FSU football: Ranking top 5 defenses Noles will face in 2020
By Kelvin Hunt
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is a team we haven’t seen on FSU’s schedule since the 2013 season when Jameis Winston lit them up. Some FSU fans could be surprised to see them listed, but they had a stout defense last season and have arguably one of the best defensive lines in the conference.
They finished the 2019 season with the No. 12 ranking according to S&P stats. They’re projected to have the No. 12 ranked defense in 2020.
They were great against the run, only allowing 2.99 yards per carry while allowing just 4.50 yards per play.
Did I mention how they can get after the quarterback? They were tied for No. 2 in the nation with 51 sacks and had 103 tackles for loss, which ranked No. 10.
They did lose a couple of players that were highly productive, but the nucleus of their defense remains intact.
They allowed 22.5 points per game and did not give up many explosive plays as they were tied for No. 7 in explosive plays allowed. Third down defense saw them allow teams to convert 33 percent of the time.
They had this success while having some of the worst turnover luck in the country with only 14 takeaways all season.