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Florida State football grades report: Seminoles still look below average in Clemson loss

peter holland jr., tallahassee democrat
·5 min read
2

Florida State football took one step forward and two steps back in its 29-13 loss to the Clemson Tigers.

The Seminoles tumbled to1-5 this season.

"First off, thought it was a hard-fought game," Mike Norvell said after the game.

"Credit to Clemson. They did a good job making the plays when necessary and throughout the course of the game I thought. Obviously as we went through it, they were able to hit some explosive plays. They did a good job of negating our run game."

There were some positives to carry after the loss, especially from a young group that saw significant roles after Norvell made some changes in the depth chart.

Brock Glenn had a stellar performance when all eyes were on him. He led with 228 yards and two touchdowns in his third career start.

FSU still looked below average, but the effort is something Norvell can build upon.

Here are the grades for Saturday's loss.

Offense: D +

Oct 5, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Brock Glenn (11) throws the ball against the Clemson Tigers during the first half at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images
Oct 5, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Brock Glenn (11) throws the ball against the Clemson Tigers during the first half at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Glenn had a good showing in his third career start for FSU. He looked confident and had taken command of the offense. He finished with two touchdowns.

"But I thought he did a good job, and we'll be able to go back and watch a lot more of the finer details and justareas of where we're going to continue to grow and get better," Norvell said.

Unfortunately, the offense as a whole remained the same. For the six-straight game, the offense had less than 300 yards - 250 yards is a season-low for the Seminoles.

The running game was nonexistent. The Seminoles only netted 22 yards, 1 yard shy of its team low.

FSU struggled to protect Glenn in the pocket. But Glenn was quick enough to get rid of the ball and was sacked only twice.

FSU fumbled four times, one each from the receivers Hykeem Williams and Malik Benson.

Maurice Smith struggled at center due to three poor snaps that would set the offense back. Fortunately, it didn't lead to any turnovers.

"We became just totally one-dimensional, and having to drop back, which obviously presented some challengesthere for us in protection," Norvell said.

"But just disappointed that some of the easier things that we can control we did not do a good enough job with."

A bright spot for the Seminoles went for their two freshman tight ends.

Landen Thomas led the Seminoles with seven catches for 80 yards in his first start. Amaree Williams scored on his first catch, creating a spark for FSU.

Glenn has also connected well with Williams as the sophomore receiver finished with four catches for 53 yards.

Defense: C -

Oct 5, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Clemson Tigers wide receiver Troy Stellato (10) is tackled by Florida State Seminoles defensive back Shyheim Brown (1) during the first half at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images
Oct 5, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Clemson Tigers wide receiver Troy Stellato (10) is tackled by Florida State Seminoles defensive back Shyheim Brown (1) during the first half at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images

FSU's defense had a mixture of performances against the Tigers.

On the good side, FSU allowed no touchdowns in the red zone, forcing Clemson to settle for field goals six times inside the 20. FSU also improved on third-down stops. Clemson was 6-for-15 in third down attempts.

On the downside, FSU allowed 500 yards of offense, the team's worst this season. The Seminoles seemed to give up the big plays for three straight games and put themselves in a bad position.

"This is an offense that's been playing at a pretty high level. I thought our guys -- there were some unnecessary big plays that we gave up. I did really like the way that they battled down in the red zone," Norvell said.

"Obviously there are still plays that we've got to be able to finish on, but I thought it showed grit in how those guyswere able to respond in challenging situations."

The Seminoles will hurt themselves through penalties and poor tackling. FSU's two offside calls, a facemask, and a pass interference accounted for four of the seven penalties.

FSU must do a better job defending the middle and playing inside out. Some of Clemson's biggest plays came from its running back. Phil Mafah averaged 6.2 yards a carry, netting 159 yards.

FSU's defense was also inconsistent in breaking contain on the outside whenever Klubnik rushed the ball.

Special Teams: B

The special teams unit wasn't perfect, but it did enough to keep the Seminoles in the game. The highlight on special teams was two field goal blocks by Edwin Joseph and Patrick Payton.

It is the first time since 2020 that the Seminoles have blocked a field goal twice in a game. Yet, Clemson's Starting kicker, Nolan Hauser, made five of his seven field goals.

FSU's punter Alex Mastromanno netted for 333 yards in seven punting attempts. His longest was 56 yards.

Coaches: C-

Oct 5, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell reacts before the game against the Clemson Tigers at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images
Oct 5, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell reacts before the game against the Clemson Tigers at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Norvell trusted Glenn and some of his youth players, and he succeeded for the most part. The preparation was there, and for FSU, despite trailing the whole game, the Seminoles weren't completely out of it.

"A couple of guys tried to take advantage of the opportunity, and there's still a lot of areas where those guys have to grow in what they've got to do, but you saw them take positive steps," Norvell said.

Yet, his playing calling remains inconsistent offensively.

Running a few screenplays became too predictable, leading Clemson's defense to capitalize. Norvell and his offensive staff have yet to figure out how to create a balanced offense with their running game.

FSU played undisciplined due to a lack of communication and penalties. While there are some improvements in certain areas, the staff still has yet to do a good enough job to put the team in a better position to succeed.

FSU football schedule 2024: TV channels, dates and start times

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BOLD = ACC

* = Neutral Site

Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Grading: Florida State football vs. Clemson