Weekly Mailbag: Block Party, re-evaluating expectations, and BYE week

Florida State came away with a victory against the LSU Tigers in New Orleans over the weekend. Following a furious rally by the Tigers in the final frame, the Seminoles blocked an extra point with no time remaining to secure their first 2-0 start since 2016. Moving into a BYE week, there are pros and cons to the time off.

On one hand, the team wants to continue building momentum, on the other, this is a well-timed break to heal up after a physical game against LSU. Florida State won't have another week off until after the team matches up with Clemson on October 15. There are still a few players dealing with nagging injuries that have popped up over the last few weeks.

The Labor Day weekend and time in New Orleans meant the mailbag had to be pushed back this week while I recovered. We should be good to go on Monday's for the remainder of the year now that a casino isn't 100 yards away from me.

Let's check out what we have in the mailbag after a thrilling win in The Big Easy.

Can you rate that environment compared to all of the games you've been to? - @spen.will.7

I've been to some good games throughout my life as media and a fan. 2012 Clemson, 2013 Clemson, 2014 Notre Dame, Clemson 2016, North Carolina 2020, Notre Dame 2021, and Miami 2021 immediately come to mind, as well as a host of others. Despite being a neutral site, the atmosphere in the Caesars Superdome matched up.

It was loud throughout the game, especially at points in the second half where it looked like the Seminoles would run away from the Tigers. I really enjoyed it and I loved that it was an open press box. It feels like you're more of a part of the game rather than at Doak Campell Stadium where you're behind glass.

How is Bless Harris? - @valinjax

Unfortunately, Norvell announced on Wednesday that starting right tackle Bless Harris will miss the remainder of the year with an injury. Harris suffered the injury against Duquesne and the Seminoles are hoping to have him back in 2023. Graduate transfer Jazston Turnetine started at right tackle in his place against LSU.

"Bless [Harris] is actually going to be out for the season," Norvell said. "It's unfortunate for that young man, it happened during our first game. He actually finished the drive playing it out, so it wasn't something that jumped. We knew in the game we were dealing with an injury. He'll be out for the season.

"Obviously it really tests the depth of what we have. Jaz started the game at right tackle. It was good for him to be able to go through that game," Norvell continued. "He's only been here for roughly six weeks, if that. He's been having to learn a lot, there's been a lot thrown on him. I really think he's embraced some of the challenges of that. I thought he did a solid job on Sunday with the circumstances. We'll miss Bless. I know he'll be back and ready and a really good player for us."

What's the update on Fabien Lovett? - @esam0712

Based on Norvell's comments from Wednesday, it sounds like the Seminoles are hoping to get him back on the practice field soon. Lovett appeared to be injured on the final drive against the Tigers.

“We’ll continue to evaluate where things go with Fabien. He played extremely hard in the game, went down there in the end. He’s a tough human being. As soon as we get him back on the practice field and rolling, he’s going to be rolling.”

Better performance overall. Offensive line or defensive line? - @stone_quill

That's a tough question. Both units had their fair share of moments on Sunday night.

The offensive line only allowed two sacks while limiting LSU's vaunted defensive line as much as it could. The Seminoles converted on 11 of their 17 third-down attempts while also compiling 392 yards of total offense. However, the defensive line and Jared Verse stole the show.

The unit combined for ten total tackles, three tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. Verse recorded 2.5 tackles, two sacks, and a blocked kick on his own. He dominated the Tigers' offensive tackles and notched nine pressures on quarterback Jayden Daniels according to PFF. Fabien Lovett and Robert Cooper made their presence felt on the interior all night as they opened up space for the linebackers to go to work.

The battle in the trenches was crucial to the victory and the Seminoles came out on top.

Why was Brendan Gant's scoop and score not counted as a touchdown? - @flatsholic

NCAA rules don't allow a muffed punt to be returned if its recovered by the kicking team. It's not a very sensible rule but that's what they currently have in place.

Why the toss on the one-yard line? Just run up the middle. - @josh.m.robertson

Florida State ran a toss to the right side to Lawrance Toafili where the blockers sealed the edge and the running back scampered for an easy first down. The play-call on the goal line was essentially the same. Looking at the film, the blockers were in place. If Travis and Treshaun Ward execute the pitch, it's touchdown, game over, and we're not even discussing this.

What would you have done differently on the goal line? - @_andypoveda_

Not much. Maybe instead of the pitch on third down, take a knee with Travis and force LSU to burn one of its final two timeouts? That would allow Florida State to kick a short field goal with roughly 1:20 remaining to go up by two possessions. However, field goals were anything but a given in this one....

Do you think FSU will come out strong against Louisville? - @fozett

That's the hope. This team is in a position it hasn't been in under Norvell. Instead of staring adversity in the face early in the season, Florida State is 2-0 and controls its own destiny to return to the postseason for the first time since 2019.

The head coach wasn't happy with how the Seminoles performed in their first open practice of the BYE week. He alluded to beating a top-10 North Carolina team in 2020 and then getting blown out on the road in Louisville by an average team the following week. Florida State doesn't want to go through that again.

What do you think Florida State's hardest game is? - @matthew.mason8

I would go with NC State on the road or Clemson at home. It certainly doesn't help that Florida State will have to play those programs in back to back games next month.

They both have flaws but the Tigers and Wolfpack are two of the top contenders to come out on top of the ACC Atlantic Divison and maybe the whole conference.

Would it be realistc to say we go 5-0 going into playing NC State/Clemson? - @nickpetit4

It's not necessarily likely but it's not impossible either. Louisville looks to have plenty of holes following a 31-7 beatdown by Syracuse and Boston College lost 22-21 at home to Rutgers. Wake Forest did clear star quarterback Sam Hartman to return earlier this week. That game becomes exponentially tougher with Hartman leading the Demon Deacons' offense.

The schedule appears to be more favorable following the first week of the season. We'll see if that's still the case after this weekend.

New record prediction? - @david_driggs05

I had LSU pegged as a loss prior to the season, mainly because I wanted to see the Seminoles prove themselves capable of pulling off a victory on the big stage. With the win over the Tigers, my season prediction moves from 7-5 to 8-4, which would be the same amount of games that Norvell has won during his first two years in Tallahassee.

With that being said, I also projected Florida State to lose to Louisville, NC State, Clemson, and Miami. The Cardinals and Wolfpack look much more beatable following week one. The Tigers still have question marks at quarterback that they may not be able to answer until mid-season.

Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State football throughout the season.

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