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How FSU football grades out after beating Louisville to earn ACC Championship
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- How FSU football grades out after beating Louisville to earn ACC Championship
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Florida State football did what it needed to do behind a strong performance from its defense to clinch its first ACC Championship since 2014 and position itself for a potential College Football Playoff berth .
The No. 4 Seminoles defeated No. 14 Louisville 16-6 in a defensive battle behind a career-high three-sack performance for Braden Fiske .
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FSU (13-0) has now won 19 straight games dating back to last season and has positioned itself as a potential College Football Playoff team as one of just three Power 5 teams to finish with a perfect season.
The Seminoles pulled off the victory despite being down their top two quarterbacks Jordan Travis and Tate Rodemaker .
The CFP rankings reveal show is scheduled for noon Sunday and it would be a shock if FSU is not in the top 4.
"First off, just so proud of our football team. The work they put in, the journey we've been on, the ups, the downs, the adversity that we've faced, tonight starting a true freshman quarterback in the ACC Championship game, not necessarily how we envisioned it, as we've been going through these last 13 games, but it was a football team that responded together, and that's what we have," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said following the game.
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"We have a real team, no matter how you've got to do it, no matter what it needs to look like, we find ways to win games."
Here are our grades from the Louisville victory.
Offense: C+
It was the Lawrance Toafili show in the second half, as he finished with 10 rushes for 118 yards and a touchdown. His 73-yard TD run on a wildcat play call set up his 2-yard score. He gained big yardage each time he touched the ball and was the biggest difference-maker.
Trey Benson added 18 rushes for 67 yards, including a 21-yard burst in the fourth quarter to help set up a field goal to push the lead to a touchdown.
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It wasn't the cleanest offensive performance, as FSU was led by freshman starter Brock Glenn , but he did enough to help FSU get the win, completing 8 of 21 passes for just 55 yards.
Glenn is the only true freshman quarterback to make his first career start in a Power 5 conference championship game in the last 20 years.
Keon Coleman had four receptions for 19 yards, but had a critical drop, while Johnny Wilson added two receptions for 21 yards and Benson finished with two catches for 15 yards.
"We made the plays necessary, and that's what this team is all about," Norvell said. "There's times that you face challenges and you've got to get yourself up, and we've been through that. We've been through that the last four years. I'm grateful for all those challenges, for this team to go up and show up in times just like this."
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Defense: A+
The Florida State Seminoles lead the Louisville Cardinals 3-0 at the half time of the ACC Championship game on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023.
Jared Verse warned last week that other teams would be in trouble if the Seminoles played a complete game defensively. He and the FSU defense backed up that assertion Saturday, earning the first perfect grade of the season from the Democrat.
The 14 tackles for loss, seven sacks and 10 pass breakups were all season highs for the Seminoles.
Fiske led the team with his nine tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and a career-high of three sacks. He also added two QB hurries.
Linebacker Tatum Bethune added 0.5 sacks and an interception in the end zone that thwarted a scoring opportunity to take the lead for UL.
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Verse added three tackles for loss and two sacks, while Fabien Lovett and Patrick Payton each added sacks.
Lovett also added two PBUs, while Bethune, Payton, Akeem Dent and Azareye'h Thomas each had a PBU.
The Seminoles limited Louisville to just 188 yards. It's just the third time in head coach Jeff Brohm's career that his team has scored six points or less.
"Defense had to show up big tonight, and they did," Norvell said. "That was a really good Louisville offense that's been playing -- I think they scored 30 points in the last five or six games that they played, and to hold them to 6 points was awesome.
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Special teams: B
Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald missed one field goal from 44 yards out but bounced back to make 3 of 4 attempts, including a pair in the fourth quarter to help FSU push the lead to 10.
Punter Alex Mastromanno finished with nine punts for 372 yards, averaging 41.3 yards per punt, including two punts for 49 yards and two inside the Louisville 20.
He did have one major miscue when he could not get a punt off and was tackled inside the FSU 20 giving Louisville great field position and a chance to take the lead.
FSU did not have any punt or kick returns in this one.
Coaching: A
The Florida State Seminoles lead the Louisville Cardinals 3-0 at the half time of the ACC Championship game on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023.
Mike Norvell 's calling of the wildcat offense in the second and third quarters opened up the offense when Glenn struggled to move the ball. Brohm admitted it caught his team off guard, allowing for Toafili's big run in the third quarter for the first score of the game.
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Defensive coordinator Adam Fuller called his best game of the season with rush blitzes and dialed up constant pressure from the defensive line, linebackers and cornerbacks, never allowing quarterback Jack Plummer to know what was coming on passing downs.
Overall: B+
The Seminoles needed to win and survive this one to win the ACC and clinch a berth in the College Football Playoffs. They did what they needed to do and the defense proved to be elite, again.
The offense did enough behind Glenn in his first start, especially Toafili in his monster game.
The Seminoles should hear their name selected for the CFP during the reveal Sunday and it is well deserved.
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"We've got the most Power Five wins over bowl eligible teams in the country," Norvell said. "This is a team that has been resilient in the way that they have had to overcome, and it shows up in how they play."
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports), Instagram (tlhnolesports) and YouTube channel (NoleSportsTD).
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football report card: Grading Seminoles vs. Louisville, ACC Champs
