Florida State had a chance to put Louisville in a three-touchdown hole Friday night. Instead, a failed fourth-down attempt near the goal line started another road collapse.
Norvell’s decision to stay aggressive with a 14-0 lead was understandable. The play choice deserves scrutiny, though, particularly with several proven offensive weapons available.
This is not a knock on wide receiver Jasen Lopez, as he’s consistently stood out in camp and in games, nor is it a knock on quarterback Ashton Daniels’ performance as a whole.
A Defensible Gamble
Even after the stop, FSU held a two-touchdown advantage with Louisville backed up at its own 3-yard line. What followed raised a bigger question than whether Norvell should have taken the points: Why couldn’t the Seminoles withstand one missed opportunity?
A fourth-and-goal attempt from the two-yard line gave Florida State a chance to take a commanding 21-0 lead. Even if that failed, Louisville would take possession in the shadow of its own goalposts.
The more debatable part was how FSU attempted to finish the drive. Daniels completed a screen pass to Lopez behind the line of scrimmage, where he had to gain additional ground to reach the end zone. Louisville stopped him for a 1-yard loss.
Lopez’s youth alone doesn’t make the call a mistake. But with Daniels, Ousmane Kromah, Duce Robinson, and Micahi Danzy available, it is fair to question whether that approach gave the Seminoles their best chance to capitalize.
Daniels also led the UL defense, keeping his eyes on where the ball was headed. What followed flipped the script on what would otherwise have been a dominant FSU performance.
Florida State Couldn’t Recover From One Missed Opportunity
Louisville still needed to travel 97 yards to reach the end zone, giving the Seminoles’ defense an opportunity to preserve the advantage.
Running back Isaac Brown did that on the very next snap.
That became the turning point, but FSU had ample time to respond. Instead, Louisville scored 35 unanswered points, turning a potential three-touchdown deficit into a commanding lead. The Seminoles did not score again until the fourth quarter.
Norvell’s team’s inability to recover from a fourth-down failure should not be enough to unravel a squad that had control of the game.
Whether a field goal would’ve saved the Seminoles in Kentucky will never be known; however, when you’re on the losing side of the ball, people will point to errors that could’ve been prevented.
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