Projected Starters

Offense: QB Ashton Daniels; RB Ousmane Kromah; TE Landen Thomas; WR Duce Robinson, Micahi Danzy, and Jayvan Boggs; LT Xavier Chaplin; LG Andre Otto; C Bradyn Welch-Joiner; RG Nate Pabst; RT Chimdia Nwaiwu.

Defense: DE Mandrell Desir and Darryll Desir; DT Daniel Lyons and Kevin Wynn; LB Chris Jones, Caleb LaVallee, and Ryland Kennedy; CB Ja’Bril Rawls and Quindarrius Jones; S Ashlynd Barker, KJ Kirkland, and Ma’Khi Jones.

P Daniel Hughes K Gabe Panikowski

Florida State offense versus New Mexico State defense

The offense will be led by quarterback Ashton Daniels (transfer from Auburn via Stanford). The dual threat QB has amassed 4,783 yards passing with 24 touchdowns and 1,400 on the ground to go with 11 touchdowns in his career. Daniels needs to work on reducing his turnovers and sacks taken but played well in his last two games against Vanderbilt and Alabama with only one turnover and 3 sacks taken.

The run game should be the focal point of the offense with three talented backs, Ousmane Kromah, Quintrevion Wisner and Sam Singleton. The huge offensive line should help the running back trio but we’ll see if they are quick and athletic enough to be effective at pass protection. If the ground game gets going it will give preseason all American receivers Duce Robinson more one on one coverage. The depth at the pass catching positions is thin so the freshmen, Jasen Lopez, Tae’Shaun Gelsey and Chase Loftin need to step up when the starters go out.

Players to watch for on the New Mexico State defense are defensive end Gabe Peterson and linebacker Sone Aupui. Both players were selected to the Conference USA preseason team. The Aggies defense gave up 415 yards per game last season (105^th in the FBS) but forced 24 turnovers.

Florida State defense versus New Mexico State offense

NMSU looks to improve their offense from last year with a new quarterback, running backs and a whole new offensive line. The new QB is Furman transfer, Trey Hedden, who has thrown for 4700 yards, 30 touchdown and 22 interceptions in 2 seasons. The Aggies best player is receiver TK King who had 41 catches for 588 yards in only 8 games.  New Mexico State was dead last in yards per carry last year and I think that trend continues against the Florida State defense

Special Teams

Both teams have new starters at the kicking positions so I feel like it’s even there. FSU has the advantage in the return game with Sam Singleton returning kicks.

Prediction

I think the defense smothers the revamped NM State and the offensive line dominates the trenches giving the running back plenty of room to make plays.

Florida State 38 New Mexico State 6

On this Thanksgiving Saturday at noon the Seminoles will host the rival Gators on ABC in Doak.

The Florida Gators are 8-3 and ranked 11th in the College Football Playoff poll. Their 8 wins have come against Charleston Southern, Colorado State, Tennessee, Mississippi State, LSU, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Idaho. Their 3 losses have come against Kentucky, Georgia and Missouri. Florida is 3-0 on the road this season.

Last year the Seminoles took advantage of four Gator turnovers to help fuel a 38-22 victory in the Swamp.

The last time the Seminoles played UF at home was two years ago when the defense sacked Austin Allenby six times helping the home team secure the 31-13 win.

The last time Florida defeated FSU was in Doak Campbell Stadium in 2012. EJ Manual threw 3 interceptions in the 37-26 defeat.

Observations from the Boston College game

Inserting Leonard Warner into the starting lineup and moving Dontavious Jackson to outside linebacker seemed to help defend Boston College’s great running attack. Coverage of the opposing tight end was a little shaky as Tommy Sweeney was open quite a few times.

Walt Bell continues to give the opposing defenses different looks and is helping create holes for Cam Akers and Jacques Patrick.

Deondre Francois was very erratic for the first three quarters throwing two interceptions. Some of his misfires were throwaways deep downfield to avoid the sack.

The offensive line played better against the power pass rushers from Boston College and we will see how they do against the speed guys of Florida. Brady Scott came in for Jauan Williams in the second half and that move helped get the offense going. Florida State scored on three out of the five possessions that Scott was in the game.

Florida State offense versus Florida defense

The Seminoles once again go up against a great pass rush. Going up against the pass rushers from Miami, Clemson, NC State, Notre Dame and Boston College have prepared the offense well for this rivalry game. Jachai Polite (8.5 sacks) and Jabari Zuniga (5.5 sacks) use their speed more than their power when trying to get to the opposing quarterback. CeCe Jefferson is also a good pass rusher but has missed a few games and is still trying to work his way back. The Florida defensive tackles are not that disruptive in terms of tackles for loss but take-up blocks that help the linebackers fill in the hole and make tackles.

The Gators top tacklers are linebackers Vosean Joseph and David Reese as well as safety/linebacker Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham likes to bring the blitz to try to create pressure just like his counterpart, Coach Barnett. This got Florida in trouble early on against South Carolina but they dial it back and started to make stops that helped them come back. I’m curious to see what he does against a struggling FSU offensive line. If the Gators are not able to get home on a blitz Tamarrion Terry, Noonie Murray and others might be able to get behind the coverage to make a big play.

The Gators secondary is young but very talented. They played well against decent quarterbacks but good quarterbacks like Drew Locke from Missouri were able to pick them part. Francois has to improve from the last game to take advantage of the young secondary.

Florida State defense versus Florida offense

The Gators like to run the ball with four different players. Running backs Jordan Scarlett and Lamical Perine split carries most of the time with Dameon Pierce getting a few here and there as well. Feleipe Franks used to be a quarterback that ran just to keep the defense honest on the read option. Lately he has been using his power on designed runs. He has scored six TDs on 84 carries this season.

This season Florida Coach Dan Mullen likes to pass the ball only necessary as the Gator offense has run the ball 121 more times than they have passed the ball. Franks has struggled with his accuracy against good defenses but does possess a very strong arm. Expect Florida to try to test the FSU safeties, Hamsah Nasirildeen and AJ Westbrook, deep in the middle of the field. Hopefully cornerback Lavonta Taylor (2 interceptions against Florida last year) will most likely be back for this matchup so that Stanford Samuels can move back to safety. Samuels really hit his stride at corner last week so it will be interesting to see what Harlan Barnett wants to do with him.

Franks has done a good job spreading the ball around to different receivers. Five Florida receivers have more than 18 catches. Van Jefferson has been his favorite target with 27 catches for 347 yards and five TDs. Quick receivers Kedarius Toney and Josh Hammond are targeted for short passes while Tyrie Cleveland and Trevon Grimes are red zone threats. Florida tight ends have only accounted for 10 catches which is good news for FSU because the Seminoles have had trouble with this position the past couple weeks. Florida State will go up against an experienced and big offensive line once again. Every starter on the Florida line has been in the program for at least 3 years. Marvin Wilson, Demarcus Christmas and Brian Burns will need to take up blocks so that Warner and Jackson can get to the ball carriers easier.

Special teams

Florida has the advantage in the kicking and punting game. Gator kicker Evan McPherson has only missed two kicks on the year and his long is 48 yards. Florida punter Tommy Townsend is tied for 26th in the FBS in yards per punt at 44. Ricky Agauyo had a good game last week and hopefully that confidence will carry in to this week. Logan Tyler has continued his steady pumping. Both teams possess an electrifying return man but I think DJ Matthews has the edge due to his experience.

