Florida State vs. Virginia Preview

Our Florida State vs. Virginia Preview examines how things are shaping up for Saturday, when the Seminoles look to extend the nation’s longest winning streak as they host the Cavaliers on Homecoming Weekend.

Florida State vs. Virginia Preview

In what some may consider a payback game, the ‘Noles kick it off against Virginia Saturday evening at Doak Campbell Stadium. This match-up presents some interesting challenges on both sides of the ball for both teams. Coming off a slightly longer week of being idle following a Thursday night showdown in Louisville, Jimbo Fisher will have the Seminoles ready for action against the Cavaliers.

Party Crashers

November 19, 2011 was the last time that these two teams squared off in Doak Campbell Stadium. It was a game that saw the Cavaliers who had ACC Coastal aspirations, come in to Tallahassee and upset the 23rd-ranked ‘Noles on Homecoming Weekend.

More from Chop Chat

• FSU football: Q&A with Clemson experts at Rubbing The Rock 2023
• FSU football: 3 reasons Noles beat Clemson, two reasons they lose
• FSU football: QB Brock Glenn out with an injury for ‘a few weeks’
• FSU football: Which TV announcers will call Clemson game?
• FSU football: Is Jared Verse ready to make an impact versus Clemson?

In the final moments of the game, with the Cavaliers up by just a point, Virginia committed a personal foul when a UVA player grabbed the facemask of an FSU player. This meaningless penalty gave the ‘Noles a first down and allowed FSU to line up for a 47-yard field goal attempt to win the game. To add to the drama that was experienced in the final moments of the game, Virginia was flagged again on the field goal attempt for a “disconcerting signal” according to the referee.

The five yards wouldn’t make a difference, as kicker Dustin Hopkins saw one of his rare misses sail wide of the upright. In the end, UVA would hold on to win 14-13 and spoil homecoming for the Seminoles.

When the ‘Noles have the Ball:

As long as quarterback Jameis Winston doesn’t make any of the wrong reads or simply throw up a duck into the secondary, there is the potential for him to have a career day against an offensively inept Virginia team. Against FBS competition the Cavaliers have scored over 30 points just two times. Their record in these two games is 1-1.

On the other hand, the ‘Noles have yet to score less than 30 points with Jameis Winston behind center. Look for Winston to spread the wealth, as last weekend saw some of FSU’s younger talent on offense step up and make big plays in crucial moments. Ultimately, wide receiver Rashad Greene should be targeted most, but Winston has even more confidence in players like Ermon Lane whom Winston was nothing but complimentary toward following the Louisville game. It was plays like the one seen below involving Lane that showed how significant of an impact the young core of receivers had against the top defense.

All bets are off when it comes to the run game. FSU enjoyed one of the better performances of the season in Louisville against one of the nation’s best run defenses. Halfback Dalvin Cook shined against the Cardinals’ stout defense rushing for 110 yards and two touchdowns on just nine attempts. Virginia brings a top-20 run defense into the game.

It should be interesting to see if last Thursday’s explosion by Dalvin Cook was merely a fluke or if the ‘Noles have said good riddance to their lowly running game.

When the Cavaliers have the Ball:

The Cavaliers’ offense has been banged up this season, and it has only gotten worse for UVA as of late. Wide receiver Miles Gooch’s season ended abruptly after he went down with a right leg injury in the Cavaliers’ loss to North Carolina on October 25th. This was followed by a shoulder injury to Andre Levrone.

Without many viable options at the position, head coach Mike London turned to backup quarterback David Watford. Watford recorded just one reception for seven yards in Virginia’s loss to Georgia Tech this past weekend.

Gooch and Levrone currently have the third and fourth most yards receiving on the team, as seen below.

To put these offensive woes into perspective, the Cavaliers’ offense has scored a mere six points in the second half of its last four games. Not the third quarter, not the fourth quarter, but the entire second half. Mike London had this to say on the matter.

"“Well, obviously that is a big concern. You have to be able to score points, and particularly finish games. That’s something we have to do a better job at. We have to make sure that we give ourselves an opportunity to win games and to finish games. We will spend the appropriate amount of time to make sure that type of production will allow us to be competitive, particularly at the end of the second, third and fourth quarters.”"

This lack of production doesn’t bode well for Virginia as the ‘Noles have put up nearly ten times that in the second half of the last two games alone, scoring 56 second half points playing the likes of Notre Dame and Louisville.

Final Thoughts

While the Cavaliers bring a stingy, respectable defense to the table, their inabilities on offense will greatly hinder any potential success the defense may have in getting the ‘Noles off the field early in drives. This game has the feeling of one of those games where you just have to sit back and wait to see how many waves it takes to capsize the boat. If Virginia can’t sustain possession of the football consistently and keeps putting it back into the hands of one of the most explosive offenses in the country, then this one could be over early, and it may not matter how many second half points Virginia is able to put up.