FSU Football: Francois vs. Top 25 Defenses in 2016

With all-time leading rusher Dalvin Cook now topping the depth chart for the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, redshirt sophomore quarterback Deondre Francois is expected to be the face of the Florida State offense in 2017.

Francois was named ACC Rookie of the Year in 2016 after accounting for 3,350 yards passing and 25 total touchdowns, compared to just seven interceptions. Despite a stellar campaign, Francois still has plenty of room to improve as he looks to become more consistently accurate, anticipate better and get the ball out quicker.

Charting Francois’ progress shouldn’t take long as the signal-caller will face an Alabama defense that ranked second nationally in yards per game allowed and first in fewest points allowed in 2016. Since 2009, the Crimson Tide haven’t finished lower than 11th nationally in yards per game allowed.

The good news for Francois is that he has plenty of experience against solid defenses. The bad news is that he hasn’t always excelled against those defenses. Here’s a look at how Francois fared in seven games against top 25 defenses last season and then in six games against everyone else:

It’s no surprise that Francois did better against defenses that weren’t as good as opposed to ones that were elite. Despite the significant drop-off, Florida State still averaged 29 points per game against the top 25 defenses.

Against Alabama last season, only three teams — Ole Miss, Arkansas and Clemson — hit that threshold. While the Crimson Tide were able to win shootouts against the Rebels and Razorbacks, they were unable to beat the Tigers for a second year in a row in the National Championship.

Even in Alabama’s loss to Clemson for the title, it took a super human effort from Tigers’ quarterback Deshaun Watson, who finished with 420 yards passing, three touchdowns and no interceptions, although he did lose a fumble. Asking similar production from Francois in the Sept. 2 opener in Atlanta might be a bit much, but to beat the Crimson Tide, Francois is going to have to make plays and avoid turnovers. Simply doing one of those two things probably won’t be enough.

For Francois in 2016, making plays with the game on the line seemed to come easy — even against some of the nation’s best defenses. In contests against N.C. State and Michigan, Francois led game-winning drives on FSU’s last meaningful possession in victories. Though the contest with Clemson resulted in a loss, Francois engineered an 80-yard touchdown drive to put the Seminoles ahead and in position to win with under three and half minutes to go.

Against an Alabama defense that is perennially among the nation’s best and more often than not, the most talented, Francois will have his work cut out for him. Backing down from a challenge however, has yet to be found in Francois’ DNA.

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