Who: Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at No. 10 Florida State Seminoles
Where: Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida
When: Saturday, Sept. 9 at 12 p.m. EST (ACC Network)
Florida State is not used to playing with a losing record. Saturday’s defeat to the Alabama Crimson Tide was the first season-opening loss of the Jimbo Fisher era. Thankfully for the Seminoles, they get the chance to return home and lick their wounds. They open up the 2017 home slate with the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, who are also 0-1 after a 37-29 loss to the Memphis Tigers last weekend. Please remember that the listed time is subject to change depending on the path of Hurricane Irma.
The loss of starting quarterback Deondre Francois will be difficult for Florida State to overcome —
that much is certain. But fans should keep in mind the defense that showed up on Saturday. It wasn’t just safety Derwin James or defensive end Josh Sweat having great games. It was the whole defense as a unit. Expectations need to be readjusted, but there’s no reason to hit the panic button just yet. This teams still has an undeniable amount of talent.
Louisiana-Monroe might not be the blockbuster opponent that fans want to see. However, it is beneficial for the team to get a bit of a tune-up before the big rival, Miami, comes in to town the very next week. The Warhawks will still be looking for their first win of the season, so Florida State needs to be careful not to overlook them.
Biggest ULM Advantage
Clint: Focus on Pressuring the Quarterback — Admittedly, it’s pretty hard to find an advantage for ULM that isn’t just “FSU is weak in this certain area”. Even in those weak areas, FSU still has the advantage. The one place that can’t be assumed? Quarterback. True freshman James Blackman will be making his first ever collegiate start on Saturday. Expect to see ULM try to pressure him early and often. If the Warhawks are successful, it might provoke a turnover or two that could give them momentum.
Mike: Uncertainty for FSU — If there one thing that Louisiana-Monroe has going for it, it’s the fact that Florida State has had a hectic week. With Hurricane Irma headed toward Florida, FSU has been forced to adjust its schedule, including moving up the game seven hours. This also affects the Warhawks, but throwing a wrench in the normal protocol seems like it would be more beneficial to the underdog. Florida State will also be playing with a true freshman quarterback making his first career start in James Blackman.
Biggest FSU Advantage
Clint: Running Options — Perhaps the most glaring issue with ULM last week was its complete lack of a rushing defense. The Memphis Tigers rushed for 319 yards and four touchdowns against the Warhawks. Two of their players went for over 130 yards on the ground and one of them even had a 14.7 yards per carry average. Florida State has a very talented backfield that had a very unfavorable match-up against the Alabama defense. It’s safe to assume that the FSU offense will find it much easier to run the ball with Jacques Patrick and Cam Akers against Louisiana-Monroe.
Mike: Talent — When it comes to the amount of depth, talent and speed on the field for each team, this contest will decidedly be to FSU’s advantage. The Seminoles feature a roster predominantly made of blue-chip talent while the Warhawks, out of the Sun Belt, went just 4-8 a season ago with a defense that ranked 120 in yards per game allowed and 122nd in scoring. If FSU comes out and takes care of business, this could be an opportunity for prominent newcomers like Cam Akers, Joshua Kaindoh, Adonis Thomas, Marvin Wilson and Stanford Samuels to get some additional playing time.
Game Breaker
Clint: Will FSU Be Mentally Recovered? — Emotional losses that involve witnessing a devastating injury to one of your teammates are a nightmare for coaches. Fisher has to make sure that his team recognizes how much of the season is still left to play. Years don’t end when someone gets injured or even when you lose your first game. They end when you decide to give up and let inferior opponents pull off victories.
Mike: Can FSU Stay Focused? — Whether this one has any chance of becoming interesting or not will be decided mostly by whether FSU comes in focused and avoids mental lapses and turnovers. The time change and the possible coming hurricane could throw off players’ equilibrium and priorities, especially since so many are from areas expected to be affected by Irma. A focused FSU team should have little trouble getting past Louisiana-Monroe. With Miami coming up in the ACC opener, FSU would also be best served to get out of this one injury-free.
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