Kirk Herbstreit spotlights Florida State culture, believes LSU will be fine

Sunday night’s highly anticipated matchup between No. 8 Florida State and No. 5 LSU was certainly one of the most highly entertaining games of Week 1 of the 2023 college football season. While FSU prevailed in blowout fashion, 45-24, the game was wild and wacky, with many twists and turns, much like last season’s contest. Following the game, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit decided to share his thoughts on the game on Twitter.

“Fun game to call tonight. Congratulations @FSUFootball on a big win-great to see such a talented team and great culture back in Tallahassee. Look forward to watching this team grow every week. And @LSUfootball is gonna be fine-tough loss-missed opportunities-gotta learn from this one and recalibrate-get Maason Smith back rest of the year which will be huge,” Herbstreit wrote on his Twitter page.

Florida State’s Jordan Travis struggled in the first half, but then started to spin the beautifully thrown balls we’ve become accustomed to watching from him over the years.

Travis completed 23 of 31 pass attempts for 342 passing yards, while tossing four touchdowns and one interception. The dynamic dual threat also ran seven times for 38 yards and a touchdown. He became the first FSU player with four passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown since Jameis Winston did it in 2013.

He now has 73 career touchdowns responsible for at Florida State, passing Jameis Winston for third in FSU history. He currently trails Chris Weinke (81) and Chris Rix (75).

Travis has already developed phenomenal chemistry with one of the best receivers in the country, former Michigan State star Keon Coleman. Coleman was virtually unstoppable on Sunday night and looked like a future first round NFL Draft pick. The star receiver was spectacular, hauling in nine catches for 122 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He broke the rock for the Seminoles after the huge win.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, LSU is the first AP Top-5 team to lose their season opener by 20+ points to a lower-ranked team since No. 1 Florida State in 1988, when the Seminoles lost to No. 6 Miami, 31-0. That happened exactly 35 years ago on Sunday.

LSU did have plenty of bright spots on Sunday evening, and one of them was defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo, who was highly, highly disruptive in the backfield on several plays for the Tigers. He’ll be name to remember the rest of the season.

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels was a big reason the Tigers managed to stay in the game as long as they did. He finished with over 400 all-purpose yards and one passing touchdown. Daniels threw a costly interception, but also made some electrifying runs in the open field.

While he made some spectacular runs, he also made some head scratching decisions, like the one when he left his feet to jump right into the teeth of the FSU defense, only to get drilled in mid-air by Tatum Bethune, in what was hit of the year thus far.