Florida State traveled up to a frigid South Bend on Saturday night and got ran out the building 42-13 by Notre Dame. Despite some positive sequences on both sides of the ball, Florida State put themselves in an early hole that they could never recover from.
Despite the loss, there were some players who stood out for their play. As customary, editor Mike Ferguson and lead writer Clint Eiland hand out their game balls for the FSU players who performed best in each phase of the game:
Offense
Clint: Nyqwan Murray, WR
Murray has been maligned for most of the year, but he showed a renewed effort against Notre Dame’s stingy defense. He led the team with six receptions for 79 yards, including a 4th down conversion where Murray was hit behind the line of scrimmage but made a diving effort to get the first down.
Mike: Cam Akers, RB
Florida State’s offensive line put together a surprisingly decent performance against a stout Notre Dame front. Nowhere was it more apparent than the play of running back Cam Akers, who ran for 63 yards and two touchdowns. It was only his second multi-score game of the season. Akers averaged 5.3 yards per carry on the night.
Defense
Clint: Dontavious Jackson, LB
The lone bright spot in the linebacking corps happens to be one of the best overall players on the team. Jackson was everywhere tonight, and while some of the touchdowns surrendered speak to a poor run defense, that is not because of Jackson. He constantly stuffed ball carriers to the tune of 11 tackles, and even grabbed an interception off Brandon Wimbush.
Mike: Stanford Samuels III, CB
Cornerback Stanford Samuels III gave the team a spark in the second half when he intercepted Brandon Wimbush on a smart play in coverage. Samuels did a little bit of everything on Saturday night, totaling five tackles, one interception, and one quarterback hurry.
Special Teams
Clint: Logan Tyler, P
Tyler did not get that many opportunities on Saturday night (which is probably a good thing). But on his four attempts, he averaged just under 40 yards per punt and downed two of them inside the 20-yard line. His long was 46 yards.
Mike: Keyshawn Helton, KR
Helton has come out of nowhere as a quality option at kick returner, making the most of his opportunities at the position. He had two attempts tonight and managed a 31-yard return early in the game.
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