19 FLORIDA STATE #20 VIRGINIA TECH (Stats from 2017 Season)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
20172018 FSU FSUFOOTBALL FOOTBALL | VS. | ALABAMA GM. 1 | VT TEAM COMPARISONS #19 FLORIDA STATE #20 VIRGINIA TECH (stats from 2017 season) 27.8 (71) Scoring Off. 28.2 (69) 0-0 VS 0-0 21.2 (29) Scoring Def. 14.8 (4) 0-0 ACC 0-0 ACC 155.7 (76) Rushing Off. 173.4 (54) Head Coach Head Coach 135.6 (31) Rushing Def. 119.5 (15) Willie Taggart (Western Kentucky '98) Justin Fuente (Murray State '99) Career Record: 47-50 (.485) | 9th Year Career Record: 45-31 (.592) | 7th Year 196.2 (89) Passing Off. 239.5 (57) Record at FSU: 0-0 | 1st Year Record at VT: 19-8 (.704) | 3rd Year 195.5 (29) Passing Def. 199.8 (33) 351.9 (100) Total Off. 412.8 (53) TAGGART ERA BEGINS AT HOME WITH TOP-20 MATCHUP 331.1 (18) Total Def. 319.3 (13) » Willie Taggart was named the 10th full-time head coach in Florida State history, and only the third different full- .917 (13) Red Zone Off. .772 (102) time head coach since 1976, on Dec. 5, 2017, ushering in an era of Lethal Simplicity on offense and a defense made .362 (45) Third Down Def. .262 (2) up of Bad Asses and War Daddies. 24.2 (18) Kickoff Returns 23.6 (19) » Florida State is participating in a season-opening matchup of ranked teams for the third straight season and 10th 7.1 (27) Tackles For Loss 7.8 (13) time in program history. The Seminoles are 6-3 overall, including 1-0 at home, in the previous nine matchups. MEDIA COVERAGE » Florida State enters 2018 with the 6th-longest active winning streak in the country after ending the 2017 season TELEVISION | ESPN Megacast with wins in each of its final four games. PBP: Chris Fowler | Analyst: Kirk Herbstreit Sidelines: Maria Taylor » Despite an average age of only 46.2 years old when the 2018 season begins Sept. 3, Florida State's 11 full-time RADIO | SEMINOLE IMG SPORTS NETWORK coaches enter the 2018 season with 224 years of combined coaching experience and collectively have experience in PBP: Gene Deckerhoff | Analyst: William Floyd every Power 5 conference. Sidelines: Tom Block WESTWOOD ONE RADIO | SIRIUS: 84 XM: 84 » According to SportSource Analytics, Willie Taggart has the 2nd-highest percentage of big-play runs among FBS head Announcer: Brandon Gaudin coaches since 2015. He has had 263 rushing plays, 14.67 percent of rushes called, gain at least 12 yards. He also Announcer: Ross Tucker ranks 5th with 8.5 percent of his plays earning at least 20 yards and 6th with 2.5 percent of his plays gaining at least 40 yards. Coach Taggart's overall big play percentage of 16.08 ranks 7th. 2018 SCHEDULE Date Opponent Time/Result » Since the start of the 2015 season, Coach Taggart's record is 25-12 (.676) and his offense is averaging 37.84 points Sept. 3 No. 20 VIRGINIA TECH* 8:00 PM (ESPN) per game, the 4th-highest scoring average among FBS head coaches in that timespan. Sept. 8 SAMFORD 7:20 PM (ACC Network) Sept. 15 at Syracuse* 12:00 PM » The Florida State football team made its 36th straight bowl appearance, the longest streak in college football Sept. 22 NORTHERN ILLINOIS TBA history, and secured the program’s 41st consecutive winning season in 2017. Sept. 29 at Louisville* TBA Oct. 6 at No. 8 Miami* TBA » Florida State's bowl streak dates back to the 1982 Gator Bowl. Nebraska had an NCAA-record 35-year bowl streak Oct. 20 WAKE FOREST* TBA from 1969-2003. The next longest active bowl streak in the country is Virginia Tech’s 25 straight. Oct. 27 No. 2 CLEMSON* TBA Nov. 3 at NC State* TBA Nov. 10 at No. 12 Notre Dame 7:30 PM (NBC) » The Seminoles' current streak of 41 consecutive winning seasons is second in FBS history, trailing only a stretch of Nov. 17 BOSTON COLLEGE* TBA 42 straight winning seasons compiled by Notre Dame from 1889-1932. Nov. 24 FLORIDA TBA *ACC Game; HOME GAME » Redshirt senior center Alec Eberle, junior defensive end Brian Burns and junior kicker Ricky Aguayo were named the AP Rankings Listed 2018 FSU team captains by team vote at the end of the fall training camp. Media Information ........................................2 Rankings/This Day in History .....................12 Rosters ..........................................................15 FSU Records ..................................................23 Head Coach Willie Taggart ...........................3 Doak/Noles in the Pros ...............................13 Player Stats ...................................................17 Atlantic Coast Conference .........................26 Game Notes .....................................................6 Depth Chart ...................................................14 Last Time It Happened ................................21 Statistics.......................................................27 SEMINOLES.COM 1 2018 FSU FOOTBALL | GM. 1 | VT HEAD COACH WILLIE TAGGART 1st season at Florida State | 9th season as Head Coach | 20th overall Hometown: Palmetto, Florida Alma Mater: Western Kentucky, 1998 Family: wife Taneshia; sons Willie Jr. and Jackson; daughter Morgan Florida State hired Florida native Willie Taggart to straight year at least three former Taggart players be its 10th full-time head football coach on Dec. 5, were taken. 