Five Takes: Offense is speeding up already

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If you saw Willie Taggart’s interview during Wednesday’s Independence Bowl, you probably heard him talk about doing away with offensive huddles. That’s probably good news to fans who have grown tired of Jimbo Fisher’s plodding approach to offense.

Prior to Fisher’s departure before the regular-season finale, FSU ranked No. 120 in offensive plays per game averaging 64.2. To put that into perspective, fellow ACC Atlantic member Syracuse averaged 87.8 plays per game this season. That’s nearly 24 more plays per game for The Orange! That represents an extra three or four offensive series.

Even though Taggart hasn’t put his fingerprint on the Seminole offense yet, it looks like the departing offensive coaching staff got the memo anyway. Against Southern Miss, the Seminole offense ran a season-high 74 plays from scrimmage, nearly 10 more than the 2017 average under Fisher. Actually, FSU was on pace to run more than 80 plays but slowed things down in the final quarter since the game’s outcome was all but decided.

It didn’t appear as though FSU was purposefully trying to run a fast offense against Southern Miss. Instead, the increased number of plays were more likely a result of a simplified offense that didn’t require James Blackman to overthink the plays, formations and reads. Not surprisingly, the ‘Noles’ freshman quarterback had a career outing, throwing for four touchdowns without a pick.