The "scrimmages" are over! Friday night, 8:00 PM under the lights, on national TV. We have Sportscenter live outside Alumni, and are the biggest show on that night. We have a short week leading up to what I would say is our best home game of the year.
I'm pumped. FSU looks good, but beatable, and it's the Welles Crowther red bandana game. I just ordered one for everyone going in my party, and even my FSU alumni fiancée will be wearing one.
Having watched both FSU games this season, they certainly have raw talent but have been veeeery slow starters. Their depth wears on their opponents over time. Dalvin Cook is their best offensive player, and Jalen Ramsey their best defensive player.
Cook is fumble prone and most of his broken tackles come from the lack of wrapping up by the opponent. He is very fast and good at cutting left/right though. Golson looked mediocre at best against USF...very inaccurate, started 0/6. When Cook isn't carrying, they hand off to Pender, who is a solid RB but not a world beater. Their OL is very inexperienced (like ours) and allowed several sacks and many hurries against USF.
Their defense is fast, and certainly capable of making picks. I'm more worried about the pass defense then the run D....the USF RB and QB both were able to break a solid amount of tackles.
Their special teams are very good. Obviously Aguayo is a great kicker but Kermit Whitfield is a very good returner. Their punt unit is their weak spot on that end.
Bottom line: there is solid upset potential here but we need a USC level effort here. The key for the defense is to limit big plays by Cook and through that, force Golson to get shaky and throw, leading to turnovers. On offense, dominate TOP and ensure we convert on red zone trips.
I can't discern much from the Howard game due to opponent quality, but I am happy that we went through it with very few mistakes and no known injuries. Daz has shown he can get the team up for big games; let's hope he can do it again!
I'm pumped. FSU looks good, but beatable, and it's the Welles Crowther red bandana game. I just ordered one for everyone going in my party, and even my FSU alumni fiancée will be wearing one.
Having watched both FSU games this season, they certainly have raw talent but have been veeeery slow starters. Their depth wears on their opponents over time. Dalvin Cook is their best offensive player, and Jalen Ramsey their best defensive player.
Cook is fumble prone and most of his broken tackles come from the lack of wrapping up by the opponent. He is very fast and good at cutting left/right though. Golson looked mediocre at best against USF...very inaccurate, started 0/6. When Cook isn't carrying, they hand off to Pender, who is a solid RB but not a world beater. Their OL is very inexperienced (like ours) and allowed several sacks and many hurries against USF.
Their defense is fast, and certainly capable of making picks. I'm more worried about the pass defense then the run D....the USF RB and QB both were able to break a solid amount of tackles.
Their special teams are very good. Obviously Aguayo is a great kicker but Kermit Whitfield is a very good returner. Their punt unit is their weak spot on that end.
Bottom line: there is solid upset potential here but we need a USC level effort here. The key for the defense is to limit big plays by Cook and through that, force Golson to get shaky and throw, leading to turnovers. On offense, dominate TOP and ensure we convert on red zone trips.
I can't discern much from the Howard game due to opponent quality, but I am happy that we went through it with very few mistakes and no known injuries. Daz has shown he can get the team up for big games; let's hope he can do it again!