Prediction

Florida State is still last in the FBS and penalties per game, however Florida is sixth to last in the same category. Both teams like to take the ball away but are also prone to giving it up. So whoever makes the least amount of poor decisions and undisciplined plays will have quite the upper hand. Against Boston College the Seminoles were able to have a decent start but were still down 7-6 going to halftime. (Still a great improvement from 17-0). The ‘Noles have to get out to another start like that to give themselves a chance.

Yes there are several streaks on the line for this Seminole squad putting a lot of pressure on this game but there’s also plenty of pressure for Florida. The Gators are trying to end a five-game losing streak to their rival, put their name in the hat for a New Year’s Six bowl game and of course they are trying to end all of the streaks for the Seminoles.

Due to FSU’s experience with dealing with talented pass rushers it won’t affect the home team as much as the Gators are hoping. With the new lineup in the linebacking corps I think the Seminoles will be able to deal with the Gators 4-headed rushing attack (Franks, Scarlett, Perine and Pierce).

Florida State will play just good enough to start to keep them in it but with a big second half they will take the lead. With the Seminoles clinging to a 3-point lead in the final minutes the Gators will attempt a game-tying field goal. With every FSU knowing it will go through the Seminoles will block it sending Doak into a frenzy and to a 30-27 victory.

On Saturday at 3:30 on ESPN2 the Seminoles will take on the Boston College Eagles.

The 7-3 Eagles come in ranked no. 20 in the college football playoff poll. Their seven wins were against Massachusetts, Holy Cross, Wake Forest, Temple, Louisville, Miami and Virginia Tech. Their three losses have come against Purdue, NC State and Clemson.

The last time the Seminoles played BC in Campbell Stadium was on Veterans and two years ago. The Eagles could not do anything through the air which helped Florida State stifle their offense and when 45-7.

 Last year on a Friday night FSU went to Chestnut Hill and got crushed 35-3.

 Observations from the Notre Dame game

The amount of penalties got better, but the turnovers, missed assignments and dropped passes were too much to overcome. While I thought James Blackman should have started Francois actually played pretty well sans a couple bad throws and decisions. With Walt Bell calling the plays the offense has found a little momentum and a run game. This of course happened right as the defense has hit a wall.

Florida State offense versus Boston College defense

Every starter on the Boston College defense has been in the program for 3+ years.  This experience helps make up for the lack of speed. Pass rushers Zach Allen and Wyatt Ray make the most headlines on this side of the ball.  After a big season by Zach Allen last year, opposing teams have been trying to slow him down with double teams and chipping on him. Because of this, Wyatt Ray sometimes goes up against a single blocker allowing him to gather up nine sacks, which is tied with Brian Burns and Syracuse’s Alton Robinson for the ACC lead. Zach Allen has still been able to record six sacks but is on his own creating a very formidable pass rush for the Eagles. Both are big defensive ends which allows them helps them be able to get in on the rushing attack. This constant pressure has forced opposing quarterbacks to throw 15 interceptions (4th in the FBS). Taj-Amir Torres has two interceptions and Hamp Cheevers, who leads the FBS, has six.

Boston College has made a lot of game changing plays with all of the sacks and interceptions but they are still susceptible to giving up yards and points. So a big thing to watch on this side of the ball will be if the Seminoles can hang on to the football. This will be tough as Boston College ranks 7th in the FBS in turnover margin at +1.0 per game. Florida State ranks 3rd to last in the FBS in turnover margin at -1.3 per game.

Due to BC’s lack of size at the corner position, I expect Walt Bell and Francois to target big receivers like Tamarrion Terry and Keith Gavin in this game. Look for FSU to use jet sweeps to Noonie Murray and DJ Matthews to try to beat BC linebackers to the edge as well.

Florida State defense versus Boston College offense

Probably the most important stat about the Eagles offense is that they have 215 more rushing attempts than passing attempts. With that being said, the biggest question going into this game is the health of quarterback Anthony Brown, who was injured in the first quarter of the Clemson game last weekend. Even though Brown does not throw the ball very much he still has 16 TDs. The most reliable receiver is tight end Tommy Sweeney. He leads the team with 26 receptions. Wide receivers Kobay White and Jeff Smith are the deep targets for the Eagle’s offense with both averaging over 14 yards a catch.

Last but not least, is sophomore sensation AJ Dillon. Since he was inserted into the lineup midway through his freshman season he has led the FBS in rushing yards per game with 146. Last year he went just over that average against the Seminoles rushing for 149 yards. Running behind a mammoth and very experienced offensive line has definitely attributed to Dillon’s success, as 4 of the 5 linemen are seniors. To help counter this run heavy offense Florida State has moved Dontavious Jackson to outside linebacker and has moved Leonard Warner to the starting middle linebacker position. This lineup seemed to have helped a little bit in the second half of the Notre Dame game. I also expect run stuffing freshman Robert Cooper to get more snaps at defensive tackle.

The Seminole secondary received good news as starting corner Lavonta Taylor could be available for the first time since the first quarter of the Clemson game. If Taylor is able to take on a BC receiver by himself that will free up a safety to help stop the rushing attack.

Special teams

Colton Lichtenberg is 5/6 on the season and his career long is 40 yards. It is safe to say that Lichtenberg is very shaky and even though Ricky Agauyo has struggled this season he is the better kicker in this matchup.

The Eagles freshman punter Grady Carlson has shown improvement over the season but is still not on Logan Tyler’s level. FSU has the advantage at both kicking positions. The punt returner for both schools, Michael Walker for BC and DJ Matthews, are in the top 12 in the FBS in return yards per attempt.

Prediction

Boston College has had a solid year but, when the opposing team is able to hang onto the ball they have had trouble stopping people. Once they get an early lead they like to run AJ Dillon and use the play action pass on offense. When the opposing team is forced to pass, BC lets their talented pass rushers go to work. FSU has fallen behind 10-0 in 4 straight games and 17-0 in 3 straight.  So undoubtedly the biggest key for FSU is to start fast and get Boston College to do things that they are not comfortable with.

I think Florida State will finally get out to a good start and battle with the Eagles until the end of the team game. I will say FSU wins 28-26 stopping a Boston College two-point try in the final minutes to get to 5-6. If this happens, next week’s game against Florida becomes that much more important for this team and the program.

On Saturday the Seminoles will head to South Bend, Indiana to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 730 on ABC. The game time temperature is projected to be around 25°.

The Fighting Irish are undefeated at 9-0 on the season. Their wins have come against Michigan, Ball State, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Navy and Northwestern.

The last meeting between Florida State and Notre Dame was in 2014 in Tallahassee. Florida State won the game 31-27 to extend its perfect season. In the final moments of this game Notre Dame thought they had taken the lead but offensive pass interference was called against the Irish. Notre Dame failed to convert on 4th and goal from the 18 to give the Seminoles the ball back.

The last time Notre Dame won a game in the series was in 2002.

Observations from the North Carolina State game

Offensive coordinator Walt Bell called the plays for the first time this season. I thought he did a fairly good job and I guess coach Taggart did too, because he announced earlier this week that Bell will continue to call the plays for the rest of the year.

