FSU football: 3 reasons Noles defeated LSU Tigers

By Kelvin Hunt | Sep 5, 2022

TALLAHASSEE, FL - DECEMBER 2: A general view of a Florida State Seminoles Helmet on the field before the game against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Doak Campbell Stadium on Bobby Bowden Field on December 2, 2017 in Tallahassee, Florida. Florida State defeated Louisiana Monroe 42 to 10. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /

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Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports /

FSU Defense Made LSU One Dimensional

A lot of folks that claimed to know ball thought LSU had a mismatch with their receiving corps against the FSU secondary. However, the game was always about whether their QB would have time to find those wide receivers down the field.

FSU made Jayden Daniels run for his life in the pocket, as he ran the ball 16 times for 114 yards. The LSU offensive line got away with a ton of holding, but FSU’s Jared Verse consistently got pressure and sacked Daniels twice.

LSU wasn’t able to run the ball with their running backs, as I said in my bold predictions piece Sunday morning. The Noles forcing Daniels to run the ball meant they’d hit him a lot, plus it takes a lot of their explosive plays down the field away.

Daniels completed 72 percent of his passes but only averaged 5.8 yards per pass. That meant the FSU defensive line was eating and forcing his hand, which meant getting rid of the ball quickly for short passes or taking off and running.

That’s a gamble that paid off for Adam Fuller as it took their wide receivers out of the game and had them visibly frustrated.

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