TALLAHASSEE, Fl. -- Before a weather delay that lasted over an hour, it appeared Florida State was giving the 17,000-plus fans allowed into Doak Campbell Stadium a reason for optimism again.

Florida State had won a national championship not too long ago in 2013 and, as recently as four years ago, was considered one of the very best programs in the sport.

A program that hadn’t won fewer than nine games since Bobby Bowden’s final season in 2009 inexplicably failed to win more than seven games in each of the last three seasons.

Insert Mike Norvell, who was hired away from Memphis back in December, to replace Willie Taggart after Florida State finished with two consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1975-76.

The early returns looked promising.

On Georgia Tech’s first drive of the game, redshirt freshman quarterback Jeff Sims rolled out to the right and uncorked a deep ball down the right sideline. The pass was telegraphed and underthrown, and All-ACC cornerback, Asante Samuel Jr., came up with a big early interception and returned it 38 yards to the Florida State 48-yard line.

Out came the Seminoles offense, which needed just two minutes and seven plays to find the end zone. An offensive line that had been dreadful the past several seasons looked better and junior quarterback James Blackman was sharp.

But then came the weather delay, and everything after that was all too familiar for Florida State fans.

Blackman continued to struggle with his decision-making and to throw the ball down the field. He completed just 3-of-17 passes thrown at least 10 yards downfield.

The offensive line again looked overwhelmed, especially after a couple of injuries to starters, and a defense loaded with NFL talent missed 12 tackles and failed to make the key stops.

Georgia Tech, which was coming off a 3-9 season and was picked to finish last in the ACC this year, outscored the Seminoles 16-6 the rest of the way. Florida State lost its fourth consecutive opening weekend game, which hasn’t happened since 1973-76.

As bad as it looked, there were at least some encouraging signs. Norvell was never going to come in and instantly change everything, especially with almost no spring practice because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Building Florida State back up to national prominence is going to be a multi-year process.

Here are a few observations from Saturday’s game:

Asante Samuel Jr. takes another step forward

Samuel was one of the lone bright spots of the day for the Seminoles. After being named to Third-Team All-ACC last season in his first year as a full-time starter, he took another step forward with two interceptions Saturday.

In fairness, the second one was thrown right to him as a result of a freshman quarterback trying to force the ball with pressure in his face.

However, Samuel always seems to be around the ball. He finished with just one interception in 2019 but also had 15 passes defended, good for second in the ACC.

In addition to the two interceptions, he had two more pass breakups as well.

It was a standout performance for Samuel while FSU’s other starting corner, Jarrian Jones, was targeted only three times by Georgia Tech but was beaten twice for 34 yards including a touchdown.

Samuel anticipates routes as well as any defensive back in the country and has great closing speed in zone coverage once the ball is in the air.

The son of a former All-NFL cornerback, Samuel is a bit undersized at 5-foot-10, but he will likely be one of the first cornerbacks drafted in 2021.

Immediate special teams improvement

If there is one area that Florida State looked significantly improved since last season, it was special teams.

Norvell has a strong track record of special teams success after his teams finished inside the top-five in special teams efficiency in two of his four years at Memphis.

The Seminoles blocked three kicks Saturday, two of them on field goals coming from 2019 First-Team All-ACC defensive tackle, Marvin Wilson. Wilson's two blocked field goals tied an FSU single-game program record.

The third block was by wide receiver, Warren Thompson, on a PAT to keep the game tied at 13-13 early in the fourth quarter.

Florida State’s kickoff coverage on four Georgia Tech returns was also very solid. The Seminoles held Georgia Tech to 15 yards per kickoff return, which was 11^th best among FBS teams over the weekend.

Florida State got some nice production out of Travis Jay in its return game too, ranking sixth and seventh best among FBS teams, respectively, in kickoff return and punt return yardage last weekend.

Granted, it was a small sample size with Jay returning just one punt on the afternoon (15 yards) and three kickoffs, but two of his three kickoff returns went for 31 yards each.

Also, freshman punter Alex Mastromanno was effective, averaging 48.3 yards per punt on three attempts in his debut against the Yellow Jackets. Another small sample size, but that number ranks second among all FBS punters. 

