Morgantown, West Virginia – The West Virginia Mountaineers were scheduled to play the Florida State Seminoles in the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff Game on September 5th in Atlanta, Georgia. The game, of course, was cancelled due to the ACC’s coronavirus-related stipulations for playing this season.
While the Mountaineers looked relatively prepared for their season opener against Eastern Kentucky, Florida State was a mess in their opener at home against Georgia Tech. In new Head Coach Mike Norvell’s debut with the Seminoles, Florida State looked sloppy and out of sync, particularly in the second half.
Norvell said of his team’s performance: “At the end of the day, everything that we did tonight, it comes back to what we’re doing with our preparation and that starts with me. We’ve got to do a better job working the consistency of what we’re asking our guys to do and we’ve got to make sure that we’re able to execute that once it comes to game time.”
If Florida State wasn’t ready on September 12th, it stands to reason that they would have been even less prepared on September 5th if they had to play the game in Atlanta against the Mountaineers.
In Florida State’s 13-16 loss to Georgia Tech, the Seminoles only accounted for 307 total yards offensively (198 yards passing, 109 yards rushing) and had three turnovers (2 fumbles and 1 interception).
Florida State’s starting quarterback James Blackman, a junior with a lot of game experience, looked confused and panicked in the pocket the entire game, finishing 23-43 for 198 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, 2 fumbles and 21.7 quarterback rating.
While Georgia Tech is certainly an improved team, they were 3-9 last season and do not have the defensive front that the Mountaineers have. The Stills brothers would have lived in the Florida State backfield and would’ve had multiple sacks against the paltry Seminoles offensive line if they played.
Florida State gave up 438 yards against a Georgia Tech team led by a true freshman quarterback, Jeff Sims, who originally committed to the Seminoles. Jarret Doege looked confident, composed and polished for the Mountaineers, completing 19 of 25 passes for 228 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in one half. In addition, Leddie Brown and Alec Sinkfield would have had a field day against Florida State’s particularly-bad run defense, which gave up 161 yards against Georgia Tech.
The Florida State Seminoles are extraordinarily lucky that they didn’t have to play West Virginia because it would have been ugly. After watching both teams yesterday, the Mountaineers were leaps and bounds ahead of Florida State in preparation for their opener.
Prediction if West Virginia and Florida State played:
WVU 49 FSU 14
