FSU Football: Single Stat Showcases Defensive Woes in 2016

FSU football had a defensive year they would like to forget for much of 2016 – and one single stat pretty much explains why things were so bad.

Throughout the 2016 season, there is no doubt that FSU football played some great offenses from across the country. In the first two months – or eight games – of the season, six of the seven FBS offenses the Seminoles played ranked in the top 44 nationally for scoring offenses…a number that includes three teams ranked in the top 14 (USF, Louisville and Clemson).

For some, that could have a lot to do with the reason why the defense for the ‘Noles was pretty abysmal for much of the first two months of the year – a unit that gave up 33 points against FBS foes during that stretch before waking up during the final five games of the season. One recent stat from ESPN.com could help to explain even more of the problem.

Here’s the Worldwide Leader’s comments on the ‘scariest stat’ facing each of the top teams heading into the 2016 season:

"Through the first five weeks, no Power 5 defense was on the field less than the Seminoles, yet they give up 42.3 points per game or 1.9 points per minute, which was dead last among the 65 Power 5 teams when playing FBS opponents."

It wasn’t just that teams were scoring on the Seminoles last season – it was that they were doing so like it was nothing. Over the course of the 2016 season, FSU football gave up points on 51 drives by opposing offenses last year. The numbers of how quick those drives were says it all:

Scoring Drives Under 1:00 – 7 (13.7 percent of all drives)

Scoring Drives Between 1:00 and 2:00 – 15 (29.4 percent)

Scoring Drives Between 2:00 and 5:00 – 27 (52.9 percent)

Florida State Seminoles Football

Yes, you are looking at those numbers properly – all but two scoring drives over the course of the entire season were less than five minutes in length (with one being a 7:28 drive against Florida and the other a 7:26 drive against Michigan, both ending in field goals).

As the offense for the Seminoles was giving the ball to the opposing team after scoring or punting the ball, they were getting it right back without a chance to take a breather and reevaluate things they may have gone wrong on the previous drive. At the same time, the defense was giving up the big play to the tune of just under half the opposing offensive scores taking less time than it takes to heat up a frozen burrito.

It’s a reason Charles Kelly was on the hot seat for much of the 2016 season and a reason so much emphasis has been placed on that side of the ball and its improvement. With the talent on offense for the Seminoles this season, a defense that isn’t just letting the other team march down the field in no time could make this a championship team.