FSU-Louisville: Five Things to Watch

All eyes will be on Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium on Saturday as No. 2 Florida State visits the 10th-ranked Cardinals of Louisville. Unfortunately for Florida State, the storylines have largely surrounded injuries to key defensive players like safety Derwin James and defensive end Josh Sweat, but the talent to get the job done is still there for FSU.

In one of the biggest games of the early season and one of the biggest this year in the ACC, there will plenty of factors that will ultimately decide the winner. Here are five things to watch as the teams square off on Saturday:

1. Quarterback Play
Clemson’s Deshaun Watson garnered all the preseason hype, but the two quarterbacks playing in Saturday’s top-10 contest have been arguably the two best the ACC have had to offer thus far. If the season ended today, Louisville’s Lamar Jackson would probably take home the Heisman Trophy. Though the competition has been suspect, Jackson is tallying more than 500 yards per game of total offense, more than 11 yards per pass attempt and has an ungodly 13 touchdowns through two games.

FSU running back and Heisman hopeful Dalvin Cook has been largely overshadowed early on this year by the play of his quarterback — redshirt freshman Deondre Francois. Francois has passed for nearly 700 yards though two games while giving the appearance of a quarterback poised beyond his years. Francois has stood tall in the face of pressure and been outstanding against the blitz. Saturday’s visit to Louisville however, will be his first test in front of a hostile crowd.

2. Dalvin Cook
Florida State junior running back Dalvin Cook is one of college football’s most electrifying players and has 284 yards of total offense and a pair of touchdowns through two games. Cook however, has largely been kept in check, especially based on last season’s standards where he averaged 7.4 yards per carry and 161.3 total yards per game. Cook will be facing a talented Louisville defense this week, but not one he hasn’t had success against.

Cook’s first career game with multiple touchdowns came in his first trip to Louisville two years ago as he tallied 150 total yards on just 13 touches. Cook rushed for a pair of touchdowns, including the 38-yard game-winner with under four minutes to play as the Seminoles rallied from three touchdowns down to beat the Cardinals 42-31. Last season, Cook finished with 223 yards from scrimmage and a pair of rushing touchdowns in a 41-21 FSU victory in Tallahassee.

In two games against the Cardinals, Cook has totaled 373 yards, including 273 on the ground and four total touchdowns. If Cook has similar production on Saturday, it’s hard to picture the Noles coming away from Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium with something other than a win.

3. FSU offensive line vs. Louisville defensive line
The noticeable weakness on the offensive side of the ball through two games has been the five guys up front for the Seminoles. FSU has started two different combinations so far and both have been less than spectacular. Derrick Kelly has had a hard time adjusting to the guard position while Roderick Johnson has yet to live up to his All-American hype this season.

Florida State is expected to have both starting guards, Kareem Are and Wilson Bell, back after missing last week. The Louisville defensive front isn’t as good as Ole Miss was top to bottom, but nose tackle DeAngelo Brown is as good as they come on the interior and looks to stifle the FSU ground attack. End Drew Bailey is the only Louisville defensive lineman this season with a sack. The Seminoles can’t rely on their passing game to carry the offense and will need to show improvement as a unit up front to open things up for Cook, Jacques Patrick and the ground attack.

4. Jacob Pugh
With Josh Sweat potentially out for Saturday’s highly-anticipated match-up, junior linebacker Jacob Pugh is expected to fill in at Sweat’s “Buck” position. Pugh is listed as a linebacker, but is mostly a speed rusher and has done well so far this season with six tackles and 0.5 sacks.

Against Louisville last season, Pugh had a career-high two sacks and tied a career-best with seven total tackles. Getting pressure on Louisville’s elusive Lamar Jackson will be vital on Saturday and Pugh will need to be a big part of that. Through two games, the Cardinals have yielded just one total sack.

5. How FSU Replaces Derwin James
Before Josh Sweat’s injury had FSU fans gnawing on their finger nails, there was safety Derwin James, who suffered a meniscus tear in last week’s 52-8 victory over Charleston Southern. With James out, defensive coordinator Charles Kelly will have to find a way to replace the Seminoles’ most versatile defender.

James had six tackles, a sack and a forced fumble in last season’s win over Louisville and the duties of filling his large shoes will likely fall in the lap of sophomore A.J. Westbrook. Westbrook has yet to record a statistic this season, but performed well in fall camp. The Seminoles have other options like moving around Marcus Lewis, Marquez White and/or Levonta Taylor, but whoever steps in for James on the majority of snaps Saturday can’t be a noticeable liability.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson