FSU football: 3 major things to look for in Louisville game
By Kelvin Hunt
Third Downs
FSU football has to win on third downs on both sides of the ball. This aspect was the major difference in the game last year, as Louisville converted 9 of 11 in the first half.
The problem was FSU’s defense wasn’t consistently able to win on first down, which created too many manageable third and fives and shorter.
Louisville used the pass to convert most of those, having the wide receivers run right to the first down marker to catch a short pass. Louisville also used the pass as an extension of the running game a ton on first down last year.
The Noles didn’t allow a single third-down conversion in the second half and held Louisville scoreless the rest of the way. Louisville has two options offensively. They can run their quarterback, Malik Cunningham to death, or they can pass on first down a lot like last year.
I don’t see them having a ton of success in the traditional run game, even if Fabien Lovett doesn’t play or is limited. Either way, they must do better than one sack and five tackles for a loss.
FSU was 2 of 5 in the first game but found some success later in the second half. This part brings me to my next point on the next page.