It's not black or white, and I don't understand people who are insisting that it has to be.

On one hand, Hurts' stats aren't great (less than 100 yards passing? Really?). He had one bad overthrow. It was obvious FSU wasn't too worried about his ability to hit the deep ball. And there was at least one occasion he should have read the blitz and checked into a hot read.

On the other hand, he was under serious pressure all night long. At least three of his incompletions came when he was throwing the ball away rather than take a sack. Despite what some are asserting, he definitely kept his eyes downfield while scrambling on at least one occasion -- the two-point conversion. And, as has been pointed out, he didn't turn the ball over. Francois did -- twice -- and I think that was a significant reason we won the game. Hurts threw two beautiful deep passes -- the touchdown to Ridley (in stride), and the just-missed touchdown pass in the corner.

I'm confused by the playcalling in general, specifically the lack of screens or passes to the tight ends. Maybe there was a reason we didn't use those plays, but it sure seemed like they would have helped with the pass rush.

There are obviously those who think Hurts is outstanding, as well as those who think he's never going to be a true dual-threat QB. I think it's ridiculous at this point to make assertions one way or the other. We opened with what may be the best defensive team outside our state, with a new offensive coordinator (the third one in the last three games, incidentally). I don't think the sample size for 2017 games is large enough to make any sort of statement -- especially given the level of competition.

This post was edited on 9/5/17 at 5:11 pm