FSU football will be looking to surprise a lot of folk in 2019. We give our top 10 predictions on the season for the ‘Noles.
The expectations for FSU football seem to be between pessimistic and wait-and-see mode for the 2019 season.
If they can stay healthy in the trenches and at running back, they could beat most of the teams on their schedule.
It should be a fun season with the Noles looking to rise up from dormancy the past two seasons. FSU football is likely 2-3 years away from realistically competing to be in the four-team college football playoff but we should see progress this season no doubt.
There’s a lot of things that go into competing at an elite level year in and year out.
Teams have to have the right schedule, and have to have incredible injury luck. Sometimes teams get a favorable bounce here and there or referees provide a favorable call here and there.
It’s possible for the best team in the country to not make the four team playoff or play for a National Championship depending on if and when they lose a game.
I think 2019 will have a much different feeling than last season for FSU as they have one of the most proven offensive coordinators in the game on staff.
Let’s get into our top 10 predictions for the season.
FSU Football Will Defeat BOTH Miami and Florida
That statement should make FSU fans happy to say the least. The Noles dominated both teams the past half decade, but Miami has lucked into two consecutive wins.
Florida finally beat the Noles for the first time since 2012 last season. I wrote a couple of weeks ago I thought both teams were overrated, and that proved to be true Saturday night when they played one another.
Miami is starting an inexperienced redshirt freshman, and will continue to have inconsistent offense this season until he gathers more experience.
Their defense is the strength of the team, but they have some holes to fill from last year.
Florida came into the season preseason No. 8 and I said weeks ago that was way too high. Their QB Felipe Franks is still inconsistent and their defense missed a ton of tackles against Miami.
The Noles will have Miami at home and should be good enough on both sides of the ball this year. The Florida game will be tougher as it’ll be in the road and they could have some kinks worked out by the final game of the season.
FSU will be state champions once again though.
James Blackman will pass for 3,000 yards on the season
James Blackman had a good true freshman season, passing for 2,230 yards on 297 pass attempts.
He averaged 7.5 yards per attempt and completed 58 percent of his passes that season. He completed 63 percent of his passes averaging 9.2 yards per attempt to pass for 421 yards in his lone start last season against NC State.
It’s a different offense from last season no doubt, but the Noles will feature arguably the most talented group of wide receivers in the last 10 years.
However, Kendal Briles will lean heavily on the run as long as the offensive line can be effective in run blocking. If so, that should open up the vertical passing game Blackman excels at.
I also anticipate Blackman throwing a lot of quick/short passes to receivers in space which should help this prediction come true.
Blackman will need to average 250 passing yards per game to reach 3,000 yards in the regular season. I see him averaging between 30-35 attempts per game which should get him over the hump.
FSU football will NOT have a 1,000 yard receiver in 2019
I know you’re sitting there like, you just said James Blackman will throw for 3,000 yards this season right? I did say that, but here’s why FSU will not have a 1,000 yard receiver.
However, the Noles will likely rotate a healthy number of receivers to stay fresh due to the number of plays they will average on offense.
Then there’s the running backs who will get a share of receptions out of the backfield, so that could factor into their production as well.
If anyone gets to 1,000 yards it’s likely one of the slot receivers or Tamorrion Terry. However, I think teams will put more focus on Terry after he burst on the scene last season with all those explosive plays.
The attention to Terry should open things up for both D.J. Matthews and Keyshawn Helton. But that’s the problem, there’s two of them who could be really productive which will eat into that production.
I don’t expect much from Keith Gavin, and whoever replaces him will be talented but inexperienced.
Joshua Kaindoh will have 7+ sacks
Joshua Kaindoh is one of the biggest five-star busts in the last decade through his first two seasons. The former overall top 10 recruit had three sacks and 19 total tackles last season.
He had four sacks as a true freshman with all of them coming in one game against Delaware State.
I think there’s still hope for Kaindoh IF he can stay healthy which again has been a problem through fall camp with a hamstring issue..
That’s something that could linger all season if he doesn’t take care of it, but he has all the measurables to give teams problems.
I anticipate FSU’s offense to be much better in 2019, thus giving FSU the opportunity to play with the lead more. That should lead to teams passing more, which leads to more opportunities for sacks.
Kaindoh will be eligible for the NFL after this season and desperately needs better film if he is contemplating make that jump. I think he’ll flash more this year than the past two years combined.
FSU defense will hold opposing offenses to 4.8 yards per play or lower
The FSU defense caught a lot of flack for its performance last season, but I’m here to tell you they were nowhere near as bad as the numbers said.
In fact, advanced metrics placed them as the No. 37 ranked defense in the nation. Sure, that’s not close to FSU standards, but it wasn’t terrible considering what they had to face last season.
