Seminole Saturday Summary: FSU Football Holds Off Louisville, Schedules UMass for 2021

Many of Florida State’s bad traits continued on Saturday afternoon at Doak Campbell Stadium, but the Seminoles managed to rally to down Louisville, 35-24.

FSU raced to a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, but watched Louisville score the game’s next 24 points. The Cardinals took their first lead on a 74-yard touchdown pass from Malik Cunningham to Dez Fitzpatrick early in the fourth quarter and were driving to go up two scores with under 10 minutes to go when FSU safety Cyrus Fagan made a key interception inside his own red zone.

FSU would answer on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Alex Hornibrook to Tamorrion Terry midway through the final quarter to go ahead for good. After a roughing the kicker call with just over two minutes to go kept Florida State’s final drive alive, Cam Akers iced the game with his third touchdown of the day.

FSU finished with 522 yards of total offense in the victory. Akers finished with 112 yards on the ground to go with the aforementioned three touchdowns. Hornibrook played early, but finished the game after an injury to starting quarterback James Blackman. Hornibrook finished 15-for-20 passing for 255 yards and two touchdowns. Keyshawn Helton led FSU with seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.

For Louisville, Cunningham passed for 286 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Seminoles held Louisville’s potent rushing attack to just 124 yards on less than three yards per carry. For the FSU defense, Marvin Wilson finished with 10 tackles, 3.5 for loss and two sacks.

Walt Bell (left) served as Florida State’s offensive coordinator in 2018. (Jeff Romance/FSU athletics)

A familiar face could be back at Doak Campbell Stadium in a couple years in former offensive coordinator Walt Bell.

Now the head coach of Massachusetts, the Minutemen will travel to face Florida State on Oct. 23, 2021, according to a report. It would be the first-ever meeting between the schools on the gridiron.

Other non-conference games set for 2021 include a home contest with Notre Dame on Labor Day and a trip to Florida for the regular season finale. Should Bell still be the head coach of UMass in two years, he’d be the first former FSU offensive coordinator to face the Seminoles as a head coach since Mark Richt.

Football

Record: 2-2 (1-1 ACC)
Ranking: None
Past Week: (1-0), defeated Louisville, 35-24
Upcoming: vs. NC State (Saturday)
Recognitions: None
Weekly Commitments: None
2020 Recruiting Class Ranking: No. 10 nationally, second in ACC (21 total commitments)*
Big Picture: Florida State found a way to rally on Saturday and get its first ACC win. The Seminoles face another important contest next week when they host NC State.

Weekly Review

Louisville 24, FSU 35
Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019
After FSU raced to a 21-0 lead, Louisville answered with 24 straight points. After a Cyrus Fagan interception thwarted a Louisville threat in the fourth quarter, FSU went ahead for good on a 60-yard Alex Hornibrook touchdown pass to Tamorrion Terry. Cam Akers, who finished with 112 yards rushing for FSU, iced the game with his third touchdown of the day. Hornibrook finished with 255 yards passing and two touchdowns for the injured James Blackman. Louisville’s Malik Cunningham passed for 286 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. Defensive tackle Marvin Wilson finished with 10 tackles, 3.5 for loss, two sacks and a fumble recovery for the Florida State defense.

Men’s Basketball

Weekly Commitments: None
2020 Recruiting Class Ranking: No. 54 nationally, ninth in ACC (2 total commitments)*

Soccer

Record: 7-2 (1-0 ACC)
Ranking: No. 6 United Soccer Coaches
Past Week: (2-0), defeated Villanova, 5-0; defeated Boston College, 5-4
Upcoming: at Clemson (Thursday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: Since starting 2-2, FSU has won five straight matches and started ACC play on the right foot on Thursday. The Seminoles will play their first ACC road game this coming week.

Weekly Review

(6) FSU 5, Villanova 0
Sunday, Sept. 15
Yujie Zhao scored two goals and Jenna Nighswonger had two assists for Florida State in its final non-conference match. Abbey Newton, Deyna Castellanos and Malia Berkely all found the net in the victory. Newton added an assist. The Seminoles finished with 27 shots to five for Villanova.