Finally, junior kicker Parker Grothaus knocked in a 53-yard field goal with just over a minute left in the third quarter. It was the first time a Florida State kicker made a field goal that long since Roberto Aguayo connected from 53 yards at Miami in 2014.

All of these were encouraging signs in Norvell’s first game after Florida State ranked just 75^th and 87^th in special teams efficiency in each of the last two years.

Familiar face returns

Georgia Tech quarterback Jeff Sims quietly had a remarkable game in his first career start.

He had 341 total yards (277 passing, 64 rushing), which was the fourth-most by a Yellow Jackets quarterback in the last decade.

He was 4-of-4 with 49 yards and the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. On third downs, he was 5-of-6 for 48 yards and ran for three more first downs. Furthermore, he was 6-of-8 with 67 yards and a touchdown against the blitz.

What’s ironic is Sims was a Florida State commit back when Taggart was still the coach. However, when Taggart was fired and Norvell’s staff came in, they decided to go in a different direction.

Norvell instead signed Tate Rodemaker out of Valdosta, Ga. and flipped Gilbert, Ariz., quarterback Chubba Purdy from Louisville.

Sims signed with Georgia Tech and won a four-way competition to lead an offense still transitioning to a more modern spread offense after running the triple option for years under former coach Paul Johnson.

Sims on Saturday opened the 2020 season at Doak Campbell Stadium, exactly what he’d expected to do for most of last year. Only he was wearing a different uniform.

After throwing two first-half interceptions, he started to look way less like a freshman making his first start and turned in an excellent performance against a Florida State defense loaded with NFL talent.

Offensive line still a major problem

Offensive line play has arguably been Florida State’s most glaring weakness since the end of the Jimbo Fisher era. Saturday was no different.

According to Sports Info Solutions, Florida State quarterbacks have been pressured on 40.3% of all dropbacks since 2017. Only 10 FBS schools allowed a higher percentage.

Five of them run the triple option and one is now an FCS team (Idaho).

The five Florida State starters held their own early on, but once sophomore left guard Dontae Lucas left the game with an injury late in the first half, the unit began to unravel.

Florida State averaged 5.0 yards per play in the first half and just 2.9 yards per play in the second. Norvell said after the game the offensive line is arguably the Seminoles’ thinnest position group, and the lack of competent offensive linemen beyond the starting five was evident.

Lucas returned later, but he was one of four Florida State offensive line starters who would miss time in the second half. Only senior right guard Baveon Johnson, who moved to center for a stretch when redshirt freshman Maurice Smith left the game, played the whole game.

When Florida State had to dip into its offensive line depth, the offense started to look analogous to Fisher’s final year and the last two years under Willie Taggart.

Blackman had pressure on him seemingly every time he dropped back to pass in the second half. He finished the game under pressure on 24 of his 52 dropbacks.

However, Blackman didn't do much to help his struggling offensive line out, completing only 8-of-17 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown when pressured.

Further, Florida State’s offensive line could not open any lanes for its two primary running backs, La'Damian Webb and Jashaun Corbin. Those two combined to average just 3.0 yards per carry on 19 attempts.

Florida State’s running game was so impotent in the second half, they inserted backup quarterback Jordan Travis to provide a spark.

It worked for a few plays, but Georgia Tech then smartly offset the numbers advantage Travis created as a runner by adding another defender in the box because of Travis’ limitations as a passer.

When Blackman re-entered for Travis, he was greeted with an onslaught of boos from the Florida State fans.

Perhaps, the costliest play of the day was a false start by left guard Brady Scott on 4th-and-3 from the Georgia Tech 33-yard line, which led to a turnover on downs the next play.

Then on Florida State’s final possession, trailing 16-13, Blackman was hit as he threw on 4th-and-2, and his pass intended for Terry came up short to seal the deal.

Blackman struggled Saturday, but he is still Florida State’s best chance to win this year.

Believe it or not, only three quarterbacks last season threw for more touchdowns with pressure, to Sports Info Solutions. Those three were Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts and Trevor Lawrence.

It’s unrealistic to think that the Seminoles will last the entire year without one of their starting five offensive linemen going unscathed. They will need to find a couple more options so the offense doesn’t implode when a starter has to miss time.