Staff Keys to the Game: Florida State at Duke

Florida State (1-3, 1-2 ACC) travels to Duke (4-2, 1-2 ACC) on Saturday in desperate need of a win. The Seminoles must win at least five of their remaining seven games in order to become bowl-eligible.

We asked our staff what FSU must do to escape Durham with a victory on Saturday:

Clint Eiland, lead writer

Stop stalling on drives

The FSU offense has done well considering the early injury to quarterback Deondre Francois. But the one area that has doomed the Seminoles is the drives that end inside the opponent’s 40. Head coach Jimbo Fisher likes to either get close enough for an easier field goal or punt it away. There’s been far too much of the latter, and it leaves points on the field that could’ve secured a victory.

Stifle Daniel Jones

There’s only one way the Duke offense is going to propel the Blue Devils to victory. That’s if Daniel Jones jump-starts the surrounding talent and runs the offense that Dave Cutcliffe desires. Without him, the Blue Devils have little chance at moving the ball effectively. Whatever it takes to get him scrambled, Florida State needs to do.

Give 100 percent effort

Fans tend to overstate the “effort” factor of college football. The charge gets levied at players who aren’t playing well, when in reality there are more pressing issues regarding that problem. But it’s become clear in 2017 that certain FSU starters are not fully buying into the system. If they want to win on Saturday, that needs to change.

Mike Ferguson, editor

Play with passion

With all the season’s goals down the drain and coming off a heartbreaking loss to rival Miami, there are serious questions as to how motivated Florida State will be when it arrives at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday. While the Seminoles are only 1-3, they’re still a name program to a team like Duke and having this game at home will have the Blue Devils motivated. If FSU is unable to match that intensity, this is a contest that could be lost.

Win the battle up front

Although Miami notched four sacks against Florida State last week, the Seminoles were without question better along the offensive line. FSU managed more than 200 yards on the ground in the rivalry loss to the Hurricanes and will be facing a Duke team that ranks seventh nationally against the run. If the Seminoles can again get the combo of Jacques Patrick and Cam Akers going, that should open up things for quarterback James Blackman against a secondary that has been good, but has still given up its fair share of big plays.

Josh Mixon, staff writer

Finish inside the red zone

Had FSU put away its chances inside Miami’s 20-yard line last week, it might’ve been up by as many as 20 points at halftime. But alas, here we are. The Seminole offense has been downright terrible in the red zone in 2017. FSU’s defense should stifle the Blue Devil offense for much of the contest, so the Seminoles must score more touchdowns than field goals when they find themselves inside the Duke 20.

Don’t play predictable on offense

Jimbo Fisher has received criticism this season for his play-calling, as his offense runs at an incredibly slow tempo and continuously puts Blackman in a bad position on 3rd-and-long. While Fisher is unlikely to use an uptempo approach outside of the 2-minute drill, he can speed up the play-calling, allowing Blackman to find a rhythm and keeping the Duke defense on its heels.

Josh Mixon covers Florida State athletics for The Daily Nole and co-hosts the Giving ‘Em The Business Podcast on Soundcloud. You can find him on Twitter @JoshDMixon.