#1 Florida State will be in front of its home crowd on Saturday for the first time since November of last season. In its final home game of 2013, the Seminoles set a school-record with 80 points in an 80-14 victory over Idaho. On Saturday, Florida State will look to break a school-record as it eyes its 18th straight win dating back to 2012.
After a hard-fought 37-31 win over Oklahoma State on Saturday night in Dallas, Florida State turns its attention to a FCS squad in The Citadel. For the Seminoles, Saturday’s home opener should present an opportunity to play a lot of young players and make corrections in areas the team struggled against Oklahoma State.
Florida State quarterback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston passed for 370 yards and rushed for a touchdown in the opener, but Winston threw a pair of first half interceptions which allowed Oklahoma State to stay close at the break. Winston will be hoping for new faces at wide receiver to emerge as the Seminoles take on The Citadel.
Senior receiver Rashad Greene had a big night in the opener, finishing with 203 yards receiving and a touchdown on 11 catches, but all other FSU wideouts combined for just five receptions. Christian Green and Kermit Whitfield were the only other players at the position to catch a pass. The Seminoles will have an extra body in the lineup this week as Jesus Wilson returns from suspension.
Saturday’s contest should also provide a chance for Florida State to make improvements along the offensive front. FSU averaged just 3.1 yards-per-rush in the season-opener and allowed a pair of sacks. While senior Karlos Williams had a sub-par night, sophomore running back Mario Pender performed well in limited time in his Florida State debut. Among the Seminoles expecting to debut this week is freshman running back Dalvin Cook.
Defensively, Florida State wore down up front in the season-opener and the home opener should give freshmen defensive tackles Derrick Nnadi and Demarcus Christmas a chance to get their feet wet. Freshman linebacker Jacob Pugh should also have more of an impact this week after not recording a tackle in limited time against Oklahoma State.
For Florida State, the secondary is certainly the strength of the defense, but it was not overly impressive against the Cowboys. While that unit did force a pair of turnovers which included an interception return for a touchdown by Nate Andrews, it was largely responsible for allowing Oklahoma State to go 8-for-16 on third down conversion attempts. FSU was lulled to sleep early in the third quarter on an easy 55-yard touchdown toss from J.W. Walsh to David Glidden.
Florida State’s secondary may not have many passes thrown its way this week as The Citadel complete just one pass on eight attempts in its 31-16 season-opening loss to Coastal Carolina. The Bulldogs however, did run the ball well, finishing with 358 yards rushing. Tyler Renew and Jake Stenson each broke the 100-yard mark in the loss.
Saturday’s contest for Florida State will be the first against a FCS school since the Seminoles took down Bethune-Cookman 54-6 last season. After improving to 5-0 in season-openers under head coach Jimbo Fisher last week, FSU will look to move to 5-0 in home openers under Fisher. The ‘Noles will also look to start 2-0 for a fourth straight season.
Florida State will be facing The Citadel on Saturday for the first time since 2005. In that contest, the Seminoles actually trailed 10-3 late in the second quarter, but scored the game’s final 59 points for a 62-10 victory. Saturday’s contest will begin after 7:30 P.M. eastern time and will air on ESPN3 and the ACC Network.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
