Playing James Blackman to start the second half was an inexcusable offense. There was a smattering of boos when the junior QB came out to start the third quarter. Those boos were a LOT louder after his terrible interception a moment later that all but ended the game.
Because the 16,000 fans in attendance knew. So did I. So did you.
Whatever the question might be for this Florida State football team, James Blackman isn’t the answer. And that ridiculous interception sapped the life out of the stadium, out of the team, out of everything surrounding the Seminoles’ game on Saturday evening.
It was a bad move.
Especially because on the very next series, freshman Chubba Purdy was inserted into the game.
If Purdy was available to play down by two scores in the third quarter, why wouldn’t he be available down one? And if you thought Blackman was the best option with Travis hurt, then why immediately go to the freshman after two throws?
I mean, we know the answer to that: Blackman proved why he shouldn’t have been in the game. But there was no real conviction in those decisions. And more than anything, you want your coaches to be confident in what they’re doing — not seemingly throwing feces against the wall when times are tough (man, that metaphorical wall is having a rough day!).
“With his experience, we were hoping for a spark,” Norvell said of Blackman.
Instead, he got a match dipped in Kerosene, lit that bad boy and then threw it into the forest. So, in a way, I guess it was a spark of sorts.
“Yeah, we had the turnover there on the first drive, gave them the short field, and they were able to turn it into a touchdown,” Norvell said after his team’s 41-17 defeat.
