First of all - a big thank you to the extremely friendly FSU fans we encountered on our trip. Everyone (short of a fun drunk frat guys - no judgement, we all have them) was very friendly and very welcoming. Although it was hard to tell because our colors matched so closely, TXST sold 1000 tickets through our box office and ended up bringing somewhere between 1200-1500 fans to the game...and despite the score, everyone of our fans that I talked to seemed to really enjoy the trip.
I'm giving my opinion, don't get upset or feel the need to defend any it. I completely understand that you guys are a blue chip program, less than 3 years removed from a National Championship and we're just 3 years into FBS football...but I'm always curious about the perceptions of fans that visit San Marcos.
The game...
TXST has a really well coached team. Other than the fake punt, Dennis Franchione played the game very conservatively. I was really hoping that Tyler Jones would have a breakout game against a really good opponent but after watching the first few series, it was obvious that Fran was going to protect him with screens, 3-step drops, and quick passes. We really can't afford to get Jones hurt in the 1st game - he will be one of the best G5 QB's in the country this year.
FSU's defense was just way too fast, way too athletic to get anything going on offense. Bubble screens don't work when the corner blows it up and the outside LB is as fast as the WR. Our best, and certainly our biggest, WR tore his ACL during camp so he wasn't able to play. He a big WR and he and Jones played high school together so their timing on the "bad fade" is like clockwork.
It was interesting to see Sweat work against #64 Adrian Bellard. Bellard was 4* committed to Texas A&M out of high school but ended up at TXST due to grades. I have rewatched the game once, but the second time around I'll take a closer look. It seems like Bellard got the best of him a few times and Sweat did most of his damage when he lined up on the other side. I expect Bellard to be drafted this year and Sweat to be an All-American so it was a great matchup.
Even though we lost to you guys by 40+ points, I'm excited about our chances in the Sun Belt this year. If you keep up with us the rest of the year, two more OOC games to keep an are @University of Houston and vs. Southern Miss. We beat UH in Houston in 2012 by 30 points but their new coach is Tom Herman - former OC at Ohio State.
The stadium, the campus, the atmosphere, and Tally...
Tallahassee was really nice. We walked from our rent house near the Capitol to the Stadium and everything was clean, well-lit, and well-maintained. I relied on google maps and word-of-mouth but I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a single, centrally located entertainment area - like the Square in San Marcos, 6th Street in Austin, Broadway in Lubbock, or the Strip in Stillwater. It seems like we walked all over the place.
The campus was really pretty. We walked through it on the way to the stadium but didn't really walk around sightseeing.
I was a bit surprised how late the atmosphere around the stadium took to get going. I know its probably better with late October weather and against someone like Miami, but I found it odd that nobody was tailgating until mid afternoon. In the past 5 years, I have been to games at Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Baylor, LSU, Alabama, and Illinois and the atmosphere around Doak Campbell was surprisingly mediocre.
Doak Campbell was really pretty from the outside...and the inside was nice enough...but the concourse/concessions/bathrooms were a dump. I sat in the visitors section and only ventured about halfway around the stadium but so it might be nicer on the home side, but what I saw really needed some work.
Again, thanks for a great weekend and for not hurting Tyler Jones.
I'm giving my opinion, don't get upset or feel the need to defend any it. I completely understand that you guys are a blue chip program, less than 3 years removed from a National Championship and we're just 3 years into FBS football...but I'm always curious about the perceptions of fans that visit San Marcos.
The game...
TXST has a really well coached team. Other than the fake punt, Dennis Franchione played the game very conservatively. I was really hoping that Tyler Jones would have a breakout game against a really good opponent but after watching the first few series, it was obvious that Fran was going to protect him with screens, 3-step drops, and quick passes. We really can't afford to get Jones hurt in the 1st game - he will be one of the best G5 QB's in the country this year.
FSU's defense was just way too fast, way too athletic to get anything going on offense. Bubble screens don't work when the corner blows it up and the outside LB is as fast as the WR. Our best, and certainly our biggest, WR tore his ACL during camp so he wasn't able to play. He a big WR and he and Jones played high school together so their timing on the "bad fade" is like clockwork.
It was interesting to see Sweat work against #64 Adrian Bellard. Bellard was 4* committed to Texas A&M out of high school but ended up at TXST due to grades. I have rewatched the game once, but the second time around I'll take a closer look. It seems like Bellard got the best of him a few times and Sweat did most of his damage when he lined up on the other side. I expect Bellard to be drafted this year and Sweat to be an All-American so it was a great matchup.
Even though we lost to you guys by 40+ points, I'm excited about our chances in the Sun Belt this year. If you keep up with us the rest of the year, two more OOC games to keep an are @University of Houston and vs. Southern Miss. We beat UH in Houston in 2012 by 30 points but their new coach is Tom Herman - former OC at Ohio State.
The stadium, the campus, the atmosphere, and Tally...
Tallahassee was really nice. We walked from our rent house near the Capitol to the Stadium and everything was clean, well-lit, and well-maintained. I relied on google maps and word-of-mouth but I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a single, centrally located entertainment area - like the Square in San Marcos, 6th Street in Austin, Broadway in Lubbock, or the Strip in Stillwater. It seems like we walked all over the place.
The campus was really pretty. We walked through it on the way to the stadium but didn't really walk around sightseeing.
I was a bit surprised how late the atmosphere around the stadium took to get going. I know its probably better with late October weather and against someone like Miami, but I found it odd that nobody was tailgating until mid afternoon. In the past 5 years, I have been to games at Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Baylor, LSU, Alabama, and Illinois and the atmosphere around Doak Campbell was surprisingly mediocre.
Doak Campbell was really pretty from the outside...and the inside was nice enough...but the concourse/concessions/bathrooms were a dump. I sat in the visitors section and only ventured about halfway around the stadium but so it might be nicer on the home side, but what I saw really needed some work.
Again, thanks for a great weekend and for not hurting Tyler Jones.