James Blackman started off slowly but he ended up passing for over 400 yards and 4 TDs, which was good enough to give him the ACC quarterback of the week award. Taggart has still not declared who will start at quarterback at Notre Dame, but with last week’s showing I think all signs point to Blackman starting again.

The rushing attack continues to struggle as the Seminoles only managed 45 yards rushing from running backs.

Starting cornerback Lavonta Taylor was sorely missed. Starting safety Stanford Samuels had to replace him and the pass defense suffered committing 4 pass interference penalties.

Florida State offense versus Notre Dame defense

Notre Dame has solid and experienced players littered throughout the defense. Playmakers that stand out the most at each level of the defense are cornerback Julian love in the secondary, linebacker Te’von Coney and defensive tackle Jerry Tillery. Love is 5th in the FBS with 12 pass breakups. Tillery is a pass-rushing machine from the defensive tackles spot. He is 18th in the country in sacks at seven and is tied for seventh in forced fumbles with three. Coney is a stat stuffer at linebacker who leads the team in tackles at the 80. He also has three sacks, three pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery. Drue Tranquill, Notre Dame’s other playmaking linebacker, is questionable for the matchup. In previous games he has played in passing downs situations only. All signs point to that happening again.

The Irish defense has not made a whole lot of tackles for loss in the running game this season. If that continues to be an issue, FSU might be able to stay in manageable second down and third down situations. James Blackman and the Seminole offense played well in the Independence Bowl in last year’s finale. Hopefully the solid play in the cold will continue this weekend. Blackman and the rest of the offense will try to push the ball down the field to big play receivers to Tamarrion Terry and DJ Matthews. If Florida State is able to get this going, it might be able to open some running lanes for the read option later in the game.

Florida State defense versus Notre Dame offense

Irish quarterback Ian Book leads the nation in completion percentage at 75%, but reports are that Book may not play due to a rib injury. This means Devin Wimbush would be the starter at quarterback. Notre Dame was still a run heavy team with over 100 more rushing attempts than passing attempts even with Book’s success. Bush was only able to throw for 500 yards and a TD with 4 interceptions in his three starts.

Dexter Williams is the team’s leading rusher with 568 yards and 8 TDs. Tony Jones Jr and Jafar Armstrong are other options for the Irish at running back. Wimbush is also a threat to run with 52 carries on the year. When they do throw it they like to spread it around to receivers Miles Boykin, Chase Claypool, and Chris Finke and tight end Alize Mack.  Notre Dame’s offensive line is experienced on the right side and talented, but young on the left. Brian Burns, Janarius Robinson and other Florida State pass rushers will need to get back to creating havoc in the backfield once again.  North Carolina State and Clemson have the best offensive lines the ‘Noles will see, so I expect them to have a little bit more success this week.

Pittsburgh, who gave up only 19 points to the Irish, runs a similar defense to the one that Harlan Barnett uses at Florida State. (Pittsburgh’s head coach Pat Narduzzi and Harlan Barnett both coached under Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio). This will help the defense recognize what Wimbush and the Irish are trying to do to them.

The past two weeks FSU has faced the best quarterbacks it will see all season and this forced the secondary to play more on its heels instead of bearing down on the run. This made more holes available to opposing running backs making life on the defense very difficult. This was supposed to be the case this week as well, but due to Wimbush being less accurate the Seminole defensive backs will be able to take more chances. Without Lavonta Taylor being in the lineup for the Seminoles the Irish receivers should have an easier time getting separation. Freshman Asante Samuel and converted safety Stanford Samuels will need to showcase their talent to help get the ‘Noles a chance.

Special teams

After playing well against Miami and Wake Forest the special teams have been abysmal the past two weeks. Almost every time there has been a return there has also been a penalty, forcing the offense to start with terrible field position. Keeping the mistakes to a minimum on special teams could help the garnet and gold immensely. I will take Justin Yoon, Notre Dame’s kicker, over Ricky Agauyo in this game due to experience in the bad weather. We will have to see how the weather affects Logan Tyler, but I think he will continue his improvement. Notre Dame punter Tyler Newsome is averaging 45 yards per punt, which is 2 yards better than Tyler. The Irish definitely have the edge on special teams.

Prediction

The biggest key to this game will be discipline, with the emphasis on penalties. Over the last two games Florida State has had 32 penalties for 255 yards. Due to these numbers, FSU has dropped to dead last in the FBS with 9.9 penalties per game. Notre Dame is averaging the 16th least amount of penalties per game at 4.7.

When looking at the stats there isn’t one thing that Notre Dame does that stands out. With that being said, they do everything well. They are around 30th in the country in yards passing, yards rushing, passing yards allowed and rushing yards allowed. The passing attack was able to catch up to the running game with the emergence of quarterback Ian book. Through the first three games with Devin Wimbush, Notre Dame was 99th in scoring offense and in the eight games that Ian Book started the Fighting Irish offense moved to number 27. With their ability to avoid mistakes, Notre Dame makes the opponents beat themselves. Most offenses have to take the ball the length of the field to score against ND, which helps make the Irish 17th in the FBS in points allowed at 19.3 per game.

I think the injury to Book will make a difference in the final score, but I do not think it will affect the outcome. I believe the Fighting Irish will extend its perfect record to 10-0 by knocking off the Seminoles 38-21.

This Saturday FSU will travel to Raleigh to take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack at 3:30 on ABC.

NC State is 5-2 on the season and 2-2 in the ACC. The Wolfpack started off 5-0 with wins over James Madison, Georgia State, Marshall, Virginia and Boston College. They have since lost 2 in a row to Clemson and Syracuse.

Carter-Finley Stadium has been a house of horrors for Florida State in the past, but the ‘Noles did manage to win the last meeting there in 2016. Dalvin Cook and Francois led a come back to give the Seminoles a 24-20 victory.

Last year in James Blackman’s first start of his career the Seminoles fell to North Carolina State 27-21. Despite going up against a talented defensive line Blackman 278 yards in the loss.

Observations on the last game

Penalties, turnovers, missed blocks, bad snaps, dropped passes, ejections, bad tackling, errant throws and quitting. I think I got it all. If the Seminoles play like this against any team it still would have been a blowout, but when they play like this against a good team it will end up in a blowout of historic proportions.

James Blackman and Keyshawn Helton looked pretty good in mop up time in the fourth quarter.

Florida State offense versus North Carolina State defense

Francois is dealing with an injury and is considered day-to-day. If he is unable to go James Blackman will get his first start of the year. A different voice on the field with the offense may provide a spark to an offense that has struggled for most of the season.

Going up against Clemson’s 4th-ranked rushing defense did not go very well for the Seminoles and North Carolina State is ranked 5th in rushing defense. So running the ball will most likely not get any easier. NC State is 126th at stopping the pass so pushing the ball downfield will be how FSU is able to move the ball. The deep ball was very effective against the Wolfpack last year and I expect the Seminoles will try to exploit that once again. Tamarrion Terry should be targeted early and often. Florida State’s top receiver Noonie Murray will be suspended for the first half for throwing a punch in the last game. DJ Matthews and Tre’Shaun Harrison will be replacing him in the lineup. Look out for Keyshawn Helton as well.

No offensive linemen were injured last weekend but I expect changes to happen there as well.

