The Daily Nole

The Outside Slant: FSU Opponents Louisville, Miami, Bye, Wake Forest, Clemson

Jeff Romance/FSU athletics

Lead writer Clint Eiland returns with his semi-satirical, semi-humorous, and semi-knowledgable look at Florida State opponents in 2018. For a more serious preview, check out the collaboration article with editor Mike Ferguson.

To catch up on this series, head over to Part I.

Louisville

Part of the deal when bringing in Bobby Petrino is that you expect results, albeit with controversy hanging over your program like a storm cloud. So wasting one of the greatest talents in college football history on your way to 8-win, 9-win, and 8-win seasons might be a warning sign that Petrino isn’t an elite program manager.

His offenses? Sure, almost always in the top 10. But Louisville is now on its third defensive coordinator in three years and it lost most of its playmakers on that side of the ball. Much like an initial story after a motorcycle crash, there’s going to be a lot of holes that need explanation.

This might be the offensive shootout of the year for FSU. This will be the first time the FSU defense is tested by an offense that returns most of its proven playmakers, including three receivers (Jaylen Smith, Dez Fitzpatrick, Seth Dawkins) who combined for over 2,300 yards and 20 touchdowns. It’s absolutely possible that this game is 35-35 at halftime before ending up like an ACC basketball score.

Did You Go A Full Segment Without Mentioning Papa John Being Racist? Not anymore.

Prediction: FSU 52, Louisville 41

Miami

In a scene reminiscent of many Miami days, a gold chain got repossessed and an old guy watched his life drain away in front of him. From getting clapped by 4-win Pittsburgh to getting clapped by dairy farmers, Miami could not have ended the 2017 season in a worse way. “The U” was back, but this sequel was obviously worse than the original.

I’m sure head coach Mark Richt is a fantastic person off the field, but everything transpiring at Georgia is the epitome of “nice guys finish last”. Except he rarely finishes last, instead opting to just not finish in first place. Richt will get you to a certain respectable level, but he simply does not have the ability to help a program reach its ceiling.

Despite this, the Hurricanes don’t actually have a bad team. FSU and Florida being down has allowed the Hurricanes to legitimately raise their talent level. Now they have a scary linebacking corps, good receivers, and a nice running back room. Miami is not winning a sixth ring, but it will probably win 10 games again with an unbelievably easy schedule.

Rivalries are hell to predict. On paper FSU is a more complete team. But Miami has its strengths and Hard Rock Stadium will be at least 80 percent full when the Seminoles roll in to town. It’ll also be the second straight road game for FSU, right after a tough match-up in Louisville. There are too many questions about the team’s resiliency that we simply don’t know at this point, so I’ll put in Miami for this one.

Is Malik Rosier Still the Starter? Apparently. Rosier looked like a less-entertaining Treon Harris at times with an abysmal 54 percent completion rate and 15 turnovers. He even got benched late in the Pittsburgh game! But he also scored 31 total touchdowns and randomly made huge touchdown throws (look away, Tarvarus McFadden). You’d think that by now someone else would have shown the coaches they could step in as a consistent option. It hasn’t happened, so they’ll have to take Rosier and everything that comes with him.

Prediction: Miami 24, FSU 21

Bye

This Saturday falls on Oct. 13, which is a day of mourning. On Oct. 13, 1903, the Boston Red Sox (then known at the Boston Americans) won the first iteration of the World Series. Some say the United States has never fully recovered.

Wake Forest

The #CLAWFENSE was actually really good in 2018. The Demon Deacons finished 22nd in the S&P ratings and John Wolford had a “where did this come from?” type of season. It’s funny to think that Wake Forest may have been FSU’s best win last year, but it was legitimately a tough team to beat, thanks to head coach Dave Clawson’s consistency (never thought a Tennessee fan would say that) and a respectable defense with two NFL draft picks.

Granted, Rick Trickett’s unit giving up a school record 17 tackles-for-loss will likely not happen in 2018, but Wake Forest has just enough returning to force FSU to go 100 percent. It won’t be as good on offense and it won’t be as good on defense, but considering the game last year was pretty close, I think it’ll stay the same this season.

How Preppy Can A Demon Deacon Be? Apparently the Demon Deacon mascot has a section of his Wikipedia page dedicated to “Memorable” wearers of the costume. Including this blurb: “Jimmy Devos (1955 Wake Forest graduate) shocked a Bowman Gray Stadium football crowd one afternoon by dropping his pants — only to reveal a pair of colorful Bermuda shorts.” This makes sense, as Bermuda shorts are probably the cheapest clothes in a Wake Forest student’s closet.

Prediction: FSU 28, Wake Forest 14

Clemson

It’s going to be awful when a blonde Hanson brother (from Slapshot, not the band, but that works too) turns out to be one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC. It sounds like I’m being dramatic, but Trevor Lawrence might honestly be one of the best quarterback recruits of the past 10 years. Now pair him with Tee Higgins, who might have the most raw talent of any receiver in the nation. It’s not going to be fun. Yes, I’m already betting against Kelly Bryant keeping the starting job. He’s a running back.

That’s not even mentioning a defensive line that returns multiple draft picks. Most made a rational decision and chose not to take a pay cut, but it’s frustrating for every other team trying to figure out their offense. The Tigers are a bit weaker in the secondary, where they have returning starters at cornerback but lose both starting safeties. If there’s a place where you can hit the Tigers, it’ll be over the top.

Clemson is going to make another run at the playoff and I don’t see FSU mustering up enough to upset them. It’s going to be close into the fourth quarter, but the Tigers pull away for the victory.

How Did This Happen? Don’t like it? Blame Butch Jones. I’m serious. Both Lawrence and Higgins were leaning Tennessee at one point. Lawrence grew up a Tennessee fan and lived just one hour away from Neyland Stadium. Higgins even committed to Tennessee for a while. But because Butch Jones was the dumbest human east of the Mississippi (a competition teeming with contenders), Tennessee faltered at the end of 2016 and both Lawrence and Higgins went to Clemson. No matter how hard you try, Jones has negatively affected your life and your team in ways that you couldn’t possibly imagine.

Prediction: Clemson 31, FSU 21

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