20182017 FSU FOOTBALLFSU FOOTBALL | GM. | 2VS. | SAMFORD ALABAMA Game 2 - Samford FLORIDA STATE SAMFORD Sept. 8, 2018 | Tallahassee, Fla. Doak Campbell Stadium (79,560) ACC Network | 7:20 PM 0-1 VS 1-0 0-1 ACC 0-0 SoCon FSU SAMFORD Head Coach Head Coach 3.0 Scoring Off. 66.0 Willie Taggart (Western Kentucky '98) Chris Hatcher (Valdosta State '95) 24.0 Scoring Def. 9.0 Career Record: 47-51 (.480) | 9th Year Career Record: 143-71 (.668) | 19th Year 94.0 Rushing Off. 200.0 Record at FSU: 0-1 (.000) | 1st Year Record at SU: 22-14 (.611) | 4th Year 112.0 Rushing Def. 90.0 233.0 Passing Off. 356.0 FSU HOSTS SAMFORD ON SHORT WEEK 207.0 Passing Def. 159.0 » After opening their 2018 season on Labor Day night, the Seminoles return to Doak Campbell Stadium to host Samford five days later. 327.0 Total Off. 556.0 319.0 Total Def. 249.0 » Since 1976, FSU is 12-3 (.800) in games with less than one week to prepare. The Seminoles have won five of their last six contests played fewer than seven days after their previous game. .250 Red Zone Off. 1.000 .214 Third Down Def. .154 » Since joining the ACC in 1992, Florida State is 72-23-1 (.745) in regular season non-conference games, including a record of 47-9-1 (.833) inside Doak Campbell Stadium. 25.0 Kickoff Returns 22.0 7.0 Tackles For Loss 7.0 » The Seminoles have won 13 straight non-conference home games. MEDIA COVERAGE » Florida State is one of two Power 5 programs with non-conference games against multiple teams ranked in this week’s AP Top 25. The Seminoles play No. 8 Notre Dame and No. 25 Florida outside of the ACC in addition to currently TELEVISION | ACC Network ranked conference foes No. 2 Clemson, No. 12 Virginia Tech and No. 22 Miami. PBP: Tom Werme | Analyst: Dave Archer Sidelines: Lericia Harris » After allowing a 10-play, 75-yard drive to open the game, FSU’s defense held Virginia Tech to 214 yards on 57 plays, an average of 3.8 yards per play, the rest of the game and had a stretch of nine straight drives stretching from the RADIO | SIRIUS: 119 | XM: 194 | Internet: 956 first quarter into the fourth quarter that ended in a punt or a turnover on downs. PBP: Gene Deckerhoff | Analyst: William Floyd Sidelines: Tom Block » Despite an average age of only 46.2 years old when the 2018 season began Sept. 3, Florida State's 11 full-time coaches entered the 2018 season with 224 years of combined coaching experience and collectively have experience 2018 SCHEDULE in every Power 5 conference. Date Opponent Time/Result Sept. 3 No. 20 VIRGINIA TECH* L, 3-24 » Since the start of the 2015 season, head coach Willie Taggart's record is 25-13 (.658) and his offense is averaging Sept. 8 SAMFORD 7:20 PM (ACC Network) 36.9 points per game. Sept. 15 at Syracuse* 12:00 PM Sept. 22 NORTHERN ILLINOIS TBA » The Florida State football team made its 36th straight bowl appearance, the longest streak in college football Sept. 29 at Louisville* TBA history, and secured the program’s 41st consecutive winning season in 2017. Oct. 6 at No. 22 Miami* TBA Oct. 20 WAKE FOREST* TBA » The Seminoles’ current streak of 41 consecutive winning seasons is second in FBS history, trailing only a stretch of Oct. 27 No. 2 CLEMSON* TBA 42 straight winning seasons compiled by Notre Dame from 1889-1932. Nov. 3 at NC State* TBA Nov. 10 at No. 8 Notre Dame 7:30 PM (NBC) » Florida State's bowl streak dates back to the 1982 Gator Bowl. Nebraska had an NCAA-record 35-year bowl streak Nov. 17 BOSTON COLLEGE* TBA from 1969-2003. The next longest active bowl streak in the country is Virginia Tech’s 25 straight. Nov. 24 No. 25 FLORIDA TBA » At the end of fall camp, redshirt senior center Alec Eberle, junior defensive end Brian Burns and junior kicker Ricky *ACC Game; HOME GAME Aguayo were voted by their teammates to be the 2018 FSU team captains. AP Rankings Listed 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. 2 | SAMFORD 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 were taken. be its 10th full-time head football coach on Dec. 5, 2017. Taggart is considered one of the best offensive Taggart returned home to the Tampa Bay area prior minds in the country and has already proven to be a to the 2013 season to take over a South Florida relentless and effective recruiter. team that won three games in 2012 and turned the Bulls into one of the most exciting programs in COACHING HISTORY Taggart has led remarkable turnarounds at each the country by 2016. In his final year at the helm in Year School Position of his three previous head coaching positions. In Tampa, Taggart led South Florida to a 10-2 record 1999 Western Kentucky Receivers the season prior to his hire, the programs Taggart and No. 25 ranking in the final regular season poll, 2000 Western Kentucky Quarterbacks inherited were a combined 7-29, and the best team the team’s first ranking since 2011 and only the 2001-02 Western Kentucky Co-OC/Quarterbacks he took over before arriving at FSU was a 4-8 Oregon second time in program history the Bulls were 2003-06 Western Kentucky Asst. HC/Quarterbacks squad. His overall record is 47-51, including a 25-13 ranked at the end of the regular season. 2007-09 Stanford Running Backs mark since the start of the 2015 season. From 2015- 2010-12 Western Kentucky Head Coach 17, his offenses had the fourth-highest points-per- With Taggart serving as the primary play caller, his 2013-16 USF Head Coach game average among FBS head coaches behind only offense broke 33 program records in 2016, including 2017 Oregon Head Coach Mike Gundy, Kliff Kingsbury and Urban Meyer. scoring, total touchdowns, total yards, rushing 2018 Florida State Head Coach yards, yards per play, yards per rush and points per In 2017, Oregon ranked in the top 30 in the NCAA game. Quarterback Quinton Flowers was named the HEAD COACHING CAREER in 15 different statistical categories, including American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of Year Team Record Conf. boasting the 12th-best rushing offense in the the Year after becoming the first USF player to post 2010 Western Kentucky 2-10 2-6 country rushing for 251.0 yards per game and the 2,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in the 2011 Western Kentucky 7-5 7-1 18th-highest scoring offense averaging 36.0 points same season, highlighting a program-record 10 all- 2012 Western Kentucky 7-5 4-4 per game. On defense, the Ducks ranked 24th in conference selections. 2013 USF 2-10 2-6 the country in third-down defense allowing a .333 2014 USF 4-8 3-5 conversion percentage and 27th in fourth-down His first head coaching job was one of the most 2015 USF 8-5 6-2 defense at .417. The defense had one of the best difficult reclamation projects in the country, taking 2016 USF 10-2 7-1 performances of the season against Arizona’s over his alma mater that had lost 20 games in a 2017 Oregon 7-5 4-5 Khalil Tate, who ranked seventh in the NCAA with an row. He quickly led Western Kentucky to its first two 2018 Florida State 0-1 0-1 average of 128.3 rushing yards per game, holding winning seasons since transitioning from FCS to FBS 9 seasons 4 schools 47-51 35-31 him to only 32 yards rushing in a 48-28 victory. and in 2012 saw the program reach its first bowl game. The Hilltoppers had a 12-2 stretch from Oct. POSTSEASON Showcased by Taggart’s Gulf Coast Offense, running 2011 through Oct. 2012 with their only two losses Year Team Bowl/Playoffs back Royce Freeman rushed for 1,475 yards and coming to No.1-ranked LSU and top-ranked Alabama. 2000 Western Kentucky NCAA I-AA First Round ranked 10th in the country with an average of 122.9 2001 Western Kentucky NCAA I-AA Quarterfinals rushing yards per game in 2017. His rushing total Taggart transitioned to coaching after starting 2002 Western Kentucky NCAA I-AA Champions allowed him to break the program record for career as Western Kentucky's quarterback all four years 2003 Western Kentucky NCAA I-AA First Round rushing yards with 5,621 yards, the sixth-highest and breaking 11 school records, highlighted by his 2009 Stanford Sun total in NCAA history. Freeman was a third-round 47 rushing touchdowns, and left school holding 2012 Western Kentucky Little Caesars draft pick by the Denver Broncos in the 2018 NFL the NCAA Division I record for rushing yards by a 2015 USF Miami Beach Draft and led a group of four former Taggart pupils quarterback.