The FSU offense was non-existent and kept the defense on the field by turning the ball over 26 times usually resulting in really short fields for opposing offenses.
When the offense wasn’t turning the ball over, they were usually going three and out resulting in a gassed defense.
MUST READ: 3 Reasons FSU Could Play More 3-4 Defense in 2019
There’s no question there were hole like a lack of pass rush outside of Brian Burns and getting gashed through the air(those two are somewhat related).
They were not great at stopping the run at times either.
The ‘Noles allowed opposing offenses to average 5.24 yards per play last season, and I expect that to drop in 2019.
The linebacker group should be improved and the secondary is more talented than last season.
The defensive line starters should be stout, but there’s not a lot of experience behind those starters.
It’ll be year two in Harlon Barnett’s defense and he’s shown the ability to have big improvements as players get more acclimated to his system.
Dontavious Jackson will lead the team in tackles
"Dontavious Jackson will be one of the most inexperienced starters on the FSU defense."
It’s funny, I wrote that a lot last year and now Jackson will be the most experienced linebacker returning for his senior season.
He finished second on the team in tackles with 75 total. Hamsah Nasirildeen led the team with 91 tackles, but I doubt he’ll have the same production as last season.
I think FSU going to a more 3-4 look in a few games will allow Jackson to make a few more plays than last season. He looks to be in great shape and should have a better understanding of how his role factors into the defense.
One thing I want to see is more splash plays or tackles for loss as he only had seven for eight yards loss last season
The key for him will be staying healthy and reading his keys on when to trigger down hill or read the plays in the flats.
He’ll play a ton of snaps because the Noles simply need him on the field as much as possible. I expect Jackson to have north of 80 tackles which should give him a good shot at leading the team.
Cam Akers will get 1,100 rushing yards or more
This was a tough prediction to make, because I’m trying to project how many carries Akers will receive and his production on those carries in an offense we haven’t seen yet at FSU.
I’m projecting Cam Akers to get around 185 carries on the season which equates to about 31 percent of the rushing attempts if they have near 600 rushing attempts on the season.
I expect an uptick in production as he got a ton of experience and has watched a lot of film in the off-season.
He seems aware of the mistakes he made as far as missing running lanes and/or setting up blocks.
I’m expecting Akers to improve his yards per carry average to about 6 ypc. If he obtains 185 rushes and hits that average that would put him at 1,110 yards on the year.
That’s doable with the amount of rushes expected coupled with improved offensive line play. Khalan Laborn could be a factor here, but I expect Akers to get the truckload of the work.
FSU Offense will average 6.3 ypp or more
I expect the FSU offense to be really good in 2018. James Blackman at quarterback will be huge as it’s an upgrade over Deondre Francois.
The offensive line looks to be bigger and stronger with better coaching in the offensive system. There should be less negative plays on average, and the passing plays should be explosive.
MUST READ: Kendal Briles Confident In ‘Noles Offense
Kendal Briles’ offenses have averaged 6.6 and 6.8 ypp the last three years, and that’s with much less talent than what’s on the FSU football roster.
I expect more explosive plays from the wide receivers, and their should be more explosive running plays if the reports coming out of practice are true.
It would not surprise me to see this FSU offense average near 30+ points per game in 2019.
FSU will go 9-3 in the regular season
A lot of folk are down on this FSU team because of last year but have forgotten this roster is still absolutely loaded with blue chip talent.
There has been a lot of talk about the schedule and I think it’s easier than last year by a good margin. I’m also thinking some teams are getting a bit more credit than deserved.
MUST READ: 3 Reasons FSU Offense Improves Drastically in 2019
Boise State will be starting a true freshman QB against FSU in the opener. Miami is starting an inexperienced QB too and Syracuse is replacing a starting QB.
If we count those games as wins coupled with the other games FSU should win, that’s nine wins right there.
Of course all of this is based on good injury luck which can change everything. I mean, this is bold predictions after all!
FSU will finish second in the ACC Atlantic
FSU is the most talented team in the entire conference behind Clemson. That will arguably be the only game where they are not the most talented team on the field.
I know the sexy pick is Syracuse to finish second, but it was a 6-0 ball game at halftime last year. That was a 10 win Syracuse team against the worst FSU football team in 40 years.
Basically the defense was gassed and demoralized with the offense looking like boo boo and turning the ball over.
NC State lost their offensive coordinator and will be starting a new QB while having to come to Doak Campbell this year.
Louisville was terrible last year and will continue to be this year more than likely with a new coaching staff trying to find their bearings.
Wake Forest is scrappy, but shouldn’t have the talent to beat FSU unless the Noles just beat themselves.
Enjoy the FSU football season Noles fan, it should be an exciting season! Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get in-depth news and analysis before each FSU football game!