Florida State season preview: Best and worst-case scenario
By Daniel Stave
A season-ending injury, a hurricane and Jimbo Fisher’s departure combined to make 2017 the worst Seminoles season in years. Can new coach Willie Taggart re-invigorate the young talent and lead them back to ACC contention?
No team had a more disappointing 2017 season than perhaps the Florida State Seminoles. Ranked No. 3 in the country in the preseason polls, the team did not get its first win until the fifth week of the season.
No. 1 Alabama got the better of the Seminoles in the much-hyped Chick-fil-A Kickoff in Week 1. The team didn’t just lose the battle between top-five teams, but they also lost starting quarterback Deondre Francois for the season with a knee injury.
Francois was a sleeper Heisman candidate entering the season. He threw for 3,350 yards as a redshirt freshman in 2016, with a 20-7 touchdown-interception ratio.
True freshman James Blackman took over for Francois. Blackman gave the Seminoles a respectable-but-not-spectacular performance, with 19 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and 2,230 yards in 12 games.
The team then battled weather the next two weeks, as their games against Miami and Louisiana-Monroe were postponed by Hurricane Irma. They returned to action only to suffer a disappointing home loss to North Carolina State in Week 4.
Overall, the team lost five of their first seven games. They rebounded down the stretch, winning three of their next four games, with their only loss coming against Clemson.
The Louisiana-Monroe game was originally canceled, but with the team needing an extra win to become bowl-eligible, the game was rescheduled for Dec. 2.
The Seminoles were able to get their 6th win against the Warhawks. They were selected to play in the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl, where they defeated Southern Mississippi 42-13.
While they posted a winning record of 7-6 on the season, their 3-5 conference record left them in 6th place of the seven7 teams in the ACC Atlantic division.
Another program-altering blow struck shortly before the ULM game, as head coach Jimbo Fisher announced he was leaving Florida St. for a new opportunity–and a lot of money– at Texas A&M.
Fisher had been a Seminole since 2007 when he joined the staff as an offensive coordinator. He was named Bobby Bowden’s heir apparent and took over as head coach when Bowden retired in 2010.
With Fisher’s departure, Florida St. had to enact a coaching search for the first time in 42 years.
The team landed on Willie Taggart, who had coached one year at Oregon after stints at Western Kentucky and South Florida.
Transitioning to Taggart’s spread offense will be an adjustment for the players who ran Fisher’s pro-style system in years past. Whoever Taggart chooses as the starting quarterback will have a chance to light up the scoreboard.
The team found success in 2017 behind running backs Cam Akers and Jacques Patrick. Akers ran for 1,024 yards, while Patrick earned 748. Both are capable receivers, as they combined for more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage.
Two the team’s top three pass-catchers–wide receiver Auden Tate and tight end Ryan Izzo–will move on after being drafted in the 7th round of the NFL draft.
But leading receiver Nyqwan Murray is back. Murray had 604 yards on 40 receptions in 2017. Rising junior Keith Gavin was fourth in receiving, with 27 catches for 278 yards. He is likely to replace Tate as the other starting receiver.
The offensive line should be stable. Center Alec Eberle was named second-team All-ACC in 2017 and leads a group of four returning offensive linemen who have at least 11 starts in their careers.
The defense, however, is a bigger concern. Second-team All-American safety Derwin James was drafted in the first round by the Los Angeles Chargers. Cornerback Tarvarus McFadden and safety Trey Marshall were also big losses in the secondary.
Up front, Derrick Nnadi was a 317-pound wrecking ball on the defensive line. Josh Sweat was a productive pass rusher on the edge. Both are gone after being selected in the 3rd and 4th rounds of the NFL Draft, respectively.
The team is also losing linebacker Matthew Thomas who led the team with 85 tackles. Nnadi, Sweat, and Thomas all had multiple sacks and 10 or more tackles for loss.
The defense does return stud defensive end, Brian Burns. Burns is a speed rusher at 6’5″ and 218 pounds. He will be a junior and has already amassed 13 sacks and 23 tackles for loss in his college career. The team will rely on his disruptive presence to slow down opposing offenses.
The favorite to replace James’ playmaking abilities is emerging sophomore Stanford Samuels III. The defensive back wreaked havoc in a number of ways as a freshman, registering two interceptions, one forced fumble, three tackles for loss and five passes defensed.
Joshua Kaindow also flashed as a freshman. His four sacks against Delaware State November 18 earned him an ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Week award.
The team has a plethora of young, highly rated players from recent recruiting classes. Much of the success of the defense will depend on how many of them turn into quality starters.
Schedule
September 3 vs. Virginia Tech
September 8 vs. Samford
September 15 at Syracuse
September 22 vs. Northern Illinois
September 29 at Louisville
October 6 at Miami
October 20 vs. Wake Forest
October 27 vs. Clemson
November 3 at North Carolina State
November 10 at Notre Dame
November 17 vs. Boston College
November 24 vs. Florida
Best-case scenario: Taggart’s spread offense is a juggernaut. While the defense is young and inconsistent, they make enough plays to allow the offense to win games. With most of their toughest games at home, the team goes 11-1 in the regular season. They win the ACC title game, earning a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Worst-case scenario: The transition to a new coaching staff proves to be too much against a loaded schedule. The ACC did them no favors, as their cross-division matchups feature the Coastal’s two top teams in Miami and Virginia Tech. The non-conference schedule isn’t easy either with a trip to Notre Dame and Dan Mullen’s Florida Gators coming to town. The team struggles to a 6-6 record and barely earns bowl eligibility.