College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Florida State season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Florida State Seminoles Schedule Analysis
– Florida State Seminoles Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2020 Record: 3-6 overall, 2-6 in ACC
Head Coach: Mike Norvell, 2nd year, 3-6 (41-21 overall)
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 83
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 33
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 78
Florida State Seminoles College Football Preview 2021: Offense
– Nothing worked quite right until the very end. The Florida State offense had a few moments when it seemed like something would start to kick in, but the O had one of the nation’s worst passing attacks, the running game couldn’t overcome it, and scoring was a problem.
There were yards, but there weren’t enough third down conversions and coming up with clutch drives was like pulling teeth. There’s experience now, and there are more than enough options, but it’s Florida State. It should be better than this offensively.
– So what’s been the problem? It started at the end of the Jimbo Fisher era, wasn’t fixed through Willie Taggart, and it was a massive issue in Mike Norvell’s first year – this program just can’t get the offensive line right.
The running game wasn’t awful, but there were too many plays allowed behind the line and like everywhere else on the O, there wasn’t enough consistency. All five starters are expected to be back in some configuration, and there’s hope for the developed depth, too.
Jashaun Corbin led all running backs with 401 yards and five scores, but second-leading back La’Damian Webb transferred to Troy. Auburn transfer DJ Williams should help, and speedy Lawrance Toafili should bring a burst.
– Just how healthy is McKenzie Milton? The former UCF star is still coming back from a horrific leg injury, and the hope – it would be one of the best stories of the college football season – is for him to be ready to take over the quarterback job this fall.
However, Jordan Travis will play, even if he’s not the starter. He led the ream in rushing with 559 yards and seven scores, but he was hit-or-miss as a passer. Former starting quarterback James Blackman transferred to Arkansas State.
The experience is there to help the passing game. Leading receiver Ontaria Wilson is back after catching 31 passes, Camren McDonald is a good-looking tight end, and speedy Keyshawn Helton needs the ball more. Kansas transfer Andrew Parchment will be in the rotation right away, too.
– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Florida State Seminoles Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Florida State Seminoles College Football Preview 2021: Defense
4. Florida State Seminoles College Football Preview 2021: Defense
– The defense was shockingly miserable. It was dead last in the ACC in sacks, close to last in total D, and it allowed 36 points per game. There weren’t enough third down stops, there weren’t enough big plays, and there were too many mistakes. It all starts with generating more pressure.
There’s help with South Carolina DT Keir Thomas coming into find a spot somewhere, but the leading returning defensive lineman in tackles for loss is Derrick McLendon, and he came up with just 2.5. There’s a 335-pound brick on the inside in Robert Cooper to work around, but again, there has to be more pressure from the outside.
– The Noles get back the top three linebackers who ended up all finishing in the top three in tackles, but second-leading tackler Emmett Rice hurt his leg this spring and is questionable going into the fall. 232-pound Amari Gainer led the team with 65 tackles – he can pop a bit – and Stephen Dix is a big rising hitter in the middle.
– To be fair, the secondary didn’t get any help from the pass rush, but the D picked off just eight passes and five of them – three coming from Asante Samuel – are gone. The transfer portal is interesting with the FSU DBs taking off so far – hurt most by S Jaiden Lars-Woodbey going to Boston College – and with three more coming in. South Carolina’s Jammie Robinson should be a top tackler at one safety spot, and there’s good corner help coming in.
– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Florida State Seminoles Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Florida State Seminoles College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Florida State Seminoles College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Best Florida State Seminoles Offensive Player
RB Jashaun Corbin, Soph.
The 6-0, 215-pounder started out his career at Texas A&M – averaging five yards per carry with three total touchdowns – but he seems to have found his home in the FSU offense. He’s a good enough receiver to start doing more – he caught 19 passes for 115 yards for the Noles last year – and led all running backs with 401 rushing yards and five scores.
2. QB Jordan Travis, Soph.
3. QB McKenzie Milton, Sr.
4. OG Devontay Love-Taylor, Sr.
5. WR Ontaria Wilson, Jr.
Best Florida State Seminoles Defensive Player
LB Amari Gainer, Soph.
Very versatile, very athletic, and very promising as a possible All-ACC performer in his third season, he has moved around where needed making 134 tackles with four sacks and 12 tackles for loss in his first two seasons. One of the leaders of the D, he’ll play a variety of roles.
