Florida State University Athletics
Game Preview: No. 19 Florida State vs. No. 20 Virginia Tech
9/2/2018 1:55:59 PM | Football
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – There will be a new coaching staff, a new-look offense and a rarely-used alternate uniform.
And there will be a legendary coach, a halftime ceremony honoring an all-time great, and throwback end zones from the “dynasty era.”
In the nine months since he was named Florida State’s head football coach, Willie Taggart has worked tirelessly to bridge the program’s illustrious past with what looks like a bright future ahead.
Come Monday, Taggart will walk across that bridge when he and his Seminoles open their 2018 campaign against Virginia Tech (8 p.m., ESPN).
“It will be fun,” Taggart said Saturday morning, in his last media availability before the game.
“Like I told our guys, everybody will be watching us. It’s Labor Day. There’s nothing else going on. All your life, you grow up watching ‘Monday Night Football,’ and now our guys get to play.”
He then flashed a wide grin and hummed “Dunh, dunh, dunh duhhh.”
You know, the Monday Night Football theme:
There have been some electric atmospheres at Doak Campbell Stadium in recent years, but what’s coming on Monday could rival any of them.
It will be the culmination of a year in which the Florida State community experienced a full gamut of emotions:
The frustration and embarrassment of a 2-5 start to the 2017 season. The anger and indignity when coach Jimbo Fisher left for another job. The spark of hope when Odell Haggins, as much a Seminole as there ever was or will be, took over as interim coach and guided the Seminoles to a 7-6 finish. And the promise of better days ahead when Taggart was formally introduced on Dec. 6, 2017.
Back then, at a press conference inside Doak Campbell Stadium’s Champions Club, Taggart called Florida State a “dream job” and openly spoke of a return to the days of Sanders, Ward and Brooks.
“No matter where I went, the Seminoles were always with me,” he said.
Now more than ever.
That much is clear when Bowden says, “If I can help him in any way, I’ll sure do it.”
It’s clear when Warrick, Taggart’s childhood friend, says Taggart has “changed everything” about FSU’s culture.
It’s clear when a who’s who of Florida State football greats – everyone from Deion Sanders to Jameis Winston – stops by practice to chat with Taggart and meet the current team.
And it’s clear when perusing social media channels or FSU-centered message boards – one of which recently had a thread titled “Coach Taggart Wins AGAIN,” in reference to reports of the team’s improvements in the classroom.
Bowden and Warrick will be in attendance Monday – Bowden as an honorary captain, and Warrick to have his jersey retired at halftime.
The fans, of course, will be in full force.
But make no mistake, the moment belongs to Taggart and his team.
And in their way is a quality opponent looking to spoil the party.
Virginia Tech, entering coach Justin Fuente’s third year at the helm, is coming off of a 2017 campaign in which it went 9-4, allowed just 14.8 points per game and finished with a No. 24 national ranking.
They’ve got a talented quarterback – redshirt sophomore Josh Jackson, who threw for 2,990 yards and 20 touchdowns a year ago – an offensive line that returns three starters, and a defense led by Bud Foster, one of the best coordinators in the country.
“(Fuente) is a winner,” Taggart said earlier this week. “When you watch his team play, they are very well-coached and they play hard and they play tough and you’ve got to come ready to play.”
Then again, the Hokies have cause for concern, too. Opening in a night game at Doak Campbell Stadium isn’t exactly a treat, and Virginia Tech will do that after navigating an offseason that can charitably be described as “tumultuous.”
Three starters from last season’s defense declared early for the NFL draft. (Two became first-round picks.) Co-defensive coordinator Galen Scott resigned after an off-field issue. Two defensive starters were dismissed from the team, and another suffered a season-ending injury.
There were even reports surrounding Jackson’s availability for the season, though those never came to fruition.
“It’s stressful. It happened. Everything like that,” Jackson said at ACC Kickoff in July. “It’s another situation that you have to take care of. That’s life.”
Normally, the start of the regular season would be a welcome reprieve. But maybe not so much when it starts in Tallahassee.
“It would not be my first choice, quite honestly,” Fuente said of opening at FSU. “But I’m not pouting about it.”
If Fuente is hoping to soften the Seminoles with praise, their coaching staff isn’t taking the bait.
“If Coach Foster is coaching them, they’re going to be really good,” FSU offensive coordinator Walt Bell said. “I don’t care who they put out there. It could be 11 me’s — and I’m not very good — but somehow Coach Foster will have them ready to play.”
The Seminoles are ready to play, too.
After nine months of excitement and speculation, as well as conditioning drills, early-morning practices and down-the-wire position battles, the fun part is finally here.
“They’re ready to go out and battle against someone else,” Taggart said. “They’ve been going against each other for a while now.
“They’re ready to roll.”
Odds and ends
- Florida State is 53-18 all-time in season openers and 30-7 in openers at home.
- FSU’s four-game winning streak is the sixth-longest in the nation.
- FSU made its 36th consecutive bowl appearance at the end of last season, a streak which is, in fact, the longest active streak in the country.
- FSU has met Virginia Tech 36 times – the most of any opponent outside the state of Florida or the ACC. (VT joined the league in 2005.) FSU leads the all-time series 23-12-1.
- Longtime Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer and former quarterback standout Michael Vick are expected to be in attendance on Monday.
- Monday’s game will mark the fifth time that Taggart has lined up across from Fuente. The two met once as opposing quarterbacks (Taggart at Western Kentucky, Fuente at Murray State) and three times as opposing coaches (Taggart at USF, Fuente at Memphis). Fuente holds a 4-0 record in those games.
Pre-game reads…
- Five takeaways from Willie Taggart’s Virginia Tech press conference
- Breaking down the Seminoles’ depth chart
- Coaches share their stories: Offense
- Coaches share their stories: Defense
Listen in…
Week 1 interviews …
Head coach Willie Taggart
QB Deondre Francois
WR Nyqwan Murray
Defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett
CB Levonta Taylor