Despite losing four players to the NFL draft, the NC State defensive line returns James Smith-Williams and Jarrell Murchison to anchor the line. Hard-hitting and all-around playmaking linebacker Germaine Pratt will be running downhill to stop the run. He leads the team in sacks with 5 ½ and tackles with 73.

Florida State defense versus North on State North Carolina State offense

Ryan Finley is NC State’s quarterback and he is the most polished pocket passer the Seminoles have faced all season. He has thrown for 2,250 yards (15th in the FBS) and 13 TDs with 6 interceptions on the year. Big receiver Kelvin Harman is Finley’s favorite target and ranks 12th in the country in receiving yards at 794. Harman has 46 receptions for 4 TDs on the season. Jakobi Myers, who has 43 catches for 416 yards, is another solid option for Finley. It was announced on Monday that senior receiver Stephen Louis would miss the rest of the season. Emeka Emezie will replace him in the starting lineup.

The Wolfpack’s offensive line features 3 seniors on the left and at center and 2 sophomores on the right side. NC State has only given up 4 sacks on the season. Only Army has given up less. Reggie Gallaspy is the featured back but only averages 3.8 yards per carry. Freshman Ricky Person spells Gallaspy from time to time.

FSU has been able to slow down good rushing games teams this year so I don’t see them having what problem much of a problem slowing NCSU’s attack down. If Brian Burns and company are unable to get to Finley they need to at least make him rush his throws to help out the young secondary against NC State’s experienced receivers. The cornerback depth may take a hit with Lavonta Taylor being sidelined with an injury. Asante Samuel Jr and AJ Lytton will need to grow up quickly for the defense to have a chance to keep the Seminoles in the game.

Special teams

Punter Logan Tyler was punted 12 times versus Clemson. Hopefully his usage comes down a lot this game. AJ Cole and Tyler both averaged 43 yards per punt. Freshman kicker Christopher Dunn has only missed three field goals on the year.

DJ Matthews was unable to get anything going against the Tigers and even fumbled a punt giving Clemson the football on the Seminole 10-yard line. Due to NC State’s kicking prowess I’ll give them the edge on special teams.

Prediction

After last week’s appalling performance it is very hard to predict how Florida State will play this weekend. I am usually optimistic so I will take the side that they will learn from last week and play hard. Hopefully they play with more discipline as well. With that being said, North Carolina State has lost 2 in a row on the road and I expect them to come out playing inspired on their home field. The Seminole defense will play like we have seen them play for most of the season to keep the ‘Noles in the game. I don’t think offense will get enough going in the first half to keep the defense out of bad situations. I think the Seminoles will play much better but will come up short falling to the Wolfpack 31-20.

On Saturday at noon the Seminoles will take on the Clemson Tigers on ABC.

Clemson is number two in the AP poll and are leading the ACC Atlantic. They are undefeated at 7-0 with victories over Furman, Texas A&M, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Wake Forest and North Carolina State.

Clemson won the game last year 31-14. FSU was down by three with six minutes to go on the Clemson side of the field but James Blackman was intercepted cutting the Seminoles rally just short. While running the clock out Clemson scored two rushing touchdowns.

The last time Florida State beat Clemson was in Doak Campbell Stadium during the 2014 season. That was the game that Sean Maguire filled in for the suspended James Winston. Running back Karlos Williams scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime to give the Seminoles the 23-17 victory. Clemson has since reeled off three straight wins in the series.

Observations from the wake forest game

Francois looked healthy and rejuvenated. He still missed a couple throws and is still learning the offense but continued to get better in the new system. The throw he made to Tamarrion Terry on the touchdown that was called back in the second quarter was the best release made he has made all season.

Joshua Kaindoh was ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter and will miss the first half of the Clemson the game.

Wake Forest ran 104 plays on Saturday. It was impressive to me to see the adjustments made on the defensive side to make the Demon Deacon offense come to almost a complete stop. The conditioning of the team was evident, as they only got stronger as the game went on even as the plays were piling up.

The rushing attack is still trying to find its footing, but when Akers and Patrick carried the ball on first down and on non-obvious rushing downs the offensive line was able to get the backs some holes.

Florida State offense versus Clemson defense

The matchup that will be talked about all week will be the offensive line versus the super talented Clemson defensive line. Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant are the starting ends. Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence are the starting defensive tackles. Wilkins, Lawrence and Ferrell are expected to go in the first round of the NFL draft. This is bad news for the FSU offensive line, they are still trying to find the right line up. The lineup from the Wake Forest game will be used for the second game in a row. They did a decent job last Saturday but an injury to one of the tackles, Derrick Kelly or Brady Scott, will make it an even longer day for Francois.

The Clemson linebackers are solid tacklers and are experienced enough to not make very many mistakes. The secondary for the Tigers has had some growing pains this season and for FSU to have success it will most likely come through the air by attacking the young safeties. The past couple weeks they have really found their groove as they have only given up 10 points in the last two games. FSU explosive receiver Terry will still be looked at for big plays even though the Tigers defensive backs are big and physical. Receivers that I expect to have the most production are the quick guys like Noonie Murray, DJ Matthews and Tre’Shaun Harrison. Using the pass to set up the run is what really changed the offense’s production in last week’s game so I believe that Coach Taggart will try to use this plan of attack early.

Florida State defense versus Clemson offense

Clemson is 7th in the nation in rushing on the season. So the strength of the FSU defense will be tested against Travis Etienne and the Tiger rushing attack. Nationally Etienne is tied for 1st in rushing touchdowns and is 10^th in rushing yards with 800. He scored three rushing touchdowns against NC State, but was held to only 36 yards. The Clemson offensive line is talented, massive and experienced with three juniors and two seniors. This is easily the best offensive line the Seminoles have gone up against all season.

Don’t forget about quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running backs Adam Choice and Tavien Feaster’s ability to make plays in the run game as well. Keeping Demarcus Christmas, Marvin Wilson and Fred Jones on the field will be vital to Florida State’s success.

With all the talk about the Clemson line I don’t think the Seminole D-line gets as credit much as they should. The Seminole defense has 25 sacks this season, which is 4 ½ more than the Tigers. Brian Burns has been playing incredible football since the start of conference play and is currently 2nd in the FBS with 9 sacks. These are some impressive numbers, but the different blitzes run by defensive coordinator Harlan Barnett have provided a nice boost to the pass rush and that trend will continue against the true freshman quarterback. These blitzes have to get home or else Lawrence will be able to take the ‘Noles apart. When Lawrence has time he will try to throw bombs down field to Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross. When he is pressured he will go to veteran safety valve Hunter Renfrow. Once again the pressure will be on the young safeties to play beyond their years.

Special teams

Ricky Agauyo has been erratic this season but does seem a little more comfortable at home. Logan Tyler has been great the past three games raising his average to 43.3 yards per punt but it is still peculiar to me how much teams do not pressure him with how much struggles against pressure.

Clemson’s kicker Grant Huegel has been decent this season going 7/10. Clemson’s punter Will Spiers is averaging 40 yards per punt. Clemson always has solid athletes in the return game but DJ Matthews has been in a zone returning punts. With the way Florida State has been playing special teams I think the Garnet and Gold has a slight advantage.

