Is Uiagalelei the Problem?

Let me make this clear, FSU did not lose because DJU is a bad quarterback, but that sure as hell did not help.

With only four returning members of our defensive line, we are a poor team when it comes to defense. These kids are getting beat up. They aren’t getting set properly before each play, at one point having 12 players on the field and allowing a touchdown. They are getting stiff armed and yanked on and giving up on the blitz. Despite being smaller, they're not faster, getting outran as opposing teams are able to run the ball on the outside of the field up the sideline until maybe we push them out of it. They're not able to make tackles. They weren't tackling GT and missed one of the most given sacks I've ever seen in the first quarter of this game. In the fourth quarter two of them tripped over each trying to tackle the QB. There isn’t a fight in this defensive team, they’re letting up on the gas before the play is over.

Which brings up the most frustrating thing about this team I noticed, especially in this game with multiple personal fouls, is that we're undisciplined again. False starts and personal fouls were from kids that played under big and angry Jimbo Fisher that would grab them by their face masks and scream at them on the sideline. It’s the kids that played during the Taggart era where they had no respect for leadership on the staff or on the team. The young MEN under Norvell seemed to hold themselves above that. Even when not executing well, they looked more put together. Whether something is happening coaching wise, or it’s just an issue with this new transfer portal world we’re in, there doesn’t seem to be clear leadership on this team. They’re not working well together, they’re not fighting together, and they’re making dumb mistakes. Personal fouls, false starts, incorrect amount of people on the field are all symptoms of kids who are not locked in. It’s one thing, if a team doesn’t have the experience, doesn’t have the talent, but tries their best every game. It’s another thing, if they’re performing poorly, AND lazy. They stepped up better the second half than the first, but they have to play the whole game or else we’re going to keep seeing this outcome.

Offensively we're a mess. Against GT the Noles played as conservatively as they could, which didn't display whether or not DJU could actually throw the ball. This game, we tried to open up the plays but when it was unnecessary. I don't know why you throw the ball on a first and goal when you're on the six yard line. Last game, we were running the ball on third and long. This game we're throwing the ball when it should be an easy short game play. We're either running plays that don't even give our QB an option to screen pass and dump the ball, or these kids don't know them well enough to execute them. The intentional grounding call would've never happened if we had a screen set in place that play. Our wide receivers and tight ends are not nearly as talented as last year, with only Morlock as a returning potential receiver as a TE, who struggled the entire game against Boston College. Our offensive line is messy, barely holding together the pocket, and nobody is properly blocking the short game so if we run it or pass it to the outside they can actually get yardage. The run game isn’t entirely unsuccessful, at times getting 3-5 yards in a play, but neither is it SUCCESFUL. Gone are the days of Dalvin cook being able to make a 30+ yard breakaway. Gone are the days of Trey Benson being able to make a solid 10+ yard run to get the first down and then some.

While he’s not the only issue with the team, DJU looks awful. I didn't say anything about him after GT because I truly did not think we had seen enough to make any judgements. But I've seen enough this game. The kid is wildly inconsistent when it comes to passing. When he's on target he's throwing low almost every time which makes our poorly experienced receivers work even harder to catch the ball. When he's not on target he's overthrowing to kids that are wide open. On top of that, he's taking way too long to pass the ball. We had an easy touchdown opportunity in the first half, he overthrew a wide open receiver into the corner of the endzone, and took too long to throw to another wide open receiver that the defense was able to close in and tip the ball, changing its trajectory. He clearly gets wildly stressed when the pocket closes, throwing garbage balls, even an interception. He runs like he has cement in his feet, clunkily getting through the passageways the lineman are trying to open up for him. The couple of plays he did run successfully I would not applaud him, because the only reason they worked was because the lineman were able to complete their job in blocking that play. What’s worse, on top of all of this, is he can’t read the field. Multiple times he's throwing to people in single or double coverage while there is another receiver wide open on the other side of the field. It’s fourth and long and you’re throwing into double coverage only ten yards in front of you? Surely someone is open further down the field. More often than not, when stressed he throws it into some type of coverage in the middle of the field, which is dangerous for an interception. I don't blame him for poor play calling. But at this point, throw any of the backup guys in and see what happens. We can’t develop him because he’s a senior, so take the time to build up your other players so they get some experience. Invest in the future of this program now, DJU is not the future, he’s not even a good present.

I don’t hate everything I saw in this game. There were a couple unique plays offensively that are good to see after an incredibly conservative game against GT. A couple trick plays, and some unique running plays that had a distinctly different pathway being created were good to see. But we didn’t execute on most of them, and part of it is because of all that I’ve stated already. The kids are undisciplined and not running the routes properly, or we’re dealing with a QB that can’t throw a ten yard pass consistently. For every drive DJU was able to execute well, he had at least three other attempts that were turned over without a single first down.

It’s disappointing that after such a great season it seems like the Seminoles are back at stage one. With only ten starters returning, two of which that are on special teams, this was truly a rebuilding year for the Noles. And while reports of them looking good perforated through the entirety of the spring and summer, they’re not executing when it matters. With no game next week, the team has some time to reset and practice and try to fix some of the mental errors that are being made, but this appears to be a reset to 2017-2020 Noles, which was not something any fan was wanting to see.