Thoughts From the Morning After: FSU 56 NC State 41

RALEIGH, NC – SEPTEMBER 27: Jacoby Brissett #12 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack breaks free from DeMarcus Walker #44 of the Florida State Seminoles to throw a touchdown pass during the first quarter of their game at Carter-Finley Stadium on September 27, 2014 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Defensive Issues

Florida State’s defense hasn’t given up that many points since 2010. It had never given up that many points in the first quarter.

Really — after that first quarter — the defense only gave up 17 more points all day. There were some bright spots for the unit. But even the most imperceptive of people have noticed by now that this is not last year’s defense.

The Good: FSU will get Mario Edwards Jr. back. The talented junior is recovering from a concussion and FSU hopes to have him back this week. It’s no coincidence that FSU’s worst two performances over this 20-game win streak — BC in ’13 and and Saturday — were both without Edwards on the field. The guy is a game-changer, and his absence hurt the Seminoles quite a bit.

The Bad: Nile Lawrence-Stample won’t be back, and that D-line rotation just seems to keep getting more depleted. Eddie Goldman and Derrick Mitchell both went down at points on Saturday and FSU can ill-afford injuries along its defensive line– especially in the middle. Replacing NLS at the nose is not going to be easy. If one of the true freshmen can grow into the role by the end of the year that’s a bonus– but it’s not something that fans should expect. FSU is going to have to find a way to be tough up the middle for the rest of the season without its starting Nose Tackle. And that gets harder with every injury.

The Ugly: The tackling was bad all day in Raleigh. Seminoles defenders dove haplessly at ball-carriers’ legs. They didn’t wrap up well. They took bad angles. This isn’t a talent issue, it’s just sloppy. But, keep in mind that FSU had problems with this at the start of last year too.

In practice there’s a very fine line, Jimbo Fisher can ill-afford to have anymore defensive injuries so having his team go hard on tackling one week is not a great option. Typically what Florida State does in practice is thud– just give a guy a pop but don’t put him on the ground. This week, however, FSU might have to do a little extra work on its tackling. This is a correctable issue, but until it’s corrected it’s going to be a big problem.