Florida State falls to Boise State, 36-31: Instant Analysis

After delivering a spectacular offensive showing in the first half and securing a 12-point lead at halftime, the Florida State football team collapsed in the second half Saturday and dropped its season opener to visiting Boise State, 36-31.

The Seminoles, who led by as many as 18 points in the first half, are now 0-2 in season openers under second-year head coach Willie Taggart.

Here are five quick takeaways from the loss:

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The Kendal Briles Effect could not have gotten off to a better start in the first half Saturday.

Last year, the Florida State offense averaged less than four points in the first quarter of its 12 games. Against Boise State on Saturday, it scored 21. And while it slowed down a whole lot after that, it at the very least gave a taste, a glimpse, of what the Briles offense can look like when it's clicking.

It was fast-paced -- and fast-scoring -- early on against the Broncos, giving FSU fans hope that 2018 was going to stay in 2018. Cam Akers scored on a 38-yard run on fourth down to open the scoring, Tamorrion Terry took a quick screen pass and -- thanks to a terrific block by Tre McKitty -- burst free down the sideline for a 75-yard score. Warren Thompson caught a 51-yard pass down to the 1, and Keyshawn Helton had a 58-yard TD as well. All in the first 25 minutes of the game.

It was a lightning-strike offense, which was what it was advertised as when Briles was hired to be the offensive coordinator.There were some hiccups, of course. A snap got by Blackman and rolled 24 yards to take away a TD chance. The Seminoles converted just one of their first eight third-down attempts. James Blackman, who looked really sharp for most of the first half, fumbled while being sacked on one possession and then had a quick three-and-out on the last drive of the half.

Those struggles carried over after halftime, however, as FSU managed just two first downs in the third quarter as Boise stormed back to take the lead.

After racking up 358 yards in the first half, the Seminoles accumulated less than 70 yards after halftime.

One thing we heard a lot during preseason practice was that Florida State's defense would take more of a bend-but-don't-break approach to avoid giving up big plays. That clearly appeared to be the case on Saturday, but defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett probably didn't intend for the Seminoles to bend that much.

Boise State, playing with a true freshman quarterback, racked up 21 first downs and 333 yards of total offense in the first half alone. The Broncos finished with more than 600 yards of offense and ran more than 100 plays.

Florida State's defense did come up with a handful of big plays in the first half, including an interception by redshirt freshman Isaiah Bolden and a fumble recovery by junior Janarius Robinson. That fumble was forced by junior safety Hamsah Nasirildeen.

In the third quarter, junior defensive lineman Marvin Wilson thwarted a Boise drive by knocking the ball loose from quarterback Hank Bachmeier -- it was then recovered by defensive lineman Robert Cooper.

But the Seminoles had no consistent answers for the Broncos' balanced offense. Boise passed for more than 400 yards and rushed for more than 200.

Perhaps no player on Florida State's roster was more disappointed about his individual performance in 2018 than Cam Akers. One year after breaking Dalvin Cook's freshman rushing record, Akers finished with just 706 yards on the ground during his sophomore campaign.

If Saturday's first half was any indication, Akers could be back to his old ways in 2019. On his second carry of the game, the Mississippi product broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-1 carry and raced untouched for a 38-yard touchdown. The scamper gave the Seminoles an early 7-0 lead and set the tone for a big first half for the Florida State offense.

Akers finished the first half with 91 yards on seven carries. He wrapped up the game with 116 yards on 15 attempts, although he did have one costly fumble in the third quarter.

With the temperature hovering around 100 degrees on the field for the noon game, Florida State's defensive coaches tried to beat the heat by rotating players early and often.

As early as the second series of the game, the Seminoles started rotating players at every position -- defensive line, linebacker and defensive back. More than 30 players were credited with tackles, according to unofficial statistics late in the game.

But even with those efforts, the Seminoles' defense seemed to wear down late, thanks to a major advantage in time of possession for the Broncos.

After being one of the nation's most penalized teams in 2018, the Seminoles appeared to have cleaned up their act on Saturday.

FSU actually averaged more penalties per game (9.2) than any other team in the FBS last season, but the 'Noles committed just 5 for 44 yards against Boise State

Stay connected with Warchant.com for complete coverage, including post-game video interviews and more.

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