After taking a 10-0 lead into halftime on Saturday, the Florida State football team was dominated in the second half of Mike Norvell's coaching debut, and the Seminoles fell, 16-13, to visiting Georgia Tech.
Before the dust clears on the season-opening defeat -- FSU's fourth straight under three different head coaches -- here is a quick look at some of the things that went right and wrong for the Seminoles
We'll start with the positives ... yes, there were a few.
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What went right
Asante Samuel Jr. -- The junior cornerback was a preseason All-ACC pick, and he more than lived up to the hype.
Samuel intercepted two passes in the first half and nearly returned both of them for touchdowns. He also nearly intercepted a third pass, and that likely would have been a pick-six if he could have hung onto the ball.
It was not a good night for Florida State's defense overall, but Samuel played like a star.
Special Teams -- Norvell made the kicking game a major point of emphasis the day he took the Florida State job, even speaking emphatically about it during his introductory press conference, and it was easily the most impressive aspect of the Seminoles' performance Saturday.
It wasn't a perfect effort from that group, but there was a whole lot more good than bad.
Marvin Wilson blocked a pair of Georgia Tech field goals, Janarius Robinsoin blocked a PAT that kept the game tied at 13-13 in the fourth quarter, placekicker Parker Grothaus drilled an important 53-yard field goal in the third quarterr, punter Alex Mastromanno displayed an impressive leg, and the coverage units were on point.
Grothaus actually connected on 2 of 3 field goals; his lone miss was a 46-yarder just before halftime. Mastromanno, a freshman, averaged 48.3 yards on his three punts.
