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FSU Football: Will ‘Noles defense face any elite offenses in 2019?

By Kelvin Hunt

DURHAM, NC - OCTOBER 14: A detailed view of a helmet worn by the Florida State Seminoles during their game against the Duke Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - OCTOBER 14: A detailed view of a helmet worn by the Florida State Seminoles during their game against the Duke Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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FSU football could be poised to have a comeback season on the defensive side of the ball due to a potentially better offense and easier schedule.

FSU football has an easier 2019 schedule compared to the last couple of years, but  could the Noles will face some elite offenses in 2019?

That doesn’t seem to be the case and it should be a nice opportunity for Harlon Barnett to improve his unit in his second season.

I’ve talked ad nauseam  about how much the poor FSU offense affected the defense last season. However, there are some things the defense needs to improve upon. The biggest thing is their pass rush which seemed to be non-existent last season.

Boise State will be breaking in a new quarterback. Virginia’s QB was decent but nothing special last year. Louisville was terrible last year and NC State lost their QB among other contributors and will have a new offensive coordinator. Clemson will be Clemson and Wake Forest is Wake Forest.

Syracuse will have a new QB with Erick Dungey’s departure, but he was often hurt anyways so that’s probably a minimal factor. Miami will have a new QB and Boston College will be Boston College and try to run it down your throat.

Florida does return a lot from last year’s offense.

Florida State Seminoles Football
Florida State Seminoles Football /

Florida State Seminoles Football

Here are where those offenses finished last season according to S&P stats:

  • Boise State-No. 18
  • UL-Monroe-No. 87
  • Virginia-No. 62
  • Louisville-No. 99
  • NC State-No. 29
  • Clemson-No. 5
  • Wake Forest-No. 48
  • Syracuse-No. 44
  • Miami-No. 66
  • Boston College-No. 88
  • Alabama State-FCS
  • Florida-No. 15

As you can see outside of Clemson and Florida there isn’t much to be afraid of on paper.

Thoughts

The biggest concern is the pass rush which the lack thereof caused the ‘Noles secondary to get torched most of last season to the tune of 30 touchdowns conceded.

The FSU defense only had 28 sacks and Brian Burns accounted for 10 of those but he’s in the NFL now.

The production has to come from Joshua Kaindoh, Janarius Robinson or Harlon Barnett better be blizting a lot on third downs.

The secondary is more talented and deeper this season and the starters are in year two of Barnett’s scheme.

Next. 5 Reasons To Be Excited About FSU in 2019. dark

If the Noles can get a decent pass rush, I see no reason they can’t improve on the No. 37 S&P finish last season.

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