FSU's Willie Taggart Cites Dehydration as Possible Factor in Loss to Boise State

Florida State Seminoles head coach Willie Taggart believes his team's 36-31 loss to the Boise State Broncos on Saturday may have been in part due to the players' poor hydration.

Taggart said Monday on WTXL's The Willie Taggart Talk Show that the Seminoles need to make hydration a priority moving forward (h/t ESPN's Adam Rittenberg):

"They need to start hydrating early in the week and take care of their bodies. We can't leave it up to our players just to do it. We've got to force them to hydrate and take care of themselves. Again, I don't know if we did a good job of that last weekend. One of those situations where you live and learn, and we'll make sure that we help our guys when it comes to that."

The Seminoles led by as many as 18 points, holding a 31-13 lead late in the first half. However, the Broncos scored 23 unanswered points, including 17 in the final 17 minutes and 50 seconds, to stun the home crowd.

Boise State had a decisive edge in time of possession, holding the ball for more than 40 minutes. The Seminoles defense was on the field for a whopping 108 snaps and surrendered 621 yards.

Combined with Florida's August heat, that was a recipe for disaster. Several Seminoles players dealt with cramps during the contest.

Speaking with the media Monday, Florida State center Baveon Johnson questioned his team's preparation: "Conditioning wasn't our strong suit. That's what we plan to work. We plan to improve this week. No, we weren't prepared. I wasn't prepared, we all weren't prepared. We need to get better...I feel like it was just conditioning overall. That's what we need to get better at."

Florida State is in its second season under Taggart. It went 5-7 in Year 1, missing out on a bowl game for the first time since 1981.

The Seminoles will look to address potential hydration and conditioning concerns before they host UL Monroe on Saturday.