Prediction

Florida State has to avoid three and outs and giving up big passing plays in the first quarter or it can get ugly quickly. I think the Seminoles will do well at avoiding those mistakes early to keep it close going into the second half. The Tigers stifling defense and constant rushing attack will eventually break the home team down in the fourth quarter. It will be within 10 points or so going into the final quarter but a short field set up by the defense will help Clemson get a touchdown that will seal the game. I think the Seminoles will fall 30-16.

A Tallahassee Sports Legend has passed

Prof. Roosevelt Wilson passed away this last Sunday. While at FAMU he was athletic director, sports information director and journalism professor. His son Vaughn Wilson, the current FAMU sports information director, is one of my great friends and he has helped me learn the nuances of sports journalism. So no doubt some of Prof. Wilson’s expertise has rubbed off on me. He was a great man, Rattler and Tallahasseean.

The Rattlers and new coach Willie Simmons are 5-2 overall including 4-0 in the MEAC. Directed by junior quarterback Ryan Stanley FAMU is playing fast, physical and disciplined football. This Saturday at 4 PM in Bragg Memorial Stadium the Orange and Green look to stretch their winning streak to five games against Morgan State. Come on Rattlers strike, strike and strike again for the Wilson family.

Florida State plays host to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons this Saturday at 3:30 on ESPN2.

Wake Forest is 3-3 on the year with wins against Tulane, Rice and Towson and losses to Boston College, Notre Dame and Clemson.

The last time Florida State played the Demon Deacons was last year in Winston-Salem. The Seminoles notched their first victory of the season by a count of 26-19. James Blackman threw the game-winning touchdown to Auden Tate with 53 seconds to go in the game.

Florida State is looking to extend its six-game winning streak against the Demon Deacons. The last time the Seminoles lost to Wake Forest was in 2012.

Observations from the last game

Francois was moving well in the pocket and throwing the football with more confidence. With about five minutes left in the half Francois got tangled up and had to be sidelined for a play. He finished the second quarter out the way he started it and the Seminoles had a 20-7 lead going into the locker room. In the second half he did not play the same way and seemed unsure of himself. He had two turnovers, two more fumbles and plenty of missed reads. This raised questions about whether or not James Blackman should have been put into the game. I think Francois is a solid quarterback when he is not hurt or worried about re-injuring himself. Hopefully he is back to 100% after this bye week.

DJ Matthews was able to get space in the return game and even took one back for a touchdown. Catching the punt and then freezing to scan the field was a new trick he picked up and it is paying big dividends. This is something Peter Warrick used to do.

The defense played well but continues to have problems getting stops on third down and long. The defensive line is getting a lot better at getting to the quarterback, but when they don’t get there right away the corners are having a tough time staying in front of their man.

Florida State offense versus Wake Forest defense

The Florida State offense is coming off of another subpar performance against Miami. The Seminoles looked like they were turning the corner on this side of the ball in the first half. The second half was a different story as they managed just 45 yards of offense, zero points and had two costly turnovers. If they are going to improve they will have a great opportunity to gain some confidence against Wake Forest. The Deacons have been atrocious on defense. Things got so bad that they fired their defensive coordinator just four games into the season. In the two games since they have continued to struggle giving up 24 points to Rice and 63 points to Clemson. Wake’s defense is 123rd in total yards per game, 120th in rush yards per game and 106th in passing yards per game. (There are 130 teams in the FBS) The Seminoles are 112th in total offensive yards per game and 126th in rushing. Something has to give so I think FSU will to try to establish the pass early to push the safeties back to create favorable numbers when they start going with the run. Once Florida State shows it can have success through the air, Akers, Patrick and Rasul will get plenty of carries to try to tire out the Wake Forest defense. Coach Taggart and offensive coordinator Walt Bell have said throughout the week they will use more tempo to get the run game going as well.

The lineup for the offensive line this week will be Derrick Kelly, Cole Minshew, Alec Eberle, Mike Arnold and Brady Scott. Landon Dickerson remained out after re-injuring his ankle against Louisville. If the run game continues to struggle against Wake Forest center Beveon Johnson may come into the game while Eberle moves to guard.

Wake Forest does have a couple playmakers to look out for. These include Carlos Basham Jr, sophomore defensive end and Justin Strnad, a junior linebacker. Basham has three sacks and 29 tackles on the season. Strnad has 34 tackles on the year with two and a half of those being for loss. Cornerback Essang Bassey leads the team in tackles with 39. It’s not a good sign when a cornerback leads a team in tackles so look for the Seminoles to target him through the air.

Florida State defense versus Wake Forest offense

Wake Forest uses a run first spread offense. They like to use misdirection and motion to try to confuse defenses. Freshman quarterback Sam Hartman hasn’t developed into a big-time passer yet but is a determined runner. Matt Coburn (289 yards) and Cade Carney (446 yards) are power backs that are quicker than you think but are not home run hitters. Recently named midseason All-American Greg Dortch is very quick and has enough speed to burn the corners. The slot receiver ranks 8th in the country with 46 receptions. He had a huge game against the Seminoles last year with 10 catches for 110 yards. Look for Florida State to use bump and run coverage on him most of the game to try to manage his quickness. Lavonta Taylor and freshman Asante Samuel Jr will most likely be assigned to cover him. The Wake Forest offensive line is very experienced with all starters being at least redshirt juniors. Wake’s biggest strength is running the football but FSU has been very good at stopping running backs this year. Containing the Demon Deacon receivers on short passes will be the biggest key for the Seminole defense. There are not any notable defensive injuries or changes to worry about.

Special teams

This game will feature two of the most exciting punt returners in the country in Florida State’s DJ Matthews and Wake Forest’s Greg Dortch. Matthews was named ACC specialist of the week last time out versus Miami. Dortch is just as explosive as he is 2nd in the country in total yards per game at 176. Logan Tyler was better versus Miami but the Hurricanes did not pressure him as much as other teams. This was interesting to me because he struggles when he feels like he’s in a rush. Wake punter Dom Maggio is averaging 3 less yards less per punt than Tyler but does seem to get the ball out quicker. Nick Sciba has missed fewer than Ricky Agauyo but has not made a kick over 39 yards this season. FSU has been better on special teams lately but Wake Forest has been more consistent in this area this season.

Prediction and why

Due to some time off to get healthy and learn more about the Demon Deacon’s suspect defense, I expect Florida State’s offense to play one of its best games of the year. Containing Sam Hartman in the quarterback run game and short passes will present a few issues for the defense. Both offenses should be able to move the ball up and down the field but with both teams wanting to use the ground attack the there will be a lot of time used up during these drives. At the end of the day I think Florida State will win 40-20. Greg Dortch will have another big game against FSU but it will not be enough to out score the Seminoles. Cam Akers or Jacques Patrick will finally go over 100 yards on the ground in a game this season.

Starting defensive end Janarius Robinson’s home in Panama City was destroyed in Hurricane Michael. The NCAA allowed him to set up a gofundme to help raise money for his family. If you would like to donate go to https://www.gofundme.com/robinson-rebuild-hurricane-michael

This Saturday at 3:30 the Seminoles will take on the rival Hurricanes in Miami Gardens at Hard Rock Stadium. FSU has won 7 straight games in the stadium including 2 orange bowls. The last time Miami beat Florida State in Miami was in 2004 at the Orange Bowl when Frank Gore scored on a walk-off touchdown in overtime. Perhaps this is the reason some Seminole fans call it Doak South or Seminole Hard Rock Stadium. A couple memorable moments during the streak for FSU are when Jameis Winston led a 16 point comeback capped off by Jalen Ramsey’s interception in 2014 and Demarcus Walker’s blocked PAT in 2016.

