Florida State’s offense has been solid for the most part this season, as they generated 34 points and 417 total yards against Central Arkansas on Saturday. The Seminoles basically went into cruise control after taking a 24-0 lead with 8:17 left in the second quarter against the Bears.
I understand the concerns and issues with quarterback transfer Ashton Daniels, given the entirety of his collegiate career. However, this is one of the more talented groups of playmakers during Mike Norvell’s tenure with players such as Duce Robinson, Micahi Danzy, Ousmane Kromah, San Singleton (injured), Jayvan Boggs, and Jasen Lopez.
I don’t want to be blind with my “garnet and gold colored glasses”, so I will explain that the root of the issue isn’t the offense. It is 1000% the defense.
Tony White’s defense is not the answer to the solution
Florida State’s defense has largely underperformed this season, and obviously they want to get out of their funk against Virginia on Saturday. The Seminoles won by a score of 34-7 against Central Arkansas, but the Bears had 39 minutes of time of possession.
Six of Central Arkansas’s drives had seven plays or more, which included a 20-play, 73-yard drive in the fourth quarter that lasted 8 minutes and 50 seconds.
One of the biggest weaknesses is the interior of the defensive line. You could point to the secondary too, but the defensive line has to do a better job of setting the line of scrimmage. The Seminoles are desperately missing the services of 6’5” and 337-pound defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr., who took plenty of double teams to ensure that the defensive linemen were able to get pressure on the signal-caller.
Here are a few defensive tackles that the Seminoles are using this season:
-Kevin Wynn (317 pounds)
-Jordan Sanders (310 pounds)
-Daniel Lyons (292 pounds)
-DeAnte McCray (291 pounds)
-Mandrell Desir (270 pounds)
This is not a shot at these players because there is plenty of talent in the position group, but sophomore Kevin Wynn is probably the best defensive tackle suitable for Tony White’s 3-3-5 scheme. He got the start against the Bears this past Saturday, but Central Arkansas had 12 runs in the game where they gained 5 yards or more.
That’s not going to cut it when it comes to conference play with Virginia on deck.