Scoring 14 points but securing a win is the mother of all glass-half-full scenarios for Florida State’s struggling offense.
But when the snowball rolls downhill, it begins to feel like an emotional avalanche. The hit to the confidence hurts, even after a long offseason of work and preparation.
DJ Uiagalelei is the most experienced college football player on FSU’s offense, but the accumulated emotion — of processing not just plays but processing losses and then pressing to make plays — has impacted his performance in the eyes of one FSU assistant coach.
“He needs to stop stressing,” FSU offensive coordinator Alex Atkins said on Monday, in his first interview in more than a month. “He’s been through it. But he takes full ownership and responsibility. And sometimes you try to force those big plays and force those moments.”
Forcing plays clearly got the best of Uiagalelei in FSU’s 14-9 win on Saturday, especially in the second quarter with a red-zone interception. FSU had been consistently good in its limited red-zone trips (5 of 5) going into the Cal game, but this was a costly mistake and prevented the Seminoles from building an early cushion.
“We can't have the interception down there,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said.
Norvell was asked about Uiagalelei’s future as FSU’s quarterback, one that on the outside appears shaky given his completion percentage (57.1, which ties a career low), two touchdowns and three interceptions. Uiagalelei completed 16 of 27 passes (59.3 percent) for 177 yards, a 36-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Khi Douglas and the early interception in the 14-9 win over Cal.
It's clear Norvell’s plan is to stick with Uiagalelei. When asked a two-part question on Monday — Is the plan to keep utilizing DJ at quarterback moving forward? And, if so, what are the things you see from him that you can build on productively? — Norvell tried a bit of humor.
“Definitely not changing his position,” Norvell said. “Yes. Obviously, we all get to have the opportunity to go out and get better. That's going to be the push throughout the course of this week.”
But to the second part of the question, Norvell offered generalities.
“There were some good things that DJ did in some very critical moments and there's things where he has to be better,” Norvell said.
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One area of progress: Third downs. FSU went 7 of 17 on third downs and 1 of 2 on fourth downs, clearly an improvement for an offense that was not good on the “money downs.” Uiagalelei delivered four third-down completions that converted, as well as a fifth on the touchdown to Douglas.
“I thought we did a good job of converting those third downs,” Atkins said.
FSU’s offense through four games is among the nation’s worst, producing just 15 points per game (126th among 134 FBS schools). Aside from Houston, which has a first-year head coach and is in the Big 12, the Seminoles have the lowest scoring offense of any Power 4 school by a wide margin — Wisconsin is at 109th at 21.7 points per game.
Speaking for the first time in the regular season after Saturday’s win, Uiagalelei fielded a variety of questions. He praised the defense for playing “an unbelievable game.” And he thinks the Seminoles can learn and grow from the win.
“Yeah, shoot. It sucks being 0-3,” Uiagalelei said. “Getting the first win, that’s all you do it for. That’s why you put in the work. Seeing the hard work pay off and get a W, obviously we don’t want to be at this point, scoring 14 points. But at the end of the day, a win is a win. …
“I think we’re right there at the door. Obviously, I have to play better. Each and every game. I can’t turn the ball over in the red zone. Got to be able to make throws, make plays with my legs.”
Uiagalelei hasn’t made nearly enough plays with his right arm or legs in four games at FSU. In nine of 12 games last year at Oregon State he produced at least two touchdowns (passing or rushing), while in 2024 he has just two passing touchdowns in four games.
Norvell has been reluctant to criticize Uiagalelei, but he’s also stopped short of critiquing Seminoles whether it’s after a win or loss. For now, the coaches appear to be publicly displaying patience in Uiagalelei.
“Our job is to keep him inspired and keep him positive,” Atkins said. “I think he’s finding more comfort level with that. But also the understanding that it will come.”
FSU has battled injuries on offense, losing tailback Jaylin Lucas early in the year. Offensive tackle Jeremiah Byers has missed three games. Another offensive tackle, Robert Scott, missed Saturday’s game. Roydell Williams will now be out an “extended” period of time, Norvell announced Monday.
There are also some positive developments up front. Darius Washington returned after missing the Memphis game, settling back in at left tackle. Jaylen Early took a considerable step forward in his second start, setting aside what Norvell called “nerves” of being pushed into a starting role against Memphis.
Atkins praised Toafili and the running backs for fighting for extra yards, pushing forward after initial contact. While 107 rushing yards might not sound like much, the Seminoles were coming off games where they delivered just 21 and 37 yards on the ground.
But after producing just 13 points in the loss to BC, followed by 12 to Memphis and 14 in the win over Cal, the push is on for Uiagalelei, the run game and the offense to not stress and build off what Toafili called a “stepping stone.”
“It’s showing that we’re doing the right thing,” Toafili said. “You can’t get tired of doing the right thing. Keep chopping the wood and carrying the water.”
Fans will object to the thought that the Seminoles are doing the right things. But Toafili’s inference is that the work paid off with a win on Saturday.
And, yes, regardless of the opponent ahead, there’s the understanding that the Seminoles must put more points on the scoreboard.
“It felt good to see the offense get in rhythm but we've got to finish drives,” Norvell said. “The name of the game is scoring points and putting our guys in the best position to be successful. Obviously, we've got to continue to work and make sure that we're doing that.”
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