Reactions To Win Over NMSU + Previewing Week One Against SMU / Florida State Seminoles LIVE 338

Florida State Seminoles LIVE 338 Hosts: Gus Wilson & Cole Kruger FSUVOCFB | Reactions to 34-17 win over New Mexico State + SMU preview (Labor Day, Week 1) Intro (00:00–02:40) College football is back. Last show was ~2 weeks ago previewing NMSU; neither host was on the postgame live. Cole was in the building Saturday: “electric environment.” He’ll be there Monday for SMU. Bug going around Tallahassee. Gus not in attendance; plans to make a game later. Points listeners to Jackson/Jacob postgame and Florida State Primetime. NMSU Recap – Overall Feel (02:40–05:00) Final: FSU 34, NMSU 17. Gus: Most fans disappointed. Never a three-possession game until 27-10 early in the 4th. Sloppy both sides. Two-possession lead early (10-0), then 10-7 until late first half (17-7 at half). Cole (in stadium): Never felt dominant. Game could have been closer (dropped trick play, etc.). “Don’t buy too much stock” — FSU was never going to lose to NMSU and was clearly experimenting. What Impressed – Run Game (03:39–05:00, 05:07–08:19) 217 rushing yards, 5.6 YPC. Usman Kromah: 14-115. Sam Singleton: 96 total yards, 2 TDs. Led team in receptions and receiving yards as a running back; named ACC Receiver of the Week. Nickname “Sweet Feet.” Big, shifty, fast. Emerged after Weisner’s undisclosed injury. Travion Weisner: 4-34 (nearly 9 YPC) in limited work. Both hosts: Running game better than many expected. Singleton a pleasant surprise. What Disappointed – OL, Tight Ends, Play-Calling (04:19–08:19, 12:23–14:50) Offensive line “disaster” / “flat” out of the gate, especially early. Chimdia Nwawu 61.8 PFF pass-blocking grade (lowest among OL). Tight ends the worst part of the performance (Cole strongly disagrees with Norvell saying he was “encouraged” by TE blocking). DeZero Riles: Couldn’t block, zero targets, ran past defenders on outside runs/jet sweeps. Cole compared him to a “Zero Riles” version of Randy Pittman all offseason and now apologizes. Landon Thomas: 56.6 PFF pass-blocking (lowest on team). Both hosts were high on him preseason. 12-personnel issues if TEs can’t block. Suggestion from chat/Renegade Report: consider extra tackle in 12 personnel if identity is run-first. Play-calling: Too cute. Lots of jet sweeps, motions, outside-the-tackle-box runs and RPOs that looked like old Jordan Travis stuff. Personnel (TEs, tackles, most WRs except Deuce) couldn’t get outside to block. Kromah/Singleton lack true breakaway speed for those concepts. Danzy is the one who can make them work. Cole: Looked like they were “trying things out.” Don’t overreact after one game vs. NMSU. Defense & 3-3-5 Scheme (05:00–11:00, 15:13–20:30) Both hosts down on the 3-3-5 / Tony White defense after Year 2. DL generated almost no pressure. All three sacks came from linebackers (Jalen Anderson improved late, Makai Bayer graded well as a non-starter + sack, Ryland Kennedy good, Chris Jones impressive). Secondary looked lost/slow (Jabril Rawls specifically called out on a deep ball/TD). Safeties and corners beaten over the middle and in front. NMSU QB Trey Hendon (dead last in most FBS passing stats last year) on 3rd down: 10-of-13, 158 yards, 2 TDs. Other downs: 16-of-29, 114 yards, 1 INT. Couldn’t get off the field. Tony White history: Pressure/sacks/TFLs almost always come from LBs and safeties, not the DL. FSU DL (Daryl Douse mentioned as looking terrible) not good enough to rush three and drop everyone. White confirmed this was the “normal” defense, not a vanilla NMSU game plan. One forced turnover on the first drive (poor throw, not a great jump ball). Ashton Daniels (21:00–26:00) Gus (also covers Auburn): Step up from his terrible Kentucky game last year, but not impressive vs. NMSU. Flashes exist (Vandy/Alabama last year, Stanford tape mixed). 22 TD / 21 INT career heading into season. Cole: 59.5 QBR. Bad second-quarter INT on an out route (same concept almost picked earlier). Forced some balls to Deuce (3-of-6). Mobility better than expected; nice TD run and TD throw to Singleton before half. Good corner-route throw to Deuce and first-drive ball to Danzy (slightly underthrown). Leash unchanged. SMU will be a much bigger tell. Jack Myrick (Auburn Primetime) comment in chat that Daniels will take them to the “promised land” — hosts treat it as sarcasm / Camping World or Gasparilla Bowl territory. FanDuel Segment / Odds (26:50–33:00) FSU +3.5 (moved from +2.5), total 53.5, FSU +130 ML. Both think the number should be bigger toward SMU (4.5–5.5) given NMSU tape, but they also think SMU may be a bit overrated. Team totals: FSU 24.5, SMU 27.5. Props discussed: Kromah anytime TD (-130) hard to fade; Daniels anytime TD value; Landon Thomas +310; Randy Pittman (now at SMU) revenge-game sprinkle; SMU defense to score +500 if catastrophe. Kromah rushing line 69.5. Responsible gambling reminder throughout. SMU Preview – What They’re Looking For (34:35–46:00) Last meeting: 2024 in Dallas, SMU 42-14. This is the game of the season so far. “The whole season teeters on this.” If FSU gets embarrassed, Norvell clock starts (4–5 weeks). Must look good / competitive even if they lose. Cole wants: Win toss, receive, start fast. Run, run, run (Kromah, Singleton, one Danzy jet) to set up play-action. Get Deuce Robinson involved early (scheme a shot over the top after two or three runs). He’s an All-American / future first-rounder. Another receiver or TE step up (Landon Thomas 4–5 catches, 60 yards, TD would be ideal). Less RB screens. O-line and depth-chart changes expected (no public depth chart all season — Norvell policy). Gus wants: Scheme specifically for Deuce and Danzy’s big-play ability. Better OL vs. a real DL. More from Daniels. Confirmation they didn’t empty the playbook vs. NMSU. Extra notes: Jennings finger injury still a question (originally said he’d be fine). Home primetime standalone on Labor Day — Doak should be loud. Jennings’ last big road spot was Penn State. Fan base already restless (boos heard on CW broadcast, which was the most-watched CFB game in CW history — “hate watch”). No public depth charts all year. Media access extremely limited. Makes covering the team difficult. Score Predictions & Closing (46:50–end) Cole: FSU 31–28. High-scoring, FSU covers and wins outright as home underdog. Giving the staff the benefit of the doubt that they sandbagged Week 0. Gus: SMU wins (leans 34-24 type score). Wants one of them to be right for next week’s show. Won’t be “season over / fire everyone” unless FSU plays the exact same sloppy, non-competitive way and gets dominated (classic Norvell “lay down after first quarter”). A competitive 34-24 or 34-27 loss he can live with. Both staying off the game personally (too much heart in it). Next show: Wednesday after SMU. Cole in the building Monday. Postgame live possible with Jackson/Jacob. Key recurring themes Run game is the strength; everything else (OL, TEs, 3-3-5, Daniels consistency, play-calling) has real question marks heading into a ranked SMU team at home. Don’t overreact to NMSU tape, but the same issues against Jennings and SMU’s talent would be alarming. Season narrative and Norvell’s standing hang on how they look Monday night. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.