2017. Taggart is considered one of the best offensive minds in the country and has already proven to be a Taggart returned home to the Tampa Bay area prior relentless and effective recruiter. to the 2013 season to take over a South Florida team that won three games in 2012 and turned COACHING HISTORY Taggart has led remarkable turnarounds at each the Bulls into one of the most exciting programs in Year School Position of his three previous head coaching positions. In the country by 2016. In his final year at the helm in 1999 Western Kentucky Receivers the season prior to his hire, the programs Taggart Tampa, Taggart led South Florida to a 10-2 record 2000 Western Kentucky Quarterbacks inherited were a combined 7-29, and the best team and No. 25 ranking in the final regular season poll, 2001-02 Western Kentucky Co-OC/Quarterbacks he took over before arriving at FSU was a 4-8 Oregon the team’s first ranking since 2011 and only the 2003-06 Western Kentucky Asst. HC/Quarterbacks squad. His overall record is 47-50, including a 25-12 second time in program history the Bulls were 2007-09 Stanford Running Backs mark since the start of the 2015 season. In that ranked at the end of the regular season. 2010-12 Western Kentucky Head Coach same timespan, his offenses have the fourth- 2013-16 USF Head Coach highest points-per-game average among FBS head With Taggart serving as the primary play caller, his 2017 Oregon Head Coach coaches behind only Mike Gundy, Kliff Kingsbury and offense broke 33 program records in 2016, including 2018 Florida State Head Coach Urban Meyer. scoring, total touchdowns, total yards, rushing yards, yards per play, yards per rush and points per HEAD COACHING CAREER In 2017, Oregon ranked in the top 30 in the NCAA game. Quarterback Quinton Flowers was named the Year Team Record Conf. in 15 different statistical categories, including American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of 2010 Western Kentucky 2-10 2-6 boasting the 12th-best rushing offense in the the Year after becoming the first USF player to post 2011 Western Kentucky 7-5 7-1 country rushing for 251.0 yards per game and the 2,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in the 2012 Western Kentucky 7-5 4-4 18th-highest scoring offense averaging 36.0 points same season, highlighting a program-record 10 all- 2013 USF 2-10 2-6 per game. On defense, the Ducks ranked 24th in conference selections. 2014 USF 4-8 3-5 the country in third-down defense allowing a .333 2015 USF 8-5 6-2 conversion percentage and 27th in fourth-down His first head coaching job was one of the most 2016 USF 10-2 7-1 defense at .417. The defense had one of the best difficult reclamation projects in the country, taking 2017 Oregon 7-5 4-5 performances of the season against Arizona’s over his alma mater that had lost 20 games in a 2018 Florida State 0-0 0-0 Khalil Tate, who ranked seventh in the NCAA with an row. He quickly led Western Kentucky to its first two 8 seasons 4 schools 47-50 35-30 average of 128.3 rushing yards per game, holding winning seasons since transitioning from FCS to FBS him to only 32 yards rushing in a 48-28 victory. and in 2012 saw the program reach its first bowl POSTSEASON game. The Hilltoppers had a 12-2 stretch from Oct. Year Team Bowl/Playoffs Showcased by Taggart’s Gulf Coast Offense, running 2011 through Oct. 2012 with their only two losses 2000 Western Kentucky NCAA I-AA First Round back Royce Freeman rushed for 1,475 yards and coming to No.1-ranked LSU and top-ranked Alabama. 2001 Western Kentucky NCAA I-AA Quarterfinals ranked 10th in the country with an average of 122.9 2002 Western Kentucky NCAA I-AA Champions rushing yards per game in 2017. His rushing total Taggart transitioned to coaching after starting 2003 Western Kentucky NCAA I-AA First Round allowed him to break the program record for career as Western Kentucky's quarterback all four years 2009 Stanford Sun rushing yards with 5,621 yards, the sixth-highest and breaking 11 school records, highlighted by his 2012 Western Kentucky Little Caesars total in NCAA history. Freeman was a third-round 47 rushing touchdowns, and left school holding 2015 USF Miami Beach draft pick by the Denver Broncos in the 2018 NFL the NCAA Division I record for rushing yards by a 2016 USF Birmingham Draft and led a group of four former Taggart pupils quarterback.