ChopChat Editor Roundtable: FSU vs. Notre Dame

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

AH: The best chance Notre Dame has of stopping the Florida State Offense is forcing the Seminoles into third and long. Brian VanGorder brings NFL-style blitzes in this situation. How prepared is the extremely talented Florida State line for this complex blitz scheme?

PN: While that’s traditionally what you want to do, Jameis Winston is hardly a traditional quarterback. Take a look at Winston’s numbers on third and long– he connects on a lot of those passes. FSU is one of the best third down teams in the country and it’s because of Winston’s moxie. You can blitz him all you want, he’s not going to get flustered and he’s going to take advantage of the one-on-one matchups that occur because the defense is bringing another man on the rush. Winston has seen better defenses than Notre Dame’s (see: UF), I don’t think Brian VanGorder’s “NFL-style blitzes” are going to factor as much as you hope.

DV: To add on, if you think Winston’s third-and-long numbers are impressive, his numbers against the blitz are downright gaudy. The blitz was the first reaction of many defensive coordinators last year after Winston went 25-27 for 356 yards and four TDs in his first collegiate game. A record-breaking Heisman campaign and a national title attest to how effective those blitzes wound up being.

To be honest, Notre Dame’s best chance on defense is to keep everything out in front and hope Winston, who is extremely competitive and wants to make the big play, gets impatient. These ‘Noles are also prone to penalties; let them self-destruct before trying to force the issue with Winston: the competition is 0-19 in attempting the latter.