Last season’s matchup started off slowly but it had a furious finish as Florida State took the lead with 1:24 to go. However, Miami scored the winning touchdown with just 6 seconds on the clock and ended FSU’s 7 game winning streak in the rivalry.

Miami had an opening loss to LSU but has since reeled off 4 straight wins against Savannah State, Toledo, FIU and North Carolina.

Observations from the Louisville game

Corey Durden is a liability in the run game but is a good pass rusher from the defensive tackle spot.

The 3rd down struggles continue for both sides of the ball. It is baffling how many times the defense gives up first downs on third down and long.

The communication between the linebackers and safeties on pass plays has to get better soon. Many times there would be big holes in the middle of the field that could have ended up in big plays for Louisville. Thankfully for Florida State, Juwan Pass was unable to connect with his receivers on most of these miscommunications.

The offensive line was considerably better this past weekend. There wasn’t much room for the backs to get many yards but the big guys were able to protect their quarterback very well. It was the first time since 2014 that the FSU offensive line did not give up a sack in a game.

In the first half Brian Burns was lined up against Louisville’s left tackle Becton and was unable to get consistent pressure. In the second half coach Barnett lined him up on the right tackle and Burns was able to force Pass to throw it sooner than he wanted to on multiple occasions.

Florida State offense versus Miami defense

Last year FSU had success running the football against the Miami defense. The Seminoles combined to rush for 203 yards with Cam Akers going for 121 yards on the ground. I’m not sure that that will happen this year due to the offense still adjusting to Taggart’s scheme. As discussed in the previous previews other reasons as to why the running game has struggled are that the backs are trying to go for the big play, poor blocking, penalties and Francois’ inability to grasp the read option.

I expect the garnet and gold to try to challenge the D the same way UM will try to attack FSU. That is by using the quickness of slot guys Noonie Murray and DJ Matthews to try to get in behind the blitzers and using the athleticism of big-play receiver Tamorrion Terry. The Miami secondary is very experienced so it will be a little more challenging for the Seminoles.

Strong safety Jaquan Johnson should be back in the lineup for the orange and green. Florida State’s offensive line has been good at protecting the quarterback when the opposing defenses use the normal four-man blitz recently but they still struggle deciding who to block against pre-snap shifts, stunts and five or more rushers. Miami will try all three of these ways to produce pressure. This is one of the reasons why they lead the nation in tackles for loss per game at 12. Defensive lineman Gerald Willis and Jonathan Garvin have combined for 20 tackles for loss this is season. FSU hasn’t been very good at preventing tackles for loss by ranking in the 100s in this category. Experienced O-lineman Derrick Kelly and Landon Dickerson remain questionable for this matchup. Other defenders to look out for in the Miami scheme are talented linebackers Shaq Quarterman and Michael Pinckney.

Florida State defense versus Miami offense

QB N’Kosi Perry is coming off his 1st career start against UNC. The run game and defense dominated the Tar Heels so he only threw the ball 12 times going 8/12 and for 125 yards in the 47-10 win. Malik Rosier started the first 4 games but struggled just enough to give Perry a chance at the starting job. Perry showed off his talents in relief to earn the start versus UNC. Perry will remain the starter against this weekend.

Miami has three senior offensive linemen on the left side of the line and this is where UM has had the most success running the football. The Hurricanes like to establish the run with Travis Homer (364 yards) and Deejay Dallas (338 yards) first and then take some shots off play action. To keep that from happening the Seminoles defensive tackles will to keep up their solid play from the first month of the season. Keeping Demarcus Christmas, Marvin Wilson and Fred Jones in the lineup while the ‘Noles D is on the field will be a big help. If Miami can get the run game going it will be a long day for the Seminoles. The safeties and sometimes the linebackers will need to stay back to help defend Miami slot receiver Jeff Thomas. The Seminoles have bad trouble defending the slot receiver position through the years. Thomas is the fastest receiver FSU has gone up against so if he can get room in the secondary he can turn a short catch to a long touchdown or burn the defense over the top. In the red zone Miami will try to target their big receivers Lawrence Cager and Darrell Langham.

Special teams

FSU definitely has the advantage at kicker. Ricky Agauyo started off slowly just like last year but went 3 for 3 against Northern Illinois. He has experience in the rivalry and in the stadium. However, that doesn’t always mean success for Florida State kickers against Miami.

Bubba Baxa is a true freshman who is 4/5 this year but his long is only 38 yards. I would give Zach Feagles the edge over Logan Tyler in the punting game. The two teams have very talented athletes in the return game but Miami’s coverage teams have been performing better this season.

The Rivalry

The connections between the two schools on the coaching staffs and rosters are another reason why this rivalry so heated. Most of the players played each other in high school and some even played on the same team. Miami receivers coach Ron Dugans went to FAMU DRS in Tallahassee, played for Florida State, winning a national championship in 1999 and was a grad assistant for FSU in ’05 and ‘06. Head coach Mark Richt was graduate assistant, QB coach, offensive coordinator under Bobby Bowden from 1985-’88 and 1990 until the end of the 2000 season when he took the head-coaching job at Georgia. Defensive graduate assistant Matt Gazzillo is a Florida State alumnus and my fraternity brother. (Come on ‘Noles this means a little extra for me too.) Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz was a defensive grad assistant for FSU from ’98-’99. Cade Weldon and Brandon Jennings Jr’s dads are former Seminoles as well.

FSU tight ends Telly Lockette is from Miami and coached high school football at Miami Northwestern and Miami Central helping both schools claim state championships. FSU offensive line coach Greg Frey played for Mark Richt with the Seminoles from ’92-96. Defensive line coach Odell Haggins was on the same Florida State staff as Richt for 7 years. No doubt Manny Diaz learned a couple things from coach Haggins as well. Mario Edwards Sr. played one season for the Miami Dolphins after starring for the Seminoles at cornerback from ‘95 to ‘99.

Prediction and why

Both defenses like to bring the blitz in any situation. This will mean tackles for loss and chunk plays for both teams. When Miami brings the heat they are more consistent than Florida State at getting to the ball carrier. I think that miscommunication in the FSU secondary will lead to a long touchdown pass for Perry. Also, negative plays on first and second down for the FSU offense will force Francois to make bad decisions that will lead to a couple turnovers. These mistakes help Miami secure the victory. I think FSU keeps it close into the fourth quarter, but those turnovers will turn into touchdowns giving Miami a 34-17 victory. I hope the ‘Noles can prove me wrong because writing the last two sentences was very difficult!

This Saturday at 3:30 FSU will travel to Louisville to take on the Cardinals.

Louisville is 2-2 on the season with wins against Indiana State and Western Kentucky and losses to Alabama and Virginia.

The Cardinals have beaten the Seminoles two years in a row. The last time FSU played at Louisville they were thrashed 63-20 in the game that helped propel Lamar Jackson to the Heisman trophy. Last year the defense played decent against Jackson and the Cardinals but a late turnover by James Blackman turned out costly as FSU lost 31-28.