2. DE Jermaine Johnson, Sr.
3. LB Stephen Dix, RFr.
4. DT Robert Cooper, Jr.
5. S Jammie Robinson, Soph.
*Emmett Rice would be on here but suffered a leg injury this spring
Top Incoming Florida State Seminoles Transfer
QB McKenzie Milton, Sr.
If he’s healthy enough to go – and that’s a massive if – the UCF star might finally be able to settle the quarterback situation and give the program the consistent downfield playmaker and passer it’s been missing.
He’s not likely to be the same runner and scrambler coming off a nightmarish leg injury, but if he’s close to being the passer who threw for 8,683 yards and 72 touchdowns in three seasons, the entire projection of the 2021 season changes.
NEXT: Florida State Seminoles College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Florida State Seminoles College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Florida State Seminoles Biggest Key: Offense
(For what seems like the 19th year in a row … ) The offensive line has to give everyone time to work. It’s been a huge problem for the last several years, but at least this year’s version is loaded with veterans and more options.
The offense under head coach Mike Norvell is known for breaking off big runs and huge plays, and it averaged over five yards per carry last season with a few great games – the team was 3-1 when running for over 200 yards – but pass protection has been spotty at best.
This group doesn’t have to be Wisconsin up front, but if it’s merely okay, everything else from the downfield passing game to the third down conversion issues should start to work.
And on the flip side …
Florida State Seminoles Biggest Key: Defense
Get the pass rush going again. The program that’s been such a killer at producing elite college pass rushers came up with just ten sacks last year. It was only a nine-game season, but averaging just barely over a sack per game wasn’t okay.
The Noles generated four against North Carolina, two against Jacksonville State, and just four total in the other seven games.
Sort of like the offense needing the line to be stronger to get everything else to flow, if there’s more pressure, more big plays behind the line, and more disruptive factors from several spots, the third down defense, takeaways, and stops should all follow.
And that’s why …
Florida State Seminoles Key Player To A Successful Season
DE Jermaine Johnson, Sr.
The Seminoles need someone to rise up and become a factor on the end. The linebackers did most of the work at generating tackles for loss, but no one did much from anywhere to get to the quarterback. Janarius Robinson led the team with three sacks, but he’s gone, and no one else was able to come up with more than one.
That’s where the 6-5, 260-pound Johnson comes in.
Part linebacker, mostly a defensive end, Johnson started out at Georgia with 7.5 sacks in his two years and now is a key part of the FSU defensive front. The Noles needed a pass rusher, and they got one.
Florida State Seminoles Key Game To The 2021 Season
Notre Dame, Sept. 5
It’s not like one game will turn around the program – witness the North Carolina victory last season – but beating Notre Dame at home would do wonders for the confidence and tone.
How rough have things been for Florida State? It lost four straight season openers. 1973 to 1976 was the last time that happened, and there’s never been a run of five straight season opening losses.
However, get a win, and with Jacksonville State, at Wake Forest, Louisville and Syracuse to follow, there’s a shot a big start to the season.
– Florida State Seminoles Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2020 Florida State Seminoles Fun Stats
– 2nd Quarter Scoring: Florida State 111 – Opponents 54
– Sacks: Opponents 29 for 213 yards – Opponents 9 for 52 yards
– Average Yards Per Pass: Opponents 8.1 – Florida State 6.1
NEXT: Florida State Seminoles College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
Florida State Seminoles College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
It wasn’t all that long ago that a ten-win season at Florida State was a given.
There was a lull from the end of the Bobby Bowden to the start of the Jimbo Fisher run when going 7-6 was seen as the end of the world, and now the unfathomable has happened with three straight losing seasons.
Florida State – the program that set an unrealistic standard of consistent excellence from the late 1980s to the early 2000s is just trying to get its head above water.
The ACC is a whole lot better when Florida State is fantastic. College football is a lot better when Florida State is fantastic.
2021 Florida State should be better, and it’ll be a whole lot more experienced, but it’s not going to be the College Football Playoff threat to give Clemson any sort of a push.
Set The Florida State Seminoles Regular Season Win Total At … 6.5
There are more than enough winnable games – start with Jacksonville State, Syracuse, UMass all at home – and enough 50/50 games to get to six wins. There’s no excuse to not go bowling, and that’s at least a start.
Mike Norvell had a rough first season for a whole slew of reasons, but his teams crank out big plays, fun offenses, and put up big numbers. There are more parts in place to do that – that’s important.
The team has to look like it’s got the potential to have a system that throws a scare into college football again.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Florida State Seminoles Schedule Analysis