Boston College 4, (6) FSU 5
Thursday, Sept. 19 (Overtime)
The highest scoring match of the season went to Florida State as the Seminoles held off Boston College to start 1-0 in ACC play. Jenna Nighswonger scored a pair of goals in the victory while Deyna Castellanos had three assists. Makala Thomas and Gabby Carle each scored their first goals of the season for the Seminoles. Carle’s goal in the 68th minute put FSU ahead for good. She would also add an assist. Sam Smith finished with a pair of goals for Boston College.

Volleyball

Record: 6-3
Ranking: No. 23 AVCA Coaches Poll
Past Week: (1-1), fell to Florida, 3-0; defeated Alabama, 3-0
Upcoming: at Duke (Friday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: Despite falling at Florida early in the week, FSU closed non-conference play strong with a straight-set win over a good Alabama team.

Weekly Review

(23) FSU 0, (11) Florida 3
Tuesday, Sept. 17
Florida State was competitive in the first two sets, but ultimately dropped its fourth straight match to rival Florida. Thayer Hall led the Gators with a match-high 15 kills to go with 11 digs. Payton Caffrey paced the Seminoles with 12 kills.

Alabama 0, (23) FSU 3
Friday, Sept. 20
Despite coming in at 8-2, Alabama didn’t score more than 17 points in any set in Florida State’s final match of the non-conference. The Seminoles finished with just seven errors to 23 for the Crimson Tide. Morgan Chacon led FSU with 10 kills and seven digs.

Cross Country

Ranking: Men No. 2 USTFCCCA South Region; Women No. 18 USTFCCCA, No. 2 USTFCCCA South Region
Past Week: Men placed second at Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational; women idle
Upcoming: UAH Chargers Open (Saturday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: The FSU men had a strong showing in Blacksburg, but came up a little short to host Virginia Tech. The women will prepare to run next weekend.

Weekly Review

2nd at Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational
Friday, Sept. 20
Florida State had to settle for second place out of seven teams in Blacksburg. The Seminoles finished with 35 points, which was five more than host and winner Virginia Tech. Kasey Knevelbaard finished second and led four Seminoles in the top 10, but Virginia Tech had the next three finishers to round out the top 5. East Tennessee State’s Ben Varghese took the individual title, beating Knevelbaard by 4.5 seconds.

Women’s Golf

Ranking: No. 13 WGCA
Past Week: Idle
Upcoming: Schooner Fall Classic (Friday through Sept. 29)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: FSU women’s golf will play one of its bigger tournaments of the regular season as it heads to Oklahoma for the Schooner Fall Classic. The Seminoles underwhelmed earlier this season.

Men’s Golf

Ranking: None
Past Week: FSU finished 15th at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate and played the first two round of the Fighting Illini Invitational.
Upcoming: Fighting Illini Invitational (Sunday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: FSU is tied for eighth place after two rounds at the Fighting Illini Invitational. Jamie Li is just two strokes off the lead for the Seminoles.

Weekly Review

15th at Maui Jim Intercollegiate
Friday, Sept. 13 through Sunday, Sept. 15
Florida State finished dead last out of 15 teams in its first tournament of the year in Scottsdale. It should be noted that the Seminoles were without reigning ACC champion John Pak. As a team, FSU shot +18. Jamie Li had the best tournament for FSU at -3 — good for a 24th-place tie. Arizona State’s Cameron Sisk finished at -14 to take the individual title.

Other News

FSU women’s tennis announced its schedule for the fall.

FSU beach volleyball head coach Brooke Niles announced the hiring of Jason Lochhead as the assistant coach on Wednesday.

FSU swimming and diving unveiled its 2019-20 schedule earlier in the week.

Matt Kane was hired by FSU track and field to coach women’s sprints and men’s and women’s hurdlers.

FSU defensive end Joshua Kaindoh is out for the season after suffering a season-ending leg injury against Virginia.

*247Sports Composite rankings

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.