Fisher Complimentary of Alabama, Surprised by Special Teams Errors

ATLANTA – No. 3 Florida State fell to No. 1 Alabama, 24-7, in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game on Saturday night. Despite a heroic defensive effort and a 3-point deficit at halftime, the Seminoles were continuously let down by special teams meltdowns and poor field position.

Head coach Jimbo Fisher said that he was surprised by the breakdowns, as the team reps them each day.

“[I was surprised] very much, because we work exclusively [on special teams], and we do over 30, 35, 40 minutes day on special teams,” Fisher said.

Fisher was also quick to compliment Alabama and his former boss, Nick Saban. Fisher served as Saban’s offensive coordinator at LSU from 2000-04 and the two men won a national championship together in 2003.

“Nick is a great coach and they’ve got a great program,” Fisher said. “It was very well-deserving and they’ll have a great year.”

The biggest story following the contest is the status of redshirt sophomore quarterback Deondre Francois. Francois played well in the first half, but struggled mightily after halftime, throwing two ugly interceptions which gifted Alabama with great field position.

Late in the fourth quarter, Francois was sacked from behind by Crimson Tide safety Ronnie Harrison. Harrison rolled over the quarterback awkwardly – and completely unintentionally – leaving Francois on the ground grasping his knee.

“I don’t know until we diagnose it and see. … I’m not a doctor,” Fisher said. “Unfortunately, he’s hurt.

“I saw him and I hugged him and told him I’m sorry he’s hurt, we’ll get the diagnosis and I love him and we’ll figure out what we’ve got to do from here.”

Fisher provided no further update on Francois’ status, but remained worried about the severity of the injury. On Sunday, it was reported that Francois will miss the remainder of the 2017 season with a patella tendon injury in his left knee.

“I’m definitely concerned because that’s your starting quarterback and the kind of player he is and what he has,” Fisher said. “But we’ll get the guys behind him and we’ll rep those guys and play and we’ll go on. Again, we have great people around him and do the things we’ve got to do.”

Despite the disappointing loss, Fisher reiterated that the season is still young, and that a lot can still happen between now and Jan. 8.

“Our kids are disappointed in the result, but at the end, they’ve got to keep process and we’ve got to coach better,” Fisher said. “… that’s our job as coaches and my job to fix that and get them in better position to make plays.

“I still think we’ve got a great football team.”

Josh Mixon covers Florida State athletics for The Daily Nole. You can find him on Twitter @joshmixon10.