Florida State observations from the last game

The Florida State offense showed signs of life last weekend against Northern Illinois. During the first 40 minutes or so of the game the only thing that stopped the offense was itself. Hanging on to the football was the main issue as FSU fumbled twice, dropped a couple passes and had a costly high snap during this stretch.

The much-maligned offensive line was able to block well against the Huskies base defense. They still struggled against the blitz but showed improvement from the game before. When left tackle Abdul Bello went out of the game midway through the third quarter the offense reverted back to playing like they did in the first three games. While he was out coach Taggart called mostly run plays and NIU was able to pick up on it, stalling the Seminole offense for a few drives. When Bello came back Francois hit Tamorrion Terry for the long touchdown that busted the game open.

Francois looked more like the 2016 version of himself for most of the game except for a couple wild decisions that led to turnovers. The skill position players all had solid games except for tight end Tre’ McKitty who dropped some passes and fumbled.

The Seminole defense has been very stout against the run this season and really showed that last weekend allowing just 6 yards rushing to Northern Illinois. They did all this without their most experienced defensive tackle Demarcus Christmas. He should be back this week. The secondary fell asleep a few times during the game. Northern Illinois was able to get some really long plays on third down and the ‘Noles even gave up two touchdowns through the air.

Florida state defense versus Louisville offense

Louisville is being secretive about who will be the quarterback on Saturday. The quarterbacks to choose from are 6-4 Juwan Pass, who is more of a pro-style quarterback that will get yards running only when it’s the last resort and redshirt freshman Malik Cunningham. I think they will go with Cunningham because he is the teams leading rusher and is just good enough at throwing the ball to make the FSU corners pay for blowing an assignment, which happens a few times a game.

In last week’s game Cunningham was able to move the offense but they were not able to convert those drives into points. Louisville has three running backs that share the carries and they are Jeremy Smith, Trey Smith and Dae Williams. All of them have struggled as neither of them has surpassed the hundred-yard mark for the season. The Cardinals’ most talented offensive weapon is preseason first-team All-ACC wide receiver Jaylen Smith. Due to the struggles at quarterback and his inability to catch the ball at times Smith has only racked up 8 catches through the first four games. He is definitely the best wide receiver FSU who has gone up against this season and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a big game. Dez Fitzpatrick is another wide receiver to look out for.

The only way I see Louisville being able to get any yards on the ground is with the quarterback on the outside. Dealing with Jaylen Smith and Fitzpatrick will be the biggest question mark for the defense. Smith will most likely be double teamed for most of the game so it will be up to Fitzpatrick to help get the Louisville offense going. Cornerback Lavonta Taylor will need to play his most consistent game of the season for the Seminoles if he hopes to help keep the Cardinals from getting a lot of big plays. Cornerback Kyle Meyers will need to continue his solid play while dealing with the talented receivers. It will be up to Adonis Thomas, DeCalon Brooks, Jaiden Woodbey and Stanford Samuels to help spy on the quarterback Cunningham if coach Petrino decides to go with him.

Florida State offense versus Louisville defense

Coach Taggart and offensive line coach Greg Frey may have found the best line combination this past weekend. Bello, Arnold, Eberle, Minshew and Scott played decent together, which was able to free up some time for Francois and the running backs to get going. The most talented lineman for the Seminoles when the season started was Landon Dickerson and he is hopeful to return this weekend. This would add some much needed depth.

Louisville has a very young front seven but the secondary is the biggest weakness for this side of the ball. The deficiencies in the backfield were masked by Virginia’s young quarterback inability to push the ball down the field when needed. This part of his game was not called on very much last week as all the pre-snap motion and Virginia’s ability to run the football put them in non-throwing situations. The Cardinals defense will get a big boost this weekend when Dorian Etheridge returns in the middle of the linebacking corps. Last year he was third in the nation among freshmen with 66 tackles, which earned him freshman All-American honors. Louisville only has six sacks on the season and .5 of those are from defensive ends. Defensive tackles GG Robinson and Jarret Jackson have two each. Petrino’s guys will add to this total but limiting the Cardinals to only a couple could go a long way towards a Seminole victory.

Florida State probably won’t have a whole lot of success on the ground in the middle so it’ll be up to the wide receivers and tight ends to block on the perimeter in order for the running backs to have success. Downfield plays in the passing game will be needed to have the Louisville safeties play further back.

Special teams

Ricky Agauyo was back to his old self last weekend going 3-3 including a 50 yard field goal to end the first half. Blanton Creque is also a solid kicker so this position is a wash once again. The punting averages are about the same as well. Both teams have speed at the return positions but DJ Mathews for the ‘Noles is a better returner when people don’t get blocked in the back. So I would say State has a very slight edge in special teams.

Prediction and why

At the beginning of the season the trip to Kentucky seemed like the more difficult early-season road game for the Seminoles. But with Syracuse getting out to a fast start and Louisville struggling so badly it seems like the experts were wrong.

Both teams seem to have the same problems like not having much of a rhythm on offense and a pretty good run defense with holes in the secondary. I think Florida State will be better at stopping the run but will still give up two or three big plays to allow Louisville to score around 20 points. I think the Seminoles offense will manage to score just enough to keep its postseason hopes alive. FSU gets the victory 23-21. If the offense turns it over as many times as it did against Northern Illinois it will be a different story.

This Saturday at 3:30 on ESPNU the Seminoles on take on Northern Illinois.

Northern Illinois is 1-2 on the season with losses to Iowa and Utah and a win versus Central Michigan.

The last time these two played was in the 2013 Orange Bowl. FSU won the game 31 to 10. This game was Northern Illinois coach Rod Carey’s first game as a head coach as well.

Florida State offense versus Northern Illinois defense

Florida State’s offense has been anemic at best scoring five points per game against FBS level opponents and only scoring 29 on offense versus Samford. The Northern Illinois’ defense is the focal point of their team so I’m not sure the offense will find as much success as we want it to on Saturday either.

The offensive line has clearly been the biggest issue. Jauan Williams and Baveon Johnson have not developed as quickly as expected and starters Derrick Kelly, Landon Dickerson and Cole Minshew have missed time and will miss the game as well. The problems on offense don’t stop there as Francois is still missing reads and is sometimes wildly inaccurate, the receivers can’t hang on to the ball and the backs keep trying to make big plays when they’re just not there. Coach Taggart has promised to try to figure out ways to help the offensive line keep the quarterback up right in the pocket. Some ways that have been talked about to do so are leaving more backs and receivers in to block, rolling Francois out of pocket and more quarterback-designed runs.

The Huskies defense is led by junior defensive end Sutton Smith, who was a 2017 second team All-American. Last year Smith recorded an astonishing 14 sacks and 29 1/2 tackles for loss. The defense is also very experienced as all but one starter is a junior or senior. Other players on the NIU defense to look out for are linebackers Kyle Pugh and Antonio Jones-Davis. In order for Florida State to have any success they have to have solid plays on first down in order to keep Northern Illinois guessing on later downs. The Seminoles are going to have to get most of their yards on the outside and hopefully they can make some big plays using their speed. Northern Illinois’ defense is too good and Florida State’s offense is too inconsistent to sustain drives.

