FSU-South Florida: Five Things to Watch

After getting hit in the face with harsh reality last week in a 63-20 loss at Louisville, Florida State will look to avoid losing consecutive games for the first time in nearly five years on Saturday and it will have to do it on the road against South Florida.

The Bulls are off to a 3-0 start and will look for a marquee victory under head coach Willie Taggart as they host the 13th-ranked Seminoles. South Florida would also be looking to knock off an ACC school for the second straight week after blowing out Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, 45-20.

South Florida may not have the program pedigree of Florida State, but the Bulls have speed and talent. As Saturday’s contest nears, here are five things to watch:

1. How FSU Starts
In two games against FBS teams, Florida State has fallen into huge first half holes. The Seminoles trailed Ole Miss 28-6 in the first half before rallying to open the year and last week, they trailed 35-10 at halftime against Louisville. If FSU wants to avoid being upset on Saturday, it must avoid a similar slow start. The Seminoles’ collective psyche has to be in question entering this week’s showdown and another big deficit could again be too much to overcome.

2. Quinton Flowers vs. FSU Secondary
South Florida junior quarterback Quinton Flowers might not be Louisville’s Lamar Jackson, but he is a very capable dual-threat. Though Flowers doesn’t have a high completion percentage, his yards per attempt average is 9.6. Flowers isn’t as shifty as Jackson, but does run with more power and will be facing a very talented Florida State secondary that hasn’t been on the same page all season.

Flowers was just 12-for-24 for 125 yards passing against the Seminoles last season, but has matured as a passer. Still, FSU would be best served making Flowers win the game with his arm and members of the secondary must know their assignments and force Flowers to complete passes into tight throwing windows.

3. Deondre Francois
After a strong start to the 2016 season, Florida State redshirt freshman quarterback Deondre Francois was brought back down to earth last week against Louisville, finishing 7-for-18 passing for 101 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a lost fumble. Francois was under constant pressure against the Cardinals and at times, looked like a deer in the headlights.

Francois will be facing a fast, but relatively young secondary headlined by Deatrick Nichols for USF. With FSU’s running game having struggled early on and an offensive line that has had its issues, Francois will need to be sharp on Saturday and smart with the football. As a young quarterback, Francois has also been asked to do way too much early on. Hopefully for FSU, Saturday turns out different and the freshman gets a chance to settle into the game instead of the trial by fire he’s unfortunately become accustomed to.

4. Dalvin Cook
Among Florida State’s many disappointments early on in 2016, the slow start for junior running back Dalvin Cook may be the biggest. Through three games, Cook has only 228 yards rushing on a 4.6 yards per carry average. Last season, Cook averaged 7.4 yards per carry. Against FBS teams this season, Cook is averaging just half that at 3.7 yards per carry.

On Saturday, he’ll be facing a defense that he had a career game against just over a year ago. In Tallahassee last season, Cook rushed for 266 yards and three scores in a 34-14 victory over the Bulls. South Florida has been stout up front this season while the Seminoles have struggled to get people blocked.

5. Special Teams
Another area where South Florida has been solid this season is on special teams. D’Ernest Johnson has already taken a punt back 83 yards for a touchdown while Emilio Nadelman is a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals. For the punt team, FSU transfer Jonathan Hernandez has allowed just one punt return on 15 boots for the Bulls with eight of them having been downed inside the 20-yard-line.

Last week, the Seminoles allowed a pair of punt returns of greater than 60 yards from Louisville’s Jaire Alexander, including a 69-yard return for a score. Freshmen Ricky Aguayo and Logan Tyler are having good years booting the ball on field goals and punts, but coverage has been a different story.

It is worth noting that the longest punt return this season belongs to FSU’s Jesus Wilson, who took one back 89 yards for a touchdown against Charleston Southern. In a game that looks to be close, special teams could play a huge role in deciding a winner.

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