LOUISVILLE -- There was something to say. Yet it was Florida State's players admitting they really had nothing to say.
"We just didn't communicate like we should have, like we did throughout the week," said junior linebacker Jacob Pugh. "It seemed like when we got on the field, everything just went blank."
FSU's silence carried over after the game. As the Seminoles walked off the field and into the locker room, some kept their helmets on while others wore numb glares. The common theme was none had anything to say.
Enduring one of the worst losses in school history said it all. No. 10 Louisville dropped No. 2 FSU in a 63-20 thrashing Saturday at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium -- it was one of the worst losses in school history.
"Hopefully, we'll learn. We've gotta create better habits," Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher said. "It starts with me, it ends with me as the head coach. You look at your issues, what you've gotta do, find it, correct it. We'll coach them better, and we have to put them in better situations."
Fisher said it was "one game," but it was a game that exposed many reoccurring issues going back to last season. In their last 10 games, the Seminoles are 6-4.
The offensive line struggled to protect redshirt freshman quarterback Deondre Francois while not creating many holes for star junior tailback Dalvin Cook. Cook had 16 carries for 54 yards and no touchdowns.
None of the receivers could gain much separation, either. FSU's longest play from scrimmage was a 41-yard run by backup tailback Jacques Patrick in the second quarter.
"They had a good game plan," junior receiver Travis Rudolph said of the Cardinals' defense. "We just had a lot of self-inflicted wounds, I feel."
Rudolph had two receptions for 40 yards, and his longest play went for 23. The receiver unit had a combined eight catches for 113 yards.
Louisville's James Quick, by comparison, had seven receptions for 122 yards. And Quick might have been the Cardinals' third-best offensive performer.
Their best performer was sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson. FSU held Jackson to 36 rushing yards in 2015, but he gashed the 'Noles for 146 yards and four touchdowns on Saturday. He also threw for 216 touchdowns and one touchdown.
FSU (2-1, 0-1 ACC) appeared to be in position to stage another comeback after falling into a 14-0 first-quarter hole. The Seminoles cut the lead to 14-10 with 10:56 left in the second quarter.
Then Jackson showed why he's the early Heisman Trophy frontrunner and guided his team to a run of 49 unanswered points.
"Just weren't keeping our eyes on him," senior defensive end DeMarcus Walker said about Jackson's big day. "We weren't finishing on him. We had him wrapped up a few times, and we've gotta make sure we bring him to the ground, and we just didn't."
If anything, Jackson exposed the problems FSU's defense has been having all year.
Ole Miss' Chad Kelly threw for 313 yards and had three receivers average at least 20 yards per catch. FSU also allowed six plays of at least 20 or more yards.
Triple-option Charleston Southern had four players break off runs of at least 17 yards, and there were two receptions of at least 29 yards. It was on one of those broken plays where FSU lost star sophomore safety Derwin James, who will miss the next five to seven weeks recovering from a torn meniscus.
On Saturday, at least four Cardinals had one reception of 17 or more yards. Jackson and running back Brandon Radcliff each averaged more than eight yards per carry. Jackson's longest run was for 47 yards, while Radcliff's went for 30.
"They were there to make plays. We had as good a week of practice we felt going in," Fisher said. "One of the best weeks of preparation, assignments, alignments. Everything. Just gotta take it to the field."
Special teams had its issues as well, allowing two long punt returns -- one for 69 yards and a touchdown and another for 61.
At first glance, there were no silver linings.
Even sophomore receiver Auden Tate, who had both of FSU's touchdown receptions, was frustrated by his performance. When asked about his game, Tate focused more on his missed blocking assignments than his scores.
"It was just us taking turns messing up assignments," Tate said. "It wasn't just one specific thing."
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