College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Florida State season with what you need to know.
CFN in 60 Podcast: 2020 Florida State
60-second Florida State preview
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Florida State Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 6-7 overall, 4-4 in ACC
Head Coach: Mike Norvell, 1st year, 5th year, 38-15 overall
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 57
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 78
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 36
NOTE: Obviously, no one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Florida State Offense 3 Things To Know
– Welcome to Florida State, new head coach Mike Norvell and offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham. The O wasn’t that bad throughout last season, but it wasn’t consistent, it couldn’t convert enough drives into points, and it never seemed to have the ball, finishing last in the ACC in time of possession. Here’s the positive – this was a big-play attack last year that has enough good pieces to explode. Norvell’s Memphis teams were known for their home run hitting ability, and the Noles should be able to do that.
CFN in 60 Video: Florida State Preview
– James Blackman wasn’t bad. The junior quarterback might have had a rough Sun Bowl against Arizona State – throwing four picks in the loss – but he’s got a live arm, 28 games of experience, and the downfield ability that Norvell’s offenses look for. Tamorrion Terry leads a veteran receiving corps that’s expected to bring back the top five targets from last year, but the tight end situation will be a bit iffy for a while until more options are built around junior Camren McDonald.
– Cam Akers was a big-time running back recruit who was never quite able to break out behind a miserable line. He’s off to the NFL, and it’s going to be an open casting call to find the right running back rotation. Speed is at a premium under the new coaching staff, and the hope is for Texas A&M transfer Jashaun Corbin to be the answer right away. There’s upside among the young running backs, but …
– The offensive line has been the main culprit in FSU’s drop to mediocrity over the last few years. Jimbo Fisher left a bad situation with no quick fix for Willie Taggart – pass protection has been non-existent for way too long.
By far, this is Job One for the new coaching staff, looking to put the five best pieces in place and figuring it out from there. It starts with FIU transfer Devontay Love-Taylor at one tackle spot – he’s a keeper – and there’s enough experience for the staff to at least have film to go off of.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Florida State Defense Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Florida State Defense Things To Know
– The Memphis defenses were too often just along for the ride under Mike Norvell, but last year it turned into a positive. Generating a pass rush was never an issue, but the 2019 Tigers were able to toughen up against the run and did their part defensively to hold serve. New FSU defensive coordinator Adam Fuller was one of the key reasons in the Tiger upgrade, and now he has a veteran group to work with.
– The good: ten starters are expected back on the FSU defense. The bad: they weren’t all that good. The secondary was torched for 277 yards per game and the D was 90th in the country in total yards allowed. However, it’s a talented group led by tackling-machine safety Hamsah Nasirildeen – with close to 200 stops over the last two seasons – and with All-ACC corner Asante Samuel back at one corner spot.
– The defensive front has a force in DT Marvin Wilson to work around. He’s a next-level talent who needs to stay healthy, and he needs more pass rushing help around him. Cory Durden can get into the backfield from the other tackle spot, but where’s the flash on the ends? Along with 260-pound Janarius Robinson on one end – the team’s leader in tackles for loss – Norvell’s defense will utilize a slew of undersized hybrid pass rushers to keep the pressure on.
– Nasirildeen should be the team’s top tackler again, but senior Emmett Rice is a talented veteran to work the linebacking corps around. He was second on the team with 72 stops, and sophomore Amari Gainer and senior Leonard Waner are back on the outside. This should be one of the team’s most improved groups.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Florida State Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Florida State Players
Best Florida State Offensive Player
WR Tamorrion Terry, Jr.
With 6-4, 210-pound size and 4.5 speed, he’s a matchup problem who has been able to get through the team’s offensive adversity and inconsistencies to make 95 catches for 1,932 yards and 17 touchdowns over his two seasons, averaging over 20 yards per grab.
A great fit for the new coaching staff and offense, he should once again be a big playmaker on the outside. Consistent, he came on late with seven catches or more with over 100 yards in three of the last four games, including a nine-grab, 165-yard, one-score day in the loss to Arizona State in the Sun Bowl.
2. QB James Blackman, Jr.
3. WR DJ Matthews, Sr.
4. RB Jashaun Corbin, Soph.
5. OT Devontay Love-Taylor, Sr.
Best Florida State Defensive Player
DT Marvin Wilson, Sr.
There’s a whole lot of talent and experience on the FSU D, but not it all has to come together. The 6-5, 310-pound Wilson is a 2021 first round NFL Draft talent with the quickness to go along with the bulk-strength to anchor the inside. The leader of the D, he was having his best season in his three years with 44 tackles with five sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss before suffering a hand injury. As long as he’s in one piece, the defensive front will be a major plus.
