NoleGameday Staff Score Predictions: FSU vs Jacksonville State
The Seminoles enter week two looking to get into the win column against Jacksonville State. While Florida State certainly has a massive talent advantage over the Gamecocks, this program has struggled in recently memory to respond after emotional losses. Last season, JSU got out to a 21-7 advantage before the 'Noles switched to Jordan Travis and never looked back.
One of the storylines to watch on Saturday will be who starts at quarterback for FSU. Travis started against Notre Dame and led three scoring drives but he also tossed three interceptions. Grad-transfer McKenzie Milton took the field late in the fourth quarter and helped spur the rally to force overtime. Head coach Mike Norvell has an interesting decision to make.
Jacksonville State fell 31-0 at UAB last weekend. In the loss, quarterback Zerrick Cooper managed just 88 passing yards on 34 attempts. The defense wasn't any better, allowing 517 total yards of offense. The Gamecocks will look to build some momentum against the Seminoles. It's important to note that this team went 8-2 and made the FCS Quarterfinals during the spring.
Our staff provides their analysis and predictions for FSU vs Jacksonville State.
Dustin Lewis (@Dussttin)
Florida State showed a lot of positive signs last week in the loss to the Fighting Irish. One thing that stood out to me as the fight and resiliency that this team showed. Over the past few years, we've seen the Seminoles lay down in the face of adversity. That can't be said about this team in Norvell's second season as they fought back from an 18-point deficit to force overtime.
Instead of coming out slow following an emotional defeat, I think the 'Noles come out firing on all cylinders on Saturday. All four scholarship quarterbacks see time and the defense mostly dominates on the way to a big win.
FSU 59, Jacksonville State 10
Logan Robinson (@LogansTwitty)
Mentality. It’s that simple. If FSU keeps the same mentality from last weekend, this game should be a breeze and the ‘Noles should dominate. Keep an eye on #11 on offense. I think the true freshman has a special night.
FSU 48, Jacksonville State 10
Nate Greer (@NateGreer36)
Florida State comes out slow to start the game, then they kick it on and don’t look back. This is a team FSU should beat soundly, and it’s what they have to do to show last week wasn’t a one shot deal. Beat the teams they should.
FSU 48, Jacksonville State 10
Austin Veazey (@NolesVikesVeaz)
Hopefully this isn’t as competitive of a game as last years matchup was when JSU got out to an early 14-0 lead. Jacksonville State is just not good this year, as evidenced by there performance against UAB last week. Zerrick Cooper is capable of a good performance, but I think the talent advantage is heavily in Florida State’s favor. I’m looking to see more offensive consistency from FSU with less boom or bust, really need them to be able to sustain drives. I don’t think this one is particular close and the backups see a lot of minutes in the second half.”
FSU 48, Jacksonville State 6
Charleston Bowles (@Cbowles01)
The ‘Noles take care of business easily. The defense forces at least 3 turnovers, with at least 1 being an interception. Milton gets the start, but Travis has plenty of packages and looks better as a passer. Chubba Purdy looks solid during his reps in the 2nd half.
FSU 41, Jacksonville State 17
Mikey Clark (@Mikeyclark01)
It’s only Jacksonville State, but I’m looking forward to seeing how this team responds after Notre Dame. I think this team will continue to have the correct mindset and will continue to be physical and competitive every play. Also really encouraged to see the Student Section sold out and I’m sure the players will feed off of that. I don’t expect things to be perfect but I expect Florida State to dominate most of this game.
FSU 48, Jacksonville State 27
Noah Jahn (@NoahJahn05)
We will find out this week if this Florida State team has truly grown up. Facing an overmatched Jacksonville State team, we should see the Noles have a field day on both offense and defense.
FSU 56, Jacksonville State 6
John Jenkins (@_jmj4_)
I expect FSU to come out and dominate this week after showing signs of growth against Notre Dame.
Florida State 52, Jacksonville State 10
Jacob Stevens (@Jacob_Stevens26)
Because of how FSU lost to ND, I think this game will be over by the end of the first quarter.
FSU 48, Jacksonville State 7
Consensus: Florida State (9-0)
