Florida State will look to tie its own ACC record for consecutive conference wins on Saturday as the No. 9 Seminoles travel to Bobby Dodd Stadium to face Georgia Tech. The ACC Championship rematch isn’t the heralded game it was before the season as the Yellow Jackets are off to just a 2-5 start and are winless in ACC play. The contest however, will mark FSU’s first visit to Georgia Tech in seven years. To break down the game, the Noled Out staff gives their “Five Things”:
1. On Georgia Tech
Mike Ferguson: Georgia Tech has been one of college football’s biggest disappointments this season, but the Yellow Jackets aren’t an opponent the Seminoles should take lightly. Their triple-option attack will force the FSU defense to play disciplined assignment football. Eight of the last nine meetings between the teams have been decided by eight points or less.
Clint Eiland: The Yellow Jackets went from contenders to busts in an extraordinarily quick fashion. The Paul Johnson-led Yellow Jackets are on a 5-game losing streak, with three of those coming to unranked teams. A once prolific offense is now struggling to put consistent points on the board, ranking 42nd in points-per-game. While their rushing yards will always be there because of the triple-option offense it runs, Georgia Tech has seen its battered offensive line regress heavily. The defense has not improved and it’s hard to see the Yellow Jackets making a bowl game this year if they can’t turn it around.
Jon Marchant: Florida State takes on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who have lost five straight. They run the triple-option and have a great quarterback to run it in Justin Thomas. The problem is Tech has lot so many guys to injury that it struggles to stay competitive.
2. Players to Watch for FSU
Ferguson: Winning the battle against a triple-option offense starts up front and it starts inside by taking away the dive. One key player for Florida State this week will be defensive tackle Nile Lawrence-Stample. Lawrence-Stample, a senior, dominated up front last week against Louisville, recording four tackles and a sack while being a constant disruption. The style of offense is different this week, but the defensive interior must play well against the Yellow Jackets and Lawrence-Stample is the veteran of the bunch.
Eiland: Nile Lawrence-Stample has quietly been one of the more impressive defensive linemen in 2015. The Louisville game cemented his return and showed the impact that shined through in 2014 before his season-ending injury. The run-heavy Georgia Tech offense means that Lawrence-Stample has the chance to do what Eddie Goldman did last year — take over a game and single-handedly slow down an offense.
Marchant: All eyes should be on running back Dalvin Cook because no one in the country is as exciting to watch as him. Cook has 955 yards rushing through six games and will be facing a Georgia Tech defense that has had its struggles when it comes to stopping the run. Cook ran for 177 yards against Georgia Tech in last season’s ACC Championship.
3. Biggest Concern for FSU
Ferguson: Though the style of offense will be completely different this week, Florida State must find a way defensively to get off the field on third down. FSU has allowed opponents to convert 17 of 31 third downs over the last two weeks with many of them coming on 3rd-and-long. Georgia Tech will run whenever it can and if FSU can’t get stops this week, the Yellow Jackets will be able to melt an additional several minutes off the clock and shorten the game. If Georgia Tech can sustain drives and dominate time of possession, it will have a chance to pull the upset.
Eiland: The offense Georgia Tech runs requires disciplined football from a defense. If players choose to stray from their assignments, the Yellow Jackets will be able to wear them out and get sustained drives going. This current FSU offense has not been engaged in a shootout yet, and getting into one this Saturday would not be ideal.
Marchant: FSU will work on the passing game and the pass defense, but the biggest concern are injuries. Georgia Tech likes to cut block and FSU can’t afford to lose anybody on the defensive line.
4. X-Factor for FSU
Ferguson: The X-factor for Florida State in Saturday’s contest will be the tight end duo of Mavin Saunders and Ryan Izzo. Though young, the two have taken on a bigger role in the passing game in recent weeks and have provided depth to a corps of pass-catchers that isn’t quite as deep as some anticipated at the start of the year.
Eiland: How much Florida State can limit the Georgia Tech rushing attack will signal what type of game it will be. If the Yellow Jackets start to near 200-plus yards, it might become a game of possession time. If they get held under 200 by the end of the third quarter, the Seminoles will almost certainly have control of the game.
Marchant: The X-factor for this game is freshman safety Derwin James. Can the phenom freshman read his keys and play assignment football? He can be a force and if he does switch to the star position, he should have opportunities to drastically affect the game.
5. FSU Wins If…
Ferguson: For Florida State, this contest will come down to protecting the football and getting stops. The Seminoles have yet to turn the ball over offensively this year and they can’t give Georgia Tech’s rushing attack a short field or extra possessions. The triple-option attack is enough to worry any defensive coordinator and the Seminoles must be able to get stops when opportunities arise.
Eiland: …they jump out to a lead early. Justin Thomas is a good quarterback, but asking him to try and come back from a deficit through the air will almost certainly spell doom for the Yellow Jackets. A few first half touchdowns from the offense combined with some stops from the defense will give FSU a lot of breathing room.
Marchant: The recipe is the same as last week. Florida State will win if it can continue to do what its done to this point: play good defense and avoid costly turnovers on offense. Even if it’s not enough to beat some of the better opponents coming up, it’s still good enough to beat Georgia Tech. FSU also hopes to get out of this game healthy.
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