Game Preview: Florida State Seminoles vs. Virginia Tech Hokies
Florida State is back after the much-needed early bye week, and now set its sights on Virginia Tech, who handled business against Pitt last weekend. Can FSU get back to its dominant ways we saw early in the season, or will Virginia Tech's dual-threat quarterback keep things interesting in Tallahassee?
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This is the start of a three-straight home stand for the Seminoles, and it'll start Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.
Seminole Headlines
Getting Healthy
While wide receivers Ja'Khi Douglas and Kentron Poitier have been practicing again, Mike Norvell is optimistic about getting offensive lineman Robert Scott Jr. and safety Akeem Dent back sooner rather than later. Those would be two much-needed additions back to the team if they can give it a go, and even if they can't, they're at least pretty close to being able to play.
The bigger revelation was Norvell admitting the team had been dealing with a community-wide illness that had spread throughout the team the last few weeks, which could definitely explain some lethargic effort on the field at times against Boston College and Clemson. If this team is actually healthy and motivated, they should be able to put up some big performances in the coming weeks against Virginia Tech and Syracuse.
Fixing the Running Game
Trey Benson admitted the running game has been well below expectations so far this season, and that they're working to find a fix for it. Clemson held the 'Noles to just 22 rushing yards, and 31 sack adjusted yards. That's simply unacceptable for what this offense wants to do, and to get Jordan Travis some opportunity both in the air and on the ground starts with an improved running game.
I've been a big proponent of the blocking up front needing to be fixed more than anything, and whether that's just Robert Scott getting healthy, whether it's a lot of time in the film room, or maybe shuffling guys around, they've really got to get it cleaned up with the front 5. Granted, Benson and Toafili haven't been the most patient running backs, but they can be helped by a better group up front.
Jordan Travis and the Offensive Game Plans
Travis has underperformed this season. Pro Football Focus was as big of a fan as anyone else of Travis coming into this season, giving him the best grade for a quarterback last season at 91.7. This season, he's just the 47th-ranked QB at 84.2. Now, it's not to say he's been bad, it's more that we know he can play much, much better and make smarter decisions with the football.
Part of this comes with the lack of a run game, but part of it also comes with Travis feeling he HAS to hit the big play instead of always hitting the right play. Outside of Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson, no other wide receiver on the team has more than four receptions, and that's not sustainable. Coach Norvell and Jordan Travis have to find ways to get the whole offense involved, and hopefully getting a guy like Ja'Khi Douglas back will help with that.
Burning Questions
How Does FSU's Defense Perform Against Another Dual Threat Quarterback?
Kyron Drones is still kind of an unknown at QB for Virginia Tech, but he's coming off of a very good game against Pitt, throwing for 228 yards and 3 TDs on 12/19, while adding another 41 yards and 2 TDs on the ground. Without Ali Jennings on the outside who's out with a lower leg injury, Drones has done a great job of running the ball and has 58 rushing attempts in the last three games. He's going to run the ball a lot, and I'm sure he watched FSU's tape against Boston College and got really excited about what he can do on the ground.
Drones is a different style of running quarterback than BC's Castellanos, who was just a pure athlete and could beat you with speed. Drones is more of a power guy and isn't afraid of contact, and despite those 58 rushing attempts, he's averaging just 3.3 yards per attempt. So while he's going to test FSU's discipline a lot, the hope is he isn't more impactful than he has been.
The other consideration is that you're hoping the defense doesn't get so wrapped up in his ability to run the football that he doesn't hit shots over the top like he did early in the Pitt game. Now, Florida State has a lot better group of athletes than Pitt, but BC was giving it to them with the same game plan. Show some eye candy in the backfield and throw it across the middle of the field. If Florida State's defense can set the tone early, this should be a coast to the finish, but you just never know.
Can the Offensive Line Figure Out Their Blocking Assignments?
We talked about it in the headlines, but the Hokies feature a few guys along the defensive line that can cause havoc in the backfield, so FSU has to clean things up. Florida transfer Antwaun Powell-Ryland has 22 pressures and 18 QB hurries in 5 games, while Pheldarius Payne has 4 sacks on just 84 snaps played. In total, the four highest-graded players on Virginia Tech's defense are all defensive linemen with a combined 46 pressures and 35 QB hurries. This isn't a time for the offensive line to miss assignments and not communicate. Coach Alex Atkins has hopefully hit the drawing board these past two weeks and figures out who his best five is.
Despite VT's defensive line causing a lot of pressure in passing situations, it hasn't been the best rushing defense, allowing 177 yards per game on the ground. Florida State has to stay ahead of the chains and use the running game to set up a lot of 2nd-and-4s, 3rd-and-2s, etc. Make the offense unpredictable, because it has been a VERY predictable offense so far. And if the offense can sustain long drives, I think it would really help this team.
They had one drive longer than four minutes against Clemson and one against Boston College after having four such drives against LSU, and the offense really hasn't looked the same since then. Long drives help the defense, and it's clear opposing offenses have planned to have long drives to keep Florida State's offense off the field. Maybe FSU should do the same to other teams if only to help out its own defense.
Game Forecast
Florida State is favored by 24.5 points with a projected total of 52.5, according to BetMGM.
I think this is a sneaky game for the 'Noles, and I honestly don't know what to make of what we've seen from FSU in the last two games. We've seen running QBs give this defense fits under Coach Fuller, and between Drones and a solid running back in Bhayshul Tuten, the front four is going to have to be great for Florida State.
I'll trust my gut and say FSU reverts back to what we saw against LSU, and only a late TD from Virginia Tech forces them to cover.
I'll take Florida State 41-20.
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