2. S Hamsah Nasirildeen, Sr.
3. CB Asante Samuel Jr., Jr.
4. LB Emmett Rice, Sr.
5. DE Janarius Robinson, Sr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Florida State Offense
Start blocking someone already. There’s talent at receiver, James Blackman is a veteran quarterback, and there’s promise at running back – despite the loss of Cam Akers. None of that matters if defenses get to spend the better part of Saturday afternoons hanging out behind the FSU line.
The Florida State running game averaged under four yards per carry – and that was an improvement after averaging fewer than three yards per carry in 2018.
Even worse, the pass protection went from awful to totally miserable. allowing 48 sacks last season and finishing fifth from the bottom nationally in tackles for loss allowed. The new offensive style should be just quick-hitting enough to get past some of the issues, but as the O line goes, so goes the Seminole season.
Biggest Key To The Florida State Defense
Get better at slowing down passing games. In S Hamsah Nasirildeen and CB Asante Samuel Jr., there’s NFL talent in the FSU defensive backfield. There was a good pass rush last year – and it should be stronger this season – but all the parts have to start working to stop guys who can throw the forward pass.
Outside of Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, it’s not like the ACC was loaded with a who’s who of next-level passers, but FSU was torched on a regular basis. The D allowed fewer than 200 yards through the air just twice, came up with a mere eight picks, and was 0-5 when allowing 290 yards or more.
Key Florida State Player To A Successful Season
OT Devontay Love-Taylor, Sr.
All forgiveness for continuing to hammer on this, but it’s everything for FSU going forward …
The offensive line has to be better.
Time of possession isn’t going to matter. It didn’t matter to Mike Norvell’s Memphis teams, and it wasn’t a part of the Florida State puzzle last season. However, there’s a difference between getting hammered in the time stat because the offense can’t convert on third downs, and being on the wrong side of it because the up-tempo attack scores in a hurry.
There’s experience returning on the offensive front, but it would go a long, long way to the development of the O – especially with no spring ball to get everything going – if the 6-4, 308-pound Love-Taylor can become an instant factor at left tackle.
The transfer from FIU might not have the NFL upside a top-shelf FSU tackle should bring, but he’s reliable, was terrific in pass protection for QB James Morgan, and he’s at least one part of a starting five that needs to finally be a positive.
Key Game To The Florida State Season
Oct. 3 at NC State
If the 2020 schedule goes off like normal, winning at Boise State and beating West Virginia in Atlanta would do wonders for the team’s overall confidence and attitude, but realistically, it’s going to take a few games to get the new staff and season in motion. By October 3rd – and coming off an off-week – the Noles have to be ready for the ACC opener.
Lose to NC State for the third time in four years, and there’s a big, big problem with Clemson coming up the following week. Throw in the road dates at Louisville and Miami soon after – and the game against Florida to close out the regular season – and it’s going to be a fight to have a good year without a win in Raleigh.
– Florida State Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Florida State Fun Stats
– Opponent 1st Quarter Scoring: 56. Opponent 4th Quarter Scoring: 130
– Field Goals: Opponents 28-of-37 – Florida State 7-of-14
– Penalties: 119 for 953 yards – Opponents 87 for 737 yards
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Florida State Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Florida State Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
There’s a good chance new head coach Mike Norvell will be able to benefit from the groundwork set by Willie Taggart.
Florida State needed a reboot. It’s not necessarily that things got stale under Jimbo Fisher, but there was a talent dip, Clemson rose up into superpower status, and the program that’s supposed to be among the elite of the nation’s elite on a regular basis was reduced to simply trying to make a bowl game.
Norvell was one of the hot gets among the offseason coaching hires, but – like Taggart – he has yet to win a bowl game and he has never been an FBS head coach.
However, he inherits a veteran team that has just enough talent to make this a good first season.
The offense has options to play around with on the line, a new running back has to emerge – it should be Texas A&M transfer Jashaun Corbin – and the receiving corps should grow into one of the team’s biggest strengths. As long as QB James Blackman can take his experience and game up another level, the O should be fine.
The defense has way, way too much talent and experience to not be appreciably better. There are at least three NFL top 50 picks to work around, the depth is good, and the athleticism is there to attack like the new coaching staff is going to want to do.
Set The Florida State Regular Season Win Total At … 7.5
If this was national championship-level Florida State, the schedule would work out great.
Clemson and Florida are killers, but both of them have to come to Tallahassee. NC State and Syracuse will be better – both games are on the road – and dealing with Louisville won’t be easy, but even with the trip to Miami the road games aren’t that bad.
Throw in the games away Doak Campbell against West Virginia and Boise State – there’s only one home game before hosting Clemson on October 10th – and this could be a trying run in a season of transition.
Even so, there’s way too much talent and experience across the board to not easily get bowl eligible – something that’s been a fight over the last few years – and set the tone for what should be a resurgence in the program.
Don’t expect a conference title again quite yet, but being in the mix to be the ACC’s second-best team isn’t asking for the world.
