Oklahoma Sooners Dismantle Florida State: Defensive Woes Continue For 'Noles

Simply put, the Florida State Seminoles never even left Tallahassee. For all we know, the players that took the field at Norman on Saturday were posers in the players' uniforms. Oklahoma absolutely embarrassed Florida State showing the country that Florida State is still very far from away from entering the national spotlight again.

Does this mean the season is over? No. Does this mean Florida State can't have a successful season? Of course not. What this loss means is that with a new stable of coaches, including a new leader at the helm in Jimbo Fisher, this team is at least two years away from buying into the new systems and the new defensive schemes.

Oklahoma gave the 'Noles a beating that started from the first drive and ended towards the end of the fourth quarter when they finally called the dogs off.

Quarterback Landry Jones completed 30 of 40 passes for 380 yards and four touchdowns. Pretty good statistics for the supposed "weak link" of the offense. His performance brought back nightmares of the Florida State defense a year ago that got passed all over in nearly every game.

Bottom line, the secondary just isn't good. Greg Reid was supposed to have a breakout season, along with redshirt freshman Xavier Rhodes, but neither corner could cover a single Oklahoma receiver and was thus left embarrassed and looking silly. The safeties didn't help much either and while we're at, let's just throw every single defensive starter into the bucket of waste.

The defense came out stale and at most times in the game looked confused and bewildered by the onslaught that Oklahoma was putting on them.

Offensively, Florida State wasn't as advertised. Heisman hopeful Christian Ponder completed 11 of 28 passes for a measly 113 yards and two interceptions. Not exactly Heisman-like numbers, but aside from the numbers, his leadership was non-existent. The offensive line couldn't contain the front seven of the Sooners and the explosive offense looked like a dud firecracker that never went off.

So it's back to the drawing board for head coach Jimbo Fisher. How can he bounce back from such a devastating loss? It's simple: the players need to buy into the system. We've been hearing all summer long of how the players are starting to jell and that the true freshmen that they brought in look like veterans. The youth and inexperience was exposed so FSU will need to find ways to win with these young players.

The offense should and will be able to bounce back, but the defense took quite a blow to the self-esteem. If they can come back the rest of the season with a chip on their shoulders, then the season won't result in what Saturday displayed; a total failure.