FSU Football: Ranking top 5 defenses Noles will face in 2019

TALLAHASSEE, FL - OCTOBER 27: A group of Clemson Tigers defenders make a tackle for loss against Jacques Patrick #9 of the Florida State Seminoles in the third quarter of the game at Doak Campbell Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Tallahassee, Florida. Clemson won 59-10. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL - OCTOBER 27: A group of Clemson Tigers defenders make a tackle for loss against Jacques Patrick #9 of the Florida State Seminoles in the third quarter of the game at Doak Campbell Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Tallahassee, Florida. Clemson won 59-10. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images) /

Boise State

It’s probably a surprise to most but Boise State makes the No. 5 spot on the list. The Broncos finished the 2018 season ranked No. 38 according to S&P metrics which was one spot below FSU.

Florida State Seminoles Football
Florida State Seminoles Football /

Florida State Seminoles Football

The Broncos will have a new defensive coordinator but will return over half of their starters from last season though they are not particularly deep with experience.

They struggled to stop the run at times but were excellent when able to force teams into predictable passing situations.

One of the main reasons they make the list is because of the amount of time they have to prepare for FSU.

The good news is they haven’t seen what Kendal Briles can or will do at FSU since it’s also his first year there.

Another flaw of Boise State last year was they had a tendency to give up explosive plays at times.

When you look a their stats from last year they were eerily similar to the product FSU put on the field. The difference was they had a much better offense that only turned the ball over half as much as the Noles.

One huge problem for the FSU offense last season was converting third downs. The Broncos only allowed teams to convert third downs 31 percent of the time. The key against Boise State will be establishing the run game and attacking vertically off playaction.