Michigan’s defense is going to be a problem, FSU loses Deondre Francois for the season
By Jack Crosby
ACC: Florida State has a major problem on their hands. Duh.
What had already been a terrible night for the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday in Atlanta quickly turned into the worst nightmare scenario head coach Jimbo Fisher could have imagined.
Quarterback Deondre Francois took so many violent hits in his first year under center last season that while you wondered how he wasn’t reduced to nothing but a pile of obliterated rubble at times, you also were led to believe he was a cyborg from a distant galaxy incapable of feeling pain, much less being injured.
Reality hit on Saturday night, though, when Alabama safety Ronnie Harrison charged through unblocked on a blitz and caught Francois from behind. It was far from the worst hit he has ever endured during his short collegiate career thus far, but it was enough to render him unable to walk himself off the Mercedes-Benz Stadium turf with a knee injury. There’s without question a plethora of talent on this Florida State offense, but the dual-threat Francois was the piece that would keep the engine running.
Now it appears the offensive-minded Fisher will turn to freshman James Blackman to handle the reins of the offense with Francois done for the year, sending the 6-foot-5, 185-pound youngster into the fire immediately. Not the ideal situation by any means for the team some called for to cruise to the ACC Atlantic Division title, but the hope is Blackman will have enough around him on offense and that defensive unit will be the pack of savages they displayed themselves to be against Alabama, thus somehow leading FSU to still keep their conference and College Football Playoff hopes intact.
Still, though, losing someone as talented as Deondre Francois stings heavily no matter which way you want to look at it, and right now teams like Clemson, Louisville and NC State (although, we don’t know so much anymore about this crew after what took place on Saturday) are licking their chops just a little bit harder as they get set for their ACC Atlantic Division sprint.