Who: Texas State Bobcats (0-0) at Florida State Seminoles (0-0)
When: Saturday, September 5th at 8:00 P.M. EST
Where: Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida (ESPN News)
Florida State will finally have the chance to get the bad taste from last season’s Rose Bowl loss to Oregon out of its mouth on Saturday as the Seminoles begin the year against Texas State. The Bobcats finished 7-5 a season ago in the Sun Belt and were quite explosive on offense, averaging nearly 34 points-per-game.
Texas State returns quarterback Tyler Jones, who accounted for nearly 3,200 total yards last season and 28 touchdowns. Senior tailback Robert Lowe rushed for 1,091 yards a season ago and found the end zone 12 times on the ground. Senior tackle Adrian Bellard is one of the best pass-protectors in the Sun Belt and hopes to open holes for Lowe on Saturday.
Despite a 13-1 finish and an ACC crown last season, the Seminoles struggled in a number of areas defensively and perhaps most notably when it came to generating a pass-rush. Florida State ranked just 108th in the country with 17 sacks and with Mario Edwards Jr. and Eddie Goldman both gone, the Seminoles will rely on a deep but unproven defensive line led by junior DeMarcus Walker. Seniors Nile Lawrence-Stample and Derrick Mitchell will provide leadership, but the majority of the talent up front comes from younger players.
The strength of the Florida State defense looks to be the secondary, which is headlined by junior cornerback and preseason All-American Jalen Ramsey. Safeties Tyler Hunter and Nate Andrews are each very experienced with Andrews leading the team in interceptions in each of his first two years with the program. Linebackers Terrance Smith and Reggie Northrup are both seniors, but have each had injury concerns.
Offensively, quarterback and Notre Dame transfer Everett Golson will make his first start for the Seminoles on Saturday. Golson looks to even his record at Doak Campbell Stadium. He passed for over 300 yards for the Fighting Irish last season in a 31-27 loss to FSU and has nearly 6,000 passing yards for his career.
At Golson’s disposal will be a lot of young talent headlined by sophomore running back Dalvin Cook, who became the first FSU freshman ever to rush for 1,000 yards last season. Cook was suspended for part of the offseason, but reinstated after being found not guilty on charges of misdemeanor battery. The receiving corps will be replacing all-time leading receiver Rashad Greene, but Travis Rudolph, Ja’Vonn Harrison, Ermon Lane and Jesus Wilson give Golson plenty of options.
Up front, the Seminoles will have four new faces with tackle Roderick Johnson being the only FSU offensive lineman to previously make a start. Johnson took over for Ryan Hoefeld late last season and started the final five games for the Seminoles. FSU also has one of the nation’s biggest special teams weapons in All-American placekicker Roberto Aguayo.
On the defensive side of the ball for Texas State, the Bobcats lose leading tackler David Mayo, who finished with 154 stops in 2014 and sacks leader, Michael Odiari. In the secondary however, senior David Mims has NFL talent and was named the Sun Belt’s preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Mims had five interceptions a season ago.
Saturday’s opener will be the first ever contest between Florida State and Texas State. FSU is 5-0 in season-openers under head coach Jimbo Fisher with the average margin of victory being more than 37 points. Since joining the FBS in 2012, Texas State has not beat a team from a Power 5 conference.
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