FSU Legend comes up short in debut as an XFL Head Coach
The XFL is back once again for a 10-week regular season that began on Saturday with two contests. The league has eight total teams that are split into two four-team divisions. Each club will play the teams in their division twice while also playing the four teams in the opposite division.
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The Orlando Guardians kicked off their 2023 campaign with a disappointing performance against the Houston Roughnecks. In his debut as a head coach in the XFL, Florida State legend Terrell Buckley and his team came up short, falling to the Roughnecks 33-12.
The Guardians jumped out to a 6-0 lead after an opening drive touchdown on a pass from quarterback Paxton Lynch to wide receiver Cody Latimer. However, Houston dominated the second quarter and finished strong in the final frame, dominating Orlando on both sides of the ball.
The Roughnecks outgained the Guardians 337-314 in yards of total offense while forcing four turnovers. Lynch tossed an interception and only averaged 6.5 yards per attempt before being benched for backup Quinten Dormady, who threw two picks of his own. Wide receiver Eli Rogers also lost a fumble.
Orlando had 13 total possessions on offense and only two resulted in touchdowns. The Guardians saw six drives end in a turnover or turnover on downs and punted five times - including four straight spanning from the middle of the second quarter to early in the third quarter. To add to the misery, the team also missed a field goal and surrendered seven sacks (four on Lynch, three on Dormady).
On the bright side, the defense forced two turnovers, recorded three sacks, and limited Houston the ground outside of one big play.
Other former Seminoles such as quarterback Deiondre Francois, linebacker DeCalon Brooks, and linebacker Terrance Smith are members of the team. Former FSU cornerback Tony Carter is Orlando's defensive coordinator while former assistant Mark Snyder is linebackers coach.
Smith finished with three total tackles during the loss while Brooks and Francois did not record a statistic. Francois is expected to suit up next weekend.
Buckley is off to an 0-1 start but his team will have an opportunity to respond during their home-opener against the San Antonio Brahmas next Sunday at 4 p.m. on ESPN.
READ MORE: Florida State's full 2023 football schedule released
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