FSU football: NC State’s Dave Doeren scouts Noles and Jordan Travis

FSU football (4-1) and NC State (4-1) are in the same boat after coming off their first losses in the 2022 season.

Both teams lost to arguably the two top teams in the ACC, Clemson and Wake Forest. NC State didn’t play anyone worth mentioning before the Clemson game and should have lost their first game of the season on the road against ECU.

However, since that narrow escape, they beat the teams they should have beaten. FSU football has had a more difficult schedule, with wins over three power five programs.

However, the Noles have faced major injury issues on both sides of the ball. Nevertheless, they come into the game as only +3.5 betting underdogs.

NC State head coach Dave Doeren isn’t one to hold his tongue but spoke respectfully regarding the Noles before the matchup:

"“It’s the most impressive Florida State team we’ve played in a long time,” Doeren said at his weekly news conference. “They seem to be playing really fast. Offensively, it’s what you think when you turn on film of Florida State. They usually have tremendously good skill players, and they do. Their receivers are fast. … They’re very balanced, averaging 200 yards plus in rushing. “On defense they’re fast. They don’t do a lot but they do it well. Their D line is active. They do play a lot of press coverage on the outside and force you to make contact catches.”"

Dave Doeren’s sentiments sound similar to what Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson said regarding the Noles last week. FSU didn’t play anywhere near to its potential, had several starters out or playing injured, and was only a few plays away from potentially having a different outcome against Wake Forest. The key to it all is quarterback Jordan Travis, and Doeren spoke about the difference he sees in QB1:

"He’s very athletic. He can run, run with the football,” Doeren said. “Comparing him from last year to this year, last year I thought he was an athlete playing quarterback. This year he’s a quarterback. He’s thrown accurate passes. He’s reading coverage. He’s giving receivers chances to make plays. He’s moving around in the pocket. He’s playing really good football.”"

There are no lies told here. Travis has been limited by the injury suffered against Louisville, but that hasn’t hampered his ability to throw the ball. He’s leading the ACC in several key categories and has a much better wide receiver corps to work with compared to last year’s options.

The FSU offense was their demise against Wake Forest as the offensive line failed to block it up consistently, and they’ll face a better defensive front in NC State. However, NC State doesn’t have the same offensive firepower Wake Forest has either. We’ll see who’s available for the Noles come Saturday, but I believe Dave Doeren knows this team at full strength would be a problem.