Saturday’s Florida State vs. Louisville game was a tale of two halves for the Seminoles. After an embarrassing first half, the 'Noles came out of the break and competed hard, still coming up one score short late in the fourth quarter.
In this week’s 3 Up, 3 Down, we look at FSU's performance, discussing who stood out and who could have played better. Let’s get to it!
3 Up
1. Jashaun Corbin
Corbin is becoming a weekly standout despite the 'Noles 0-4 start. He was unstoppable Saturday night. 11 carries for 159 yards and a score on the ground was Corbin’s stat line as he was the lone consistent offensive threat against the Cardinals. If it wasn’t for a really poor first half, FSU could have ridden Corbin to a win as Lousiville had no answer for him.
2. Jarvis Brownlee
While Brownlee has been on our ‘3 Down’ list earlier this season, he had some great moments on defense Saturday night. He had 3 tackles on the night - but 2 of them were absolutely huge plays that kept the Seminoles in the game. One came on a 3rd down that forced a punt, the other on a crucial 4th down that gave the offense good starting field position. He also had his best game overall in coverage.
3. Penalties
We saw a huge improvement this week from a team that had killed themselves early on this season with dumb penalties on important downs. Florida State had only four penalties for 30 yards, far and away, the best effort in almost 4 years by an FSU team. This needs to continue for the Noles to have a chance to get some wins this season.
3 Down
1. Keyshawn Helton as Punt Returner
Florida State made an adjustment earlier this season, replacing Travis Jay at punt returner with Helton. After a couple of solid returns, Helton cost FSU on Saturday. Hidden yards sways games, and FSU isn’t talented enough to overcome those right now. Two punts stick out - 1) when Keyshawn misjudged a punt, coming up, instead of drifting backwards. That flipped the field early and was a huge mistake. 2) Later in the game when FSU was working to battle back, Helton fair caught a punt inside the 5 when it was clearly going to go in the endzone. There were two more drives when Helton cost FSU field position, but these two were egregious.
2. Wide Receiver Play
Sure, Andrew Parchment has his best game overall as a Seminole- but it was a really poor play by Parchment late in the game that thwarted the Noles’ comeback. FSU’s receivers continue to struggle to get open, stalling out an offense that was working to make the 2nd half comeback. The missed opportunities offensively will continue until this gets better.
3. QB Play
I was a big proponent of McKenzie Milton coming into the season. Great experience, a leader, a winner, and a competitor - traits FSU hasn’t had at the most important position in the sport since 2013. It’s clear that Milton isn’t the same player which is to be expected due to his catastrophic knee injury. It’s great that he’s battled back and made it back into a live game. The fact of the matter is that he’s struggling to make it happen - whether short-arming open receivers, or not being comfortable in the run game. QB play has been an issue all season (not 100% on them as there are issues upfront and out wide) - is it time to look at the future and go with Chubba Purdy?
