FSU football: ‘Noles defense will face several legit offenses in 2021

The FSU football defense can only go up from last year’s performance after allowing 36 points per game. The scary part is that’s without facing Clemson, Florida, Wake Forest, and Boston College, who all had good offenses last year.

A lot of talk on social media of late has been about the hypothetical notion of the FSU defense making a major improvement.

After all, they have some talent and experience coming back, and Adam Fuller will have had a full offseason to get the players acclimated to his scheme. That’s something that didn’t happen last year, and several players didn’t play up to expectations.

I expect the defense to improve, but it’s still going to be tough sledding with the slate of offenses they’ll face.

Most of the teams on the schedule have experienced quarterbacks returning and solid offensive lines. That’s not a great recipe for success in most cases. Here’s where each of the teams on the schedule(FBS) finished last season according to Football Outsiders advanced metrics ODE. That stands for Offensive Drive Efficiency:

• Notre Dame: No. 17
• Wake Forest: No. 47
• Louisville: No. 37
• Syracuse: No. 124
• North Carolina: No. 5
• UMASS: No. 127
• Clemson: No. 15
• NC State: No. 52
• Miami: No. 27
• Boston College: No. 55
• Florida: No. 10

FSU had the No. 94 offense according to that stat last year. Thank goodness for Syracuse and UMASS on the 2021 schedule. Notre Dame lost Ian Book and most of their starting offensive line. Wake Forest, Louisville, and North Carolina return starting quarterbacks.

Clemson lost their starting QB, but former No. 1 recruit DJ Uiagalelei got some reps last season and looks to be the real deal. NC State returns their starting QB, who was lost for the season with a leg injury after a few starts.

Miami and Boston College return their starting QBs and most of their offensive lines. Florida lost Kyle Trask, but the presumed starter got some playing time last year.

That’s nine offenses in the top 55 when garbage time and non-FBS teams are removed from the stats. The defense improving is a must, but the improvement of the offense might be a greater need for the Noles in 2021.