Florida State defense versus Northern Illinois offense

Just like on the other side of the ball Florida State’s defense is the strength of the team. Last week the defense did everything they could to keep the Seminoles in the game but due to the team’s lack of possession they could only keep up the good play for so long. For the past several years the Seminoles have done well against slower, more pro-style offenses with a non-running quarterback like NIU. I expect that success to continue in this game with the lack of playmakers at the skill positions for the Huskies. Marcus Childers is the Northern Illinois quarterback and he is averaging just over 100 yards passing per game this season. With these numbers the Huskies will rely on their running game to move the ball. Tre Harbison and Jordan Nettles are the leading rushers with 228 and 130 yards respectively. Childers relies on really just two receivers and they are DJ Brown and Jauan Wesley. NIU’s offensive line is anchored by NFL caliber left tackle Max Scharping. The most interesting matchup on this side of the ball will feature Scharping and Bryan Burns. The FSU run defense is a strength of the team, which bodes well for the Seminoles because the Huskies will try to establish the run game for most of the contest. Look for Demarcus Christmas, Marvin Wilson, Fred Jones, Dontavious Jackson and Jaiden Woodbey to have big games.

Special teams

If Ricky Agauyo was kicking like he was last year I would say Florida State has an edge at kicker but he is struggling so it is about about even this position. The punters are about the same as well but Northern Illinois excels at blocking kicks so Logan Tyler will need to get his punts off quicker. Due to FSU’s wealth of speed they hold the edge in the return game if the blocking holds up.

Prediction and why

I expect this to be the defensive struggle with the lack of consistency shown by the two offenses this season and the plethora of defensive talent for both teams. If Northern Illinois exploits the Seminoles special teams FSU could trip up once again. But I think FSU scores just enough points to get it a 13-10 victory.

On Saturday at noon Florida State will take on ACC opponent Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse is 2-0 on the season with wins at Western Michigan 55-42 and against Wagner 62-10.

Last year Florida State defeated Syracuse in Tallahassee 27-24 on a missed field goal as time expired.

Florida State offense versus Syracuse defense

The health and development of the offensive line continues to be the main concern for the Seminole offense. At points during the game last week only two linemen that started the season were in the game. This is not good for the cohesion of the line. When Samford’s biggest playmaker on defense went out of the game in the third quarter the FSU offense started to figure things out and move the ball the way they are capable of. I hope that it was because FSU started playing better as opposed to being because Gooden was being that disruptive.

The Orange’s coach Dino Baber’s is very excited about his defensive ends, Alton Robinson and Kendall Coleman and if they are as good as he says they are as you FSU could have problems protecting Francois once again. Antwan Cordy is the nickel safety that Syracuse is high on and he will be matched in the passing game with Tre’ McKitty and hopefully sometimes for Florida State with DJ Mathews. After the three aforementioned players on the Syracuse D the orange don’t have a whole lot to offer on the side of the ball. If the Seminoles want to improve on offense this will be the game to try to get it done.

Florida State defense versus Syracuse offense

The FSU defense has started the two previous games slowly and will need to play well from the start in order to keep Syracuse out of rhythm and keep from wearing themselves out the defending so many plays in the beginning of the game. This will be the Seminoles first game this season against a fast-paced spread team with a very elusive dual threat quarterback, which is something they have struggled with under former defensive coordinator Charles Kelly. Hopefully seeing this in practice since Taggart arrived will help the defense slow the Syracuse offense down.

The Syracuse offense begins and ends with quarterback Eric Dungey. The senior Dungey lead the team in passing yards and rushing yards last season. He is doing the same this year with 402 yards passing and 244 yards rushing. Syracuse likes to push the tempo as fast as possible in their spread run pass option scheme. This year they are averaging 92 plays a game and last year they led the nation in plays per game at 88. When Dungey decides to pass he likes throwing to receivers Jerome Custis and Sean Riley. Running backs Moe Neal and Dontae Strickland are viable receiving options as well and will most likely split the carries on the ground.

The run stoppers in the middle will be able to keep Syracuse from running it in between the tackles but that might be okay with Syracuse as they like to run the ball on the outside with the quarterback and others. The players the orange was likely attack will be the outside linebackers and cover safeties like Jaiden Woodbey, DeCalon Brooks and Stanford Samuels Junior as they try to get them to commit to the outside runner or inside receivers. On the outside I think that the FSU cornerbacks will have a better game than last week.

Special teams

Sterling Hofrichter is the placekicker and punter for the Orange. Punting is more of his specialty and is highly regarded among ACC punters. Agauyo missed three case kicks early on last year and did not miss the rest of the seat so hopefully that trend continues this year as he is missed three already.

Prediction

I’m going to say Florida State eeks out its first victory in the ACC 38-37. Both offenses will be able to move the ball in between the twenties but getting it into the end zone will be a different story. I think that due to FSU’s run defense Syracuse will be forced to kick more field goals than they want helping the Seminoles secure the victory.

After a disappointing blowout loss to Virginia Tech, Florida State will face FCS opponent Samford at 7 PM on Saturday. Samford, originally Howard College, is located in Birmingham, Alabama and is where Bobby Bowden went to college.

The Samford Bulldogs defeated Shorter College 66-9 in their first game of the season on Saturday.

Last time these two teams played was in 2010 and Florida State won 59-6. This result should be a little bit closer as Florida State has yet to find its groove on offense, has just five days off and Samford is ranked 9th in the FCS. Last year the Bulldogs finished second in the Southern Conference but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Kennesaw State.

Florida State offense versus Samford defense

Taggart will start Francois at quarterback but if he continues his tentative play he may have to consider James Blackman. The ‘Noles offense will be going up against a 3-4 defense led by outside linebacker Ahmad Gooden. Gooden will provide a nice test for the FSU offensive line, as he is someone who could disrupt a play if left in one-on-one situations or left all alone like we saw too many times on Monday night.  Hopefully the FSU offensive line can stay healthy during this game. Cole Minshew missed the Virginia Tech game due to a concussion and three other starters had to miss portions of the game due to injuries. Starting right tackle Landon Dickerson will miss this game with a high ankle sprain. Former defensive lineman Arthur Williams will replace Dickerson than the starting line up. Coach Hatcher of Samford is also excited about his safeties Sam Pettway and Koi Freeman. Overall Florida State has more speed and size than Samford on this side of the ball, which will mask most of the mistakes made by the offense as they continue to adjust to the new scheme.

Florida State defense versus Samford offense

The FSU defense was the highlight of the opening game and that should then continue into the second game. They kept the team in the game by getting stop after stop even while backed up. They really only gave up 14 points despite being on the field almost the entire second half. A lot of players played well in the first game but safety/linebacker Jaiden Woodbey really stood out as he recorded an NCAA record by a true freshman in his first game by racking up 9 tackles.

The Bulldogs boast one of the best passing tandems in the FCS with Devlin Hodges at quarterback and Kelvin McKnight and Chris Snelling at wide receiver. Hodges was a Walter Payton Award finalist last season and is Samford’s career leader in almost every passing and scoring category in the school’s history. Last year he threw for 3,983 yards and 39 touchdowns. I expect FSU’s defense to play well but the Bulldogs will challenge them through the air.

The last time Samford played an FBS team was last year when they lost 42-14 against national runner-up Georgia. The result should be similar as Florida State quarterbacks will be still learning how to run the offense, especially the run pass option portion of Taggart’s scheme while the offensive line figures out how to gel together. I’m not saying the Seminoles are near Georgia’s level but they should win by a few scores I’ll say FSU 40 Samford 13 will be the final.