ESPN's Paul Finebaum Praises Florida State Following Dominant Victory Against LSU
It's only been a couple of days since Florida State traveled to Orlando and threw a highly-regarded LSU Tigers team into the woodchipper. After luring the Tigers into a false sense of hope, the Seminoles came out swinging in the second half, going on a 31-0 run en route to a 45-24 victory.
To say the least, head coach Mike Norvell and FSU took advantage of their opportunity on the national stage. The game peaked at over ten million viewers and has the Seminoles drawing respect from media across the country.
READ MORE: Mike Norvell Responds To Brian Kelly's Message Following Florida State's Beatdown of LSU
SEC talking head and ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum is reeling after a difficult opening week for the conference. The Tigers were run over by the Seminoles while Florida was handled on the road against Utah and South Carolina was beaten up by North Carolina.
Coming out of Week 1, Finebaum said his biggest takeaway was what he saw from Florida State on Sunday night.
"I was so impressed with Florida State. Jordan Travis was a legitimate Heisman contender, we didn't have enough of those did we?" Finebaum stated on ESPN on Tuesday. "And what they did to LSU, this is not just a random LSU team from the SEC. This is a team many had going to the playoffs, if not the national championship."
"That's how good LSU was projected to be," Finebaum continued. "They were just out-physicaled, they were beaten at the line of scrimmage on both sides, and at times they looked absolutely clueless offensively and defensively and that's to the credit of Mike Norvell's team."
Seminole fans may not be used to seeing Finebaum praise the program. As long as Florida State keeps taking business week to week, there will be plenty of attention and eyes focused on what's going on in Tallahassee.
Florida State has climbed to the No. 4 program in the country with a long season ahead of them. Heisman contender and star quarterback Jordan Travis completed 23/31 passes for 342 yards with four touchdowns to one interception while rushing for a score against the Tigers.
The Seminoles return to action on Saturday, September 9, at 8:30 p.m. in their home opener against Southern Miss. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.
Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State football throughout the 2023 season