Florida State Misses Opportunity

Beat BC. Check.

Beat Virgina Tech. Almost.

Those two things would have made people stand up and notice FSU - despite losing to rival UM. There would have been a buzz back in Tallahassee. Instead, it goes unnoticed.

Much like the injuries that affected this game (Weatherford and Smith), the suspension (Xavier Lee) and the non-calls (Taylor being sacked but ignored, the overturned pass downfield that resulted in the game winning TD).

Florida State definitely showed it can play with the big boys again. They beat BC last week and hung in there with VTech for 3 quarters, playing like the proud Seminole team of yore in the 3rd quarter. It just simply caught up with them in the 4th.

Too many turnovers - a fumble and 2 interceptions - did them in. And when you have a freshman quarterback, who hasn't taken a live snap all season, what can you realistically expect? Ponder did show signs of being a terrific QB, however, running the ball for a big first down and leading the team into the endzone for the go ahead touch down. He performed admirably in a hostile situation - on the road, losing, with your starting RB and QB out of the game.

Taylor, Virginia Tech's freshman QB, also filled in for their starting QB who got knocked out of the game. He played so well, he reminded me of Michael Vick as a freshman - and forced the question why is there a QB controversy? But Taylor has had the benefit of playing in games all season and working with the first team.

So even though FSU lost to Virginia Tech last night they missed out on an opportunity to really show the nation that FSU, as a program, is getting back to where it needs to be in order to be considered elite again. The talent is there, the coaching is there, now the results just need to follow.