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FSU football earns first win of the season in gritty 14-9 win vs. Cal | 3 takeaways
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- FSU football earns first win of the season in gritty 14-9 win vs. Cal | 3 takeaways
This story was updated to add new information.
A game that started with a few boos and groans ended in cheers as Florida State football earned its first win of the season Saturday.
By beating Cal 14-9 at Doak Campbell Stadium, the Seminoles (1-3) snapped their four-game losing streak dating back to the Orange Bowl loss to Georgia.
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FSU recorded its first conference win, while Cal (3-1) dropped its ACC debut.
"So proud of our team. You know, we needed -- every part of what that game showed, what that game had in it, we needed to experience it," Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell said. "It's been a tough first three weeks of the season. Just disappointed in the beginning."
"We talked about bouncing back. We're in control of that. Not who we're playing, not where we're playing, not any of those things. It's about us and the choice we get to make on what we want it to be, what we want it to look like."
Seminoles quarterback DJ Uiagalelei completed 16-of-27 passes for 177 yards (11.1 yards per completion) with a touchdown and interception.
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The Seminoles led 7-6 at halftime after an improved performance from the offense, totaling 208 yards in the first half.
However, the Seminoles had two potential scoring drives end in turnovers.
A DJ Uiagalelei interception in the second quarter on a third and long killed any chance of a field goal. A decision to go for it on fourth down in the final minute of the first half proved costly, as the Seminoles didn't convert on what would have been about a 48-yard field goal if FSU kicked.
Cal went on a 23-second field goal drive to end the half and cut the deficit to one.
Uiagalelei was 12-of-19 at the half for 104 yards and an interception. He led a scoring drive that Lawrance Toafili capped off with a 2-yard run.
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Toafili had 69 rushing yards on 14 carries in the first half to go with his touchdown.
The second half was a defensive show for FSU, while the offense struggled to get going until late.
A fourth-quarter 36-yard touchdown throw from Uigalalelei to Ja'Khi Douglas gave FSU a 14-9 lead that the Seminoles never gave up, earning a gritty win.
Here are three takeaways from FSU's 14-9 win vs. Cal.
Lawrance Toafili shines, FSU's offense struggles to keep momentum
Toafili was the bright spot of an inconsistent offensive display.
While the Seminoles recorded a season-high 132 rushing yards, Toafili accounted for a majority of them.
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He finished with 80 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Kam Davis was the second-leading rusher, recording 25 yards on seven carries.
Douglas finished with 86 receiving yards on four catches to go along with his game-winning score.
Recording 208 yards of total offense in the first half, FSU finished the game with 284 yards as the offense couldn't maintain a rhythm for the remainder of the game.
Uiagalelei flashed at times with some impressive throws, and at times it felt like he was close to breaking the game open. However, some of the same inconsistencies were present, with missed passes, sacks and drops slowing the offense at times.
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But in the biggest moment, Uiagalelei came up with the 36-yard touchdown to Douglas, making his best throw as a Seminole to secure the win.
Patrick Payton , Joshua Farmer led the Seminoles' best defensive display
Patrick Payton recorded three sacks and five tackles to lead what was arguably the Seminoles' best defensive showing of the season. Alongside Payton, Joshua Farmer had his second straight impactful game, recording four tackles and one sack.
FSU finished with seven sacks in the game. Norvell said the pressure from the defensive line was crucial to the win.
"It was just a collective defensive effort," Norvell said. "But absolutely started with the spark of those guys up front. We need them to continue to build upon that."
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Holding Cal to nine points on three field goals. FSU allowed Golden Bears running back Jaydn Ott 76 yards, but he wasn't able to truly threaten the defense.
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw for 303 yards and was picked off once by Edwin Joseph. The secondary did allow for some chunk plays, but strong red zone defense kept Cal out of the endzone.
Shyhiem Brown led the team in tackles with 11.
The Seminoles' defense quieted a Cal offense that was averaging around 28 points per game. In the second half, it gave FSU a chance to win with multiple red zone stops and key plays.
In the fourth quarter, the FSU defense kept Cal out of the endzone on its final drive, coming up with a third and fourth stop to seal the victory. Marvin Jones Jr. forced a fumble on his third-down sack that was recovered by Cal. Joseph and Darrell Jackson sacked Mendoza on fourth down to end the game.
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Third downs issues, inconsistencies still present
Sep 21, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles tight end Kyle Morlock (84) is knocked out of bounds during the first half against the California Golden Bears at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images
Issues on third down continue to be present for the Seminoles. Despite an improvement from both sides of the football, the cash-down situations still proved challenging.
The offense started hot, converting 4-of-6 third downs, but finished the game 7-of-16 on third downs.
Uiagalelei's 36-yard touchdown throw to Douglas did come on a third down in the fourth quarter, but inconsistencies in that area slowed the offensive output.
There were multiple three-and-outs that stunted the momentum the Seminoles' defense created. Norvell felt the offense didn't play to the level he wanted, but the unit did enough for the win.
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"We'll go back and watch and continue to have opportunities to go get better. Because offensively we did what was necessary to win the game, but still don't feel that was a performance that offensively of what we're capable of.
While it was arguably the Seminoles' best defensive showing of the year, the unit still had some lapses that have been too present this season.
There were struggles still with setting the edge, allowing the Cal rushing game to break some runs in critical moments.
The first drive in the second half for Cal featured three third downs that the Seminoles could have gotten off the field on, the Golden Bears converted each one. The defense was bailed out by a missed field goal, maintaining FSU's 7-6 lead at the time.
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In the fourth quarter, Mendoza went on a 26-yard scramble to pick up a first down. The Golden Bears converted on a 4th and 13 later in that drive, setting up the final push to the endzone, which FSU eventually stopped.
FSU did enough to win, but some of the same issues remain present.
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football vs. Cal takeaways: Seminoles earn first win of the season
