FSU football: Running on first down being predictable narrative is wrong
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU football fans and media will latch onto a narrative and run with it because they base their thoughts on emotion instead of what’s happening.
One narrative I’ve heard some mention is FSU’s offensive playcalling. In particular, they believe FSU has become predictable by running the ball on first downs too often.
This narrative seemed to catch my attention after the NC State game when I proved Mike Norvell didn’t become conservative in the second half. Anyways, I’m not one to form an opinion without research and statistics.
However, after looking at the data and the results, I can confirm the narrative is incorrect regarding FSU being predictable running on first down. I think the numbers will surprise those that don’t pay attention to detail and only watch the games once.
Firstly, Mike Norvell’s offense has balance, running the ball 54 percent of the time and passing 46 percent, especially since Jordan Travis is a dual-threat QB.
Norvell’s offense is establishing the run to create explosive plays in the passing game, so we can expect the stats to favor the run game overall.
However, when we look at the percentages of when he runs and passes, it paints another picture.