New Florida State coach Mike Norvell has some work to do in turning the offense around in 2020. Actually -- a lot of work to do. That much was evident in the Seminoles' 20-14 loss to Arizona State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.
Florida State has been plagued by offensive woes for a while now, the lowpoint of which was a 27-10 loss to Miami earlier in the season. Against the Sun Devils, though, what hurt the Noles the most were turnovers. In all, Florida State gave the ball away six -- again, six -- times. That's more than any other game this past decade. Quarterback James Blackman threw a career-high four interceptions, including a pick six, and Tamorrion Terry's fumble with 1:18 left in the game sealed the outcome.
SUN DEVILS COMING UP BIG IN THE SUN BOWL. pic.twitter.com/GFWQll07MT
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) December 31, 2019
Ironically enough, the game actually began with an Arizona State fumble on the first play from scrimmage. That set the Noles up in good field position, but Blackman threw his first interception of the day four plays later at the goal line. Five the eight total turnovers between the two teams took place in the first two quarters.
Florida State will feel sick to its stomach about this loss, as 14 of Arizona State's 20 points came off of turnovers, including six directly off of Blackman's third pick. Still, that Florida State only lost by six points and was in a position to take the lead late in the game before fumbling the ball away for one final time, says a lot about how this game was played.
By the time Norvell left Memphis, the Tigers had a top-10 scoring offense for a third consecutive year. To get Florida State to those types of numbers, he'll need to start up front with a better offensive line, and obviously, another answer at quarterback long-term.
One piece of good news is that Terry is coming back for another season; despite his game-ending fumble on Monday, he had another stellar game with 165 yards receiving and a touchdown.
But the Sun Bowl loss was a perfect example of how far the Noles still have to go on that side of the ball, while it's also a feather in the cap of the Sun Devils after another strong season under Herm Edwards.