LSU Falls to Florida State 24-23 in Heartbreaking Fashion
It wasn’t quite the debut Brian Kelly anticipated Sunday night in the Caesars SuperDome. The Tigers looked out of sorts from start to finish against Florida State, never getting into a rhythm on both sides of the ball, falling to the Seminoles 24 to 23.
With a sold out crowd and rowdy fans spread across the venue, it had all the makings to be a picture perfect start to this new era of LSU football, but critical mistakes routinely kept the Tigers playing from behind through all four quarters.
“We're all in this together, players and coaches alike… We are who we are” Kelly said. “We have all these holes. We didn’t expect many of the mistakes we had today.”
For starting quarterback Jayden Daniels, his first drive with the Tigers showed promise, extending plays with his legs and seemingly making something out of nothing on every snap, but it was short lived.
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The LSU offensive line just couldn’t withstand the Seminoles’ defense, giving this LSU offense no time to create plays. Converting on a field goal on the first possession, it was all downhill from there.
Florida State got the ball on the following kickoff and never looked back. On their first possession of the game, LSU saw All-American candidate Maason Smith go down with an injury and not return.
Smith was later seen on crutches with tears rolling down his face. A brutal sign for Tigers fans.
The dynamic play style of Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis set the tone on Sunday. Seemingly making something out of nothing on every play, it was an impressive game for the signal-caller.
Despite Travis carving the LSU defense, the Tigers went into halftime trailing just 7-3 with a chance to come out and shake back in the second half, but it was the polar opposite.
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Florida State was shot out of a cannon to get things going, scoring on their first three possessions of the half thanks to Travis. Dropping a pair of beautiful touchdown passes to pad the Seminoles’ lead, it just wasn’t LSU’s night.
A furious fourth quarter comeback saw the Tigers come a touchdown away from sending this game to overtime. With two minutes remaining and 99 yards separating LSU from forcing extra football, the unthinkable happened.
Jayden Daniels and the Tigers stormed down the field, scoring a touchdown as time expired, with LSU just an extra point away from forcing overtime.
Trailing 24-23, it all came down to this special teams unit to pull it together. A group that struggled seemingly all Sunday night now needed to come through in the biggest moment of the game. It didn’t happen.
A blocked extra point by the Seminoles decided the Tigers’ fate, with Florida State coming out on top by one. It was a gut punch. A reality check. But it doesn’t define this team.
“I was proud of our resolve but we’ve gotta learn how to play the game. We didn’t execute very well,” Kelly said.
The blame doesn’t only go on the LSU offensive line Sunday night. Or special teams. Or dropped passes by uncharacteristic players. It was an all-around lack of effort, with wide receivers looking unenthused and defenders missing tackles, but this team has the talent to recover.
Showing fight to close the game with a beautifully executed touchdown pass from Daniels to Jaray Jenkins, this team will need time to get into a rhythm.
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For Daniels’ first career start with LSU, he went 26-for-35 passing with 209 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Where he really opened the eyes of Tiger fans was his ability on the ground. The dual threat signal-caller also tallied 16 rushes for 114 yards.
The masterpiece Daniels put together in the fourth quarter was remarkable. The Arizona State transfer went 14-for-18 with 138 yards and two touchdowns in the final frame.
On the other side of the ball, Florida State’s Jordan Travis put together a poetic performance, going 20-for-33 with 260 yards and two touchdowns.
“If you don’t get that kid on the ground he makes some great impromptu plays,” Kelly said of Travis following the loss.
Sunday night doesn’t define this season, but it surely does make things challenging going forward. It was hard to expect perfection in Game 1 of the Kelly era. With a fresh faced coaching staff and virtually an entirely new defense, it was expected to have hiccups.
“Even though we bent, we didn’t break… We fought,” LSU safety Major Burns said.
The Tigers will get back to work this week as they prepare to face a fiery Southern Jaguars team next Saturday in Tiger Stadium.
“We’re not happy with the outcome,” Kelly said. “We have to coach better. We have to play better… There is going to be good days for this football team… We have to play with a sense of urgency”
