Florida State and Louisville enter Saturday’s contest in very similar situations. Neither team has met their expectations from the preseason, and both squads could sorely use a victory for momentum purposes. The Cardinals come in with two straight losses to N.C. State and Boston College, while Florida State escaped with a victory over Duke last week in Durham.
The problems with Florida State are fairly well known at this point. A snail’s pace offense led by a true freshman quarterback means the Seminoles aren’t maximizing their scoring opportunities. The defense seems to attempt to make up for this with stellar play for about half the game, before giving up inexplicable scoring drives that keep inferior opponents in striking distance.
Obviously that’s a pretty bleak picture; positives include a strong running game and stout lines on both sides of the ball. If the Seminoles lose their third straight home game however, the latter two characteristics won’t soothe fans’ ires.
Louisville might be in a more chaotic position. It understands that Lamar Jackson is all it has left. Once he’s gone, it’s anyone’s guess what the future of the program will entail. Head coach Bobby Petrino has led the Cardinals to underperform in two straight seasons, their defense has done nothing but decline, and now their well-respected athletic director was voted out in disgrace. The impact of that last bit on the actual game is probably minimal, but it’s worth noting to understand how much pressure this team is under right now.
We here at The Daily Nole will give you our thoughts about the upcoming game. This week’s predictions are done by editor Mike Ferguson, staff writer Clint Eiland, site manager Edwin Collins, staff writer Josh Mixon and recruiting analyst Jay Brading.
Mike: Where this game will be won is when Florida State has the football. The Seminoles have been anemic offensively while Louisville has played a matador style of defense in ACC play. FSU has its best chance to put up points, but slowing down Lamar Jackson won’t be easy. I don’t see head coach Jimbo Fisher changing his slow-paced, conservative style of offense and that won’t be enough to take down the Cardinals. Louisville joins Oklahoma and Clemson as the only schools to beat FSU in consecutive seasons under Fisher. Cardinals win, 35-30.
Clint: This is perhaps the most “coin flip” game of the season — even more so than the Miami contest. Both teams are desperate for a good win at this point. It wouldn’t surprise me if both showed more creativity and aggressive play-calling than earlier in the season. I think the FSU offense will be very successful at moving the ball with backs Cam Akers and Jacques Patrick — so much so that it scores more points than it has all season. But I also think the defense gets diced by Jackson due to certain players who are unwilling to fully buy into the system. It turns into a shootout that FSU will ultimately lose. 38-35, Louisville.
Josh: When I made my preseason predictions, I had FSU losing two games: One to Alabama and one to Louisville. Now, just like everyone else who covers FSU in any magnitude, I have no idea who the heck will win this game. Louisville’s defense is arguably worse than the Seminoles’ 2009 defense, while FSU’s offense has regressed to a level that would make that program down in Gainesville blush. Lamar Jackson is a nightmare match-up for any defense, but the Seminoles have held three of their five opponents thus far to their lowest point total of the season (Alabama, N.C. State, Miami). If 2017 has proven anything, it’s that Jackson can’t do it all on his own, and Louisville’s defense will surrender points. Lots of them (it gave up 45 to Boston College). Don’t place any bets on this, but I’m predicting a 42-38 victory for the home team. Don’t make me regret it, Noles.
Edwin: It’s really hard to get a good feeling about where this FSU team is, both physically and mentally. After watching both teams play, I would place this match-up as pretty even. Both teams have lost games they should’ve won. FSU needs to get more consistent to win these types of contests and I’m not sure the Seminoles are there yet. Louisville 28, FSU 24.
Jay: I’ll go 35-31, FSU. I can see any number of scenarios from this getting ugly to an entertaining game. I think the FSU coaches and players are taking this game more seriously than they are letting on. I’m not real confident, but I think this is the week that the Seminoles find some offense.
mmccscribe
October 20, 2017 at 8:18 pm
Ball-control offense. FSU wins in a lower-scoring affair than anticipated due to clock-eating drives with Akers and Patrick pounding at the Louisville defense. Final score is FSU 24